Depository libraries, the Internet, and the 21st century?

The convergence of Internet technology and federal information policy are encouraging federal information producers and users to adopt a new direct model of information dissemination of federal information from producing agency to end user. On the surface, this trend would appear to remove the traditional middlemen-the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and depository libraries-from the dissemination model. To assess the impact of the Internet model on the future viability of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), the traditional GPO/depository library model of information dissemination is examined in four areas, keeping in mind the underlying intent of the FDLP to assure access to federal information in all congressional districts.