In September 2012, the Government Printing Office engaged CRL to undertake an audit of FDsys, the GPO’s digital repository for U.S. federal government publications.  Permanent access to U.S. federal government publications is vital to researchers in the humanities and social sciences, and many CRL libraries have a special interest in the durability of the FDsys repository as participants in the Federal Depository Library Program.

In December, the GPO terminated its contract with CRL for the audit because of the federal budgetary constraints connected with the “fiscal cliff” and subsequent sequestration.

CRL continues to consider the long-term integrity and accessibility of information and documentation produced by the U.S. federal government in print and electronic formats a high priority, and in the coming months will work with its community to ensure that viable strategies are in place to achieve those objectives. More information on this effort will be forthcoming from CRL shortly.