FDLP Preservation Stewards
GIS Map Displaying Preservation Stewards
Preservation Steward
Preservation Stewards make a commitment to retain specified tangible depository resources for the length of the partnership agreement. They also take on the additional responsibilities for preserving that material. This includes both preventive maintenance and conservation treatments. The above map lists all depositories that have signed agreements to Preservation Stewards.
What is a Preservation Steward? Preservation Stewards are partners that commit to retain and preserve specified tangible publications of the National Collection of U.S. Government Public Information for the length of the partnership agreement. This includes both preventive maintenance and conservation treatments. Preservation Stewards may be for legacy publications, or for new publications that a library is currently selecting and upon receipt will continue to hold for the duration of the agreement.
Benefits
In partnering with GPO, your institution can take advantage of the following benefits:
- Credibility
- The United States Government is the largest publisher in the world and GPO is the largest distributor of Federal Government information. Partnership with GPO and the FDLP brings greater credibility to your institution and service.
- Recognition
- Bring positive attention to your institution and service.
- Permanency
- In the event that a partner is unable to provide permanent public access, GPO will make arrangements to provide access to the resource.
- Awareness
- GPO will promote the partnership and add cataloging records and bibliographic access through the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP).
Requirements
While each partnership is different, the purpose of these partnerships remains the same, to provide enhanced access to U.S. Government information. Therefore, the following points are important considerations when thinking about entering into a partnership.
- Public Access
- Partners agree to provide the public with unrestricted, no-fee access.
- No Restrictions on Reuse
- It is critical that the partner(s) impose no restrictions on re-dissemination, which may impede the public’s ability to use the information.
- Preservation
- Partners commit to preventive preservation or other activities that prevent (or delay) tangible materials from degrading or becoming damaged.
- Ownership
- Government information provided through the partnership must remain the public domain. Partners retain intellectual property rights to any value-added software.
- System Admin/Security
- Provisions must be taken to ensure the uptime and integrity of the service (e.g., failover, backups, and firewalls).
- Communication
- Partners must remain in regular contact (as defined by the agreement) with GPO.
Process
The following describes the process involved in developing FDLP partnerships:
- Proposal
- Send us your proposal if you wish to pursue a partnership and your library has an affiliation with a Federal agency or Federal depository library. There is no need to wait until a project is near completion before contacting us.
- Review
- GPO evaluates all partnership proposals by using a set of general criteria and criteria related to the proposal’s specialization. GPO considers internal costs and other factors, such as staffing resources and current project priorities, when reviewing a partnership proposal.
- Discussion
- Throughout the process, the GPO partnership coordinator will interface with the prospective partner and will coordinate between GPO and your institution.
- Finalization
- The partner institution(s) and GPO usually formalize their partnership through a Letter of Agreement (LOA). While GPO and the partner institution(s) will determine the exact requirements for the LOA based on the nature of the project, LOAs for content and service partnerships have a similar structure.
-
Preservation Steward Resources:
Preservation Steward Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)
Stamping Preservation Steward Materials: Guidance for Preservation Steward Partners (PowerPoint Slide Deck from May 30, 2018 program)
Memorandum of Agreement template (pdf)
Preservation Stewards by SuDoc Class (pdf)
Preservation Steward Inventory Template (Excel spreadsheet)