Federal Depository Library Program

The groundwork for the FDLP was established by an 1813 Congressional Joint Resolution ordering that certain publications be distributed to libraries outside of the federal government.

[4] The Depository Library Act of 1962 (DLA) created the present-day FDLP as codified in Title 44, Chapter 19 of the U.S. Code.

On January 4, 2020, the FDLP website was hacked and defaced with pro-Iranian/anti-US messaging in response to the American airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force.

Though they receive the publications free of charge, depository libraries are responsible for the costs of processing the items and making them available.

The FDLP offers the opportunity to order several kinds of material for libraries' collections, including maps, Braille, large print documents, foreign language items, and audio.

Unlike adding items, selections may be removed at any time; the library stops receiving the documents within 72 hours.

Regional libraries still continue to collect information in a wide variety of formats, but many government documents are now published exclusively online.

Electronic documents positively impact issues such as storage, length of retention, and access, which can be enhanced with library networking.

Access to electronic documents is provided through Persistent Uniform Resources Locators (PURL) and is facilitated by GovInfo and the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP).

Recently, federal agencies have been bypassing the GPO in lieu of publishing documents directly online.