For immediate release:
October 18, 2010
For more information, contact:
Prue Adler
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
prue@arl.org
Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Board of Directors unanimously voted on October 14, 2010, to endorse a set of principles regarding the Federal Depository Library Program. In the "ARL Statement of Principles on the Federal Depository Library Program," the ARL Board of Directors recognizes that the federal documents collections are valuable assets of the individual libraries, the states and regions where the collections are located, and for the nation as a whole.
The "ARL Statement of Principles" also notes that the best means of providing broad public access to these collections is through online access to digital and digitized copies. Therefore, the management of these tangible collections should include efforts to support or participate in initiatives to create a comprehensive digital collection in the public domain.
The seven principles address issues such as the services that participating Federal Depository Libraries undertake in support of the Federal Depository Library Program, issues concerning the building of retrospective collections by Regional Federal Depository Libraries, the long-term preservation of and access to digital federal documents, and more.
To view these principles, please visit http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/fdlpprinciples14oct10.pdf
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at http://www.arl.org/.