We’ve learnt from a post on the Law Library Assoc of Greater New York Lis that the Obama administration has has told federal agencies to cancel their print
subscriptions to Federal Register.
Here’s the post
The Washington Post reported, in an item posted Monday, that the Obama administration has told federal agencies to cancel their print subscriptions to Federal Register.? See “Federal government no longer subscribing to its own journal:”
Though this one incident does not directly affect the availability of this title to libraries, it is part of a larger drift in Washington
toward the view that the continued production of what the depository library community has defined as essential print titles has become an unsustainable drag on the federal budget.
As explained on the Federal Depository Library Program Desktop, the essential titles “contain critical information about the U.S. Government or are important reference publications for libraries and the public, and their availability for selection in paper format has been deemed essential for the purposes of the FDLP.”? See:
http://www.fdlp.gov/component/content/article/135-essential-titles-list
If the print versions of these titles are still important to our libraries and our users, we need to be explaining why.? Libraries were
caught unprepared when Statistical Abstract and other Census Bureau titles on this list came under attack earlier this year.? What can we do
to stave off attacks on the other titles on this list, or be better prepared when they come??
You might want to let the White House know that printed publication of a core list of essential titles is still a critical function of an open
government.? You can provide your comments to the White House at202-456-1111.? The woman I just spoke with was very nice.