GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) is an advanced digital system that will enable GPO to manage Government information in a digital form. FDsys will enable GPO to manage information from all three branches of the U.S. Government. As a state-of-the-art digital content management system, FDsys will contain information gathered through three methods:
Files submitted by Congress and Federal agencies;
Information gathered from Federal agencies’ web sites (often referred to as “harvesting” information);
Digital files created by scanning previously printed publications....
The Government Printing Office has flipped the "on" switch for its next-generation digital repository for publicly accessible government documents. The Federal Digital System (FDsys) now offers the public access documents from all three branches of government through a single portal....
FDsys will replace GPO's current digital document repository, GPOAccess. The full switchover should happen by the middle of this year....
For users, FDsys will offer a greater nuance in search capability. For instance, visitors can search by congressional committee or member of Congress, refining the results by keyword and date. New features and services will also be added over the next few years.
One new service that has already been added is a new daily online publication covering the president's orders, statements and remarks, the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents, contributed by the Office of the Federal Register, which uses material taken from the White House Press Office....
Particular attention was paid to document formats. The system uses Iso's Reference Model for Open Archival Information Systems framework, which establishes a procedure for moving documents to next-generation formats, should the ones then being used fall into disfavor. Each document will have an archival information package, offering instructions on preparing the material for a new format....
Another key attribute will be authentication. FDsys provides a way for agencies and Congress to submit documents using digital signatures. GPO will maintain a chain of custody for these documents, so that later users of the documents can be assured that the document hasn't been "altered or corrupted in any way," [GPO Chief Information Officer Mike Wash] said.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
