Eye on the net: new and notable

摘要

With the institution of the concept of e-government and born-digital e-documents in the mid-1990s, US Government publications are increasingly published in digital format. These digital documents are often accompanied by print counterparts distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program, thus providing access to the American public in both digital and tangible format, although print is gradually being phased out. As any documents librarian can attest, once the patrons are accustomed to using documents (or anything else) in electronic format, they expect every government document, from tax forms to local fishing licenses, to be available digitally. This is especially true of historical materials held by the government, such as those in the Library of Congress's collection.