The Government Printing Office's Future Direction

GAO discussed the Government Printing Office's (GPO) changing role in future federal information production and dissemination. GAO developed, distributed, and tabulated two surveys of suppliers' future plans for federal information and found that: (1) there was significant interest in desk-top publishing and distribution in nonpaper formats; (2) only a few respondents used GPO to disseminate government information in formats other than paper and microfiche; (3) over 69 percent of the regional depository libraries surveyed had compact disk capability; and (4) more than 50 percent of all respondents had microcomputers with modems for on-line access to databases. GAO believes that: (1) the GPO role in ink-on-paper printing, distribution of government information in nonpaper formats, and procurement of nontraditional information dissemination mediums needs clarification; and (2) GPO should consider people with a broader background in all aspects of information management and publishing as potential printing candidates.