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Superintendent of Documents
Reorganization Plan Approved

The Superintendent of Documents reorganization that was discussed at the Depository Library Council meeting in Reno in April has now been approved by the Public Printer.

The new organization is based on functional areas. In a series of meetings over several months, the staff identified the functions we currently perform or expect to perform in the near future and aggregated those functions into logical groupings. Deputy Superintendent of Documents TC Evans and I then developed an organization chart and took it back to the group which met several more times to refine the plan and make sure that key activities were identified and properly placed. The new organization was approved by the Public Printer and Deputy Public Printer and will be implemented gradually over the next few months.

There are four major areas, and one program support group in the new organization.

(1) Program Development: This organization is responsible for planning and coordinating the execution of any new programs assigned to, or initiated by the Superintendent of Documents, by GPO, or under newly established legal mandates and for collaborating with the GPO Office of Innovations and New Technology and coordinating the completion of projects handed off to Documents by that office.

(2) Program Planning and Coordination: This organization is responsible for all aspects of planning the strategic direction of Superintendent of Documents dissemination programs and working in collaboration with SuDocs operational areas to establish the policies necessary to reach those goals and objectives. These responsibilities extend to funding requests, pricing, collection development, market planning and strategic planning.

The three program areas are the Federal Depository Library Program, the National Bibliography Program, and the Cost Recovery Programs. Each program area will have its own manager and staff.

(3) Library and Customer Relations: This organization is responsible for all aspects carrying out the day-to-day contacts that Superintendent of Documents has with its library partners and various customers in accordance with established policies, goals, and objectives.

The three components are the contact center, marketing, and education and development.

(4) Collections Management: This organization is responsible for the day-to-day acquisition, bibliographic control, collection management, and dissemination of tangible and electronic federal information from the Superintendent of Documents collections in accordance with established policies, goals, and objectives.

The four components are acquisition and development, bibliographic services, permanent collections, and product storage and distribution.

(5) Program Support: This organization is responsible for performing the activities necessary to support the Superintendent of Documents operational organizations, including performance measurement and administrative and analytical services.

Next Steps: Position descriptions are being developed now for the directors of the four major areas. These positions will be posted within a few weeks and we will be seeking candidates from within GPO, from the library community and from other sources. We will post notices to a variety of lists as each position is opened for applications.

As soon as the descriptions for the directors have been completed, we will begin preparing position descriptions for the 11 new managers required to staff the new organization. As with the directors, we will be seeking candidates for the manager positions from within GPO, from the library community and from other sources and we will post notices to a variety of lists as each position becomes available.

We believe that this new organizational structure will allow us to bring new talent into GPO and provide promotional opportunities and new challenges for current staff at all levels. It will also enable us to better serve our mission in light of changing requirements and financial pressures.