DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES AND THE ECONOMICS OF ELECTRONIC INFORMATION: PART 2

The Federal Depository Library Program has assured broad public access to important government publications. When print media were the norm for access to convenient and reliable information, deposit of print publications met the public need well. However, as the norm for convenient and reliable access shifts toward electronic information products, the print depository may become inadequate as an information resource: fewer people will be willing to use the print items, seeking instead the power and speed of electronic access. If print deposits decline, the public purpose in supporting widespread access to a range of information of value to our democratic processes may suffer.