GPO's new content system advances
The Government Printing Office’s next-generation repository for maintaining official government information now has more than 150,000 government documents, GPO officials said today.
Officials say the Federal Digital System (FDSys) will let GPO maintain all kinds of digital information, improve searchability and accessibility, and be compatible with future information technologies as those technologies develop. They plan for the new system to replace the current GPO Access system by the middle of this year.
The system is in public beta form and its collections include the Federal Register, bills in Congress and congressional hearings. In January, the Office of the Federal Register announced that its new publication, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, was specifically designed for FDSys.
Research for FDSys began five years ago, and design and development have been under way for two years. GPO estimated the program would cost about $29 million and so far has spent about $20 million on the platform, said Michael Wash, GPO’s chief information officer.
Wash said documents will be added through mid-year, and then the system will add new capabilities for several years. Later this year, GPO plans for FDSys to allow members of Congress and federal agencies to digitally submit documents to FDSys.
Later this year, GPO plans for FDSys to:
- Have preservation processes that will support permanent public access to data.
- Have the ability to ingest content that has been digitized and send e-mail messages and RSS.
Over the next several years, GPO plans for the system:
- To harvest information from federal agency Web sites automatically and have the capability to acquire, integrate, or link content from external sources.
- To have customizable alert services and search preferences.
- To have tools to support document creation.
- To have a collaborative working environment for content creation
- To be able to interface with federal agencies internal procurement systems to transmit orders.
About the Author
Ben Bain is a reporter for Federal Computer Week.