Part I: What should depository coordinators be doing?

Part I: What should depository coordinators be doing?

The Depository Coordinator
Every depository library must have a depository coordinator. In most libraries this person will also be the government documents librarian. In her 2007 book, Government Documents Librarianship a Guide for the Neo-depository Era, Lisa Ennis provides insight into how a depository coordinator should go about this task. By highlighting the job tasks of the depository coordinator, Ennis reminds us that FDLP partnerships are between the GPO and individual libraries. The libraries agree to fulfill certain requirements and in exchange, they get free access to government information including continued access to certain key publications in print, some of which may be important to the library collection. FDLP coordinators manage the FDL’s obligations under the agreement. They must advocate retaining FDL status, carry out many of the administrative tasks, and they must coordinate the participation of the other non-documents librarians in carrying out the library’s FDL obligations.

Value of Depository Status
At times, the depository coordinator will be called upon to justify the value of participation in the FDLP and to advise the library director on the ramifications of withdrawal from the FDLP. It is important for the depository coordinator to be armed with knowledge of the principles of government information held by the ALA and GODORT and the mission of the FDLP. Furthermore, the focus on the value analysis should be not only on value that the library currently receives from the GPO, but also on the FDLP as a constantly evolving partnership with a powerful government entity, the GPO, to provide statutorily mandated access to government information to the public. The value of depository status is not just measurable in dollars and cents, it is also the value of having an ally that is open to continued dialogue on important government information issues, and is committed to similar government information principles.

However, since many library directors will also need a money based cost benefit analysis, Ennis suggests emphasizing the value of the print collection and the time consuming and burdensome nature of the process of relinquishing depository status. Ennis indicates that the consequences of leaving the FDLP include the loss of the print collection that contains items that are important to the library collection. These items would have to be replaced (Ennis 2007, 37-8).

Ennis points us to the SOAR "Stay With the Program" Web site, which includes a Web page entitled Suggested Responses to Frequently Cited Reasons for Leaving the Depository Library System (Suggested Responses to Frequently Cited Reasons for Leaving the Depository Library System http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/council/soar-suggestions.html). This can help the depository coordinator to construct a convincing argument for remaining in the FDLP.

Administrative Tasks
Usually, the depository librarian undertakes the responsibility for the administrative aspects of the FDL. Their duties will include developing and updating depository collection policies, keeping statistics and creating annual reports (Ennis, 55).

With regard to housing the tangible collection, some libraries choose to intersperse the collection with other library resources in the Library of Congress collection. However, Ennis argues that managing and promoting the depository collection may be easier for the depository coordinator if the depository is kept together, organized in SuDocs order, and clearly marked with signs directing people to ask at the reference desk for help (Ennis, 57).

The requirements for the depository collection are that it be treated with the same "care, maintenance, and preservation standards" as the rest of the library collection. However, in come cases, the standards may be higher, for instance, the accessibility of the collection must be up to the standards of the "Americans with Disabilities Act" (Ennis, 58). The depository coordinator is charged with knowing and implementing the appropriate standards for the depository collection.
Coordinating With Non-documents Librarians
Although theoretically, the responsibility for the FDL's participation in the FDLP is borne not by the documents librarian alone, but by the library as a whole, in practice, the documents librarian in their role as depository coordinator will have to become the advocate of the depository collection. This means, that the depository coordinator will likely have to make library personnel aware of how they can help fulfill the library’s FDL obligations and encourage library personnel to take responsibility for the depository collection. Ennis recommends the depository library coordinator refer to the collection as "ours" and make it as easy as possible for librarians to do their FDL related tasks (Ennis, 52).