MEMORANDUM FOR PARTICIPANTS AT THE GILS PUBLIC MEETING FROM: Bruce McConnell, Chair Information Policy Committee Government Information Working Group SUBJECT: Draft OMB Bulletin In light of your interest in the establishment of a Government Information Locator Service (GILS), and your helpful comments at the public meeting held on December 13, 1993, I enclose a draft bulletin which OMB intends to issue to formally establish the GILS. Also enclosed is a copy of the report to the Information Infrastructure Task Force setting forth the GILS vision. Your support and participation to date have been valuable in crafting these documents. We plan to issue the Bulletin to coincide with promulgation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology of a Federal Information Processing Standard Publication (FIPS Pub) adopting the NISO Z39.50 standard and relevent implementation profiles. The draft bulletin is also available on the IITF bulletin board. Access information is contained in the enclosed instruction sheet. Should you have comments on the draft Bulletin, please send them to us by October 14, 1994 at ipc@a1.eop.gov, or by fax to the attention of Peter Weiss at 202/395-5167. Establishment of Government Information Locator Service 1. Purpose. This Bulletin provides guidance to Executive departments and agencies to implement certain records management responsibilities, as described in OMB Circular No. A-130, "Management of Federal Information Resources," Transmittal Memorandum No. 1, dated June 25, 1993 (58 Fed. Reg. 36068, July 2, 1993), reissued on July 25, 1994 (59 Fed. Reg. 37906). It also establishes a Government Information Locator Service (GILS), as envisioned in The National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action, Information Infrastructure Task Force (September 15, 1993). 2. Authority. OMB Circular No. A-130 and the authorities cited therein at Section 3. 3. Applicability. This Bulletin applies to all departments and agencies in the Executive Branch. Independent regulatory commissions and agencies are requested to comply. 4. Definitions. As used herein: "Automated information system" means a discrete set of information resources organized using information technology as defined in OMB Circular No. A-130 for the collection, processing, maintenance, transmission, and dissemination of information, in accordance with defined procedures which are or include Federal records as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3301. For purposes of this Bulletin, automated information systems do not include (1) electronic mail and word processing systems, (2) systems the existence of which are specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(1), and (3) systems the knowledge of the existence of which would interfere with enforcement proceedings or otherwise be exempt from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(7). "GILS Core" means a subset of all GILS locator records which describe information resources maintained by the Federal government, comply with the GILS core elements defined in Federal Information Processing Standards Publication (FIPS Pub.) XXXF Note to Reviewers: Issuance of this Bulletin will be timed to coincide with promulgation of a FIPS for GILS by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in October. The Bulletin will reference the FIPS number and vice versa. F, and are mutually accessible through interconnected electronic network facilities. "Information dissemination product" means any book, paper, map, machine-readable material, audiovisual production, or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristic, disseminated by an agency to the public. (OMB Circular A-130). "Locator" means an information resource which identifies other information resources, describes the information available in those resources, and provides assistance in how to obtain the information. 5. Policy. Section 8(a) of OMB Circular A-130 provides that agencies have a responsibility to "record, preserve and make accessible sufficient information to ensure the management and accountability of agency programs and to protect both legal and financial rights of the Federal Government... provide information to the public consistent with their mission... [and] help the public locate government information maintained by and for the agency." Inventories and finding aids can be an important tool to help other agencies and the public identify information which is available, as well as to help agencies carry out their responsibilities effectively to manage their electronic records. Inventories also serve both to increase the efficiency of the dissemination function and to avoid unnecessary burdens of duplicative information collections. The inventories of agency automated information systems and information dissemination products that are reflected in the GILS Core will serve these ends. Agency GILS are to be established and maintained in accordance with Federal Information Processing Standard Publication (FIPS Pub.) XXX. Agencies may provide access to their GILS Core locator records either using their own information resources, through an Information Processing Service Organization in another agency, through an interagency cooperative effort, or through a contractor. Each agency should establish one or more channels for access to its GILS Core locator records, balancing the goals of facilitating access by the public, assuring appropriate security of government information resources, and minimizing costs to the Government. Agencies should not charge for direct Internet access to GILS Core locator records. Other information dissemination products which include GILS records should be priced in accordance with the provisions of Circular A-130. As specified in FIPS Pub. XXX, the GILS Profile provides the mechanisms for navigating among Federal government locators through specifications given for the GILS Core locator records. Direct users of GILS must be able to use nonproprietary standard software to access and retrieve information from information sources conforming to FIPS Pub. XXX and the associated GILS Profile. Public domain software that supports access to GILS will be available from the Government Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, and the Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval. GILS will become an integral part of the Federal government's overall information management and dissemination infrastructure, and will ultimately facilitate both identification and direct retrieval of government information. As a first step, agencies should inventory their existing holdings and institute adequate information management practices. Further elaboration is contained in The Government Information Locator Service, Report to the Information Infrastructure Task Force (May 2, 1994).F The report is available on the Internet via anonymous FTP to 130.11.48.107. In the directory /pub, the files are: gils.doc (Microsoft Word for Windows format), gils.wp (Word Perfect 5.0 format), gils.rtf (Rich Text format), and gils.txt (ASCII text format). It is also available from the National Technical Information Service's FedWorld system, and from the Government Printing Office. F 6. Responsibilities. a. All Federal Agencies. The head of each agency should: (1) By (insert 12 months from date of issuance) compile an inventory of its 1) automated information systems, 2) Privacy Act systems of records, and 3) locators that together cover all of its information dissemination products. Each such automated information system, Privacy Act system of records, and locator of information dissemination products shall be described by a GILS Core locator record that includes the mandatory GILS Core Elements, and appropriate optional GILS Core Elements, as defined in FIPS Pub. XXX, the related application profile specifying GILS compliance, and 36 CFR 1228.22(b). Agencies should also supplement the GILS Core Elements with other data elements suitable for specific agency records management and information dissemination needs and objectives. Numerous similar information dissemination products and automated information systems may be identified by a single Gils Core locator record, provided that the locator record clearly identifies the number and scope of items aggregated. Privacy Act systems of records should, however, be identified individually. (2) By (insert 12 months from date of issuance), make its initial Gils Core locator records available on-line in a form compliant with FIPS Pub. XXX and the related application profile. (3) By (insert 16 months from date of issuance) review the information resources identified in the agency inventory of automated information systems and GILS Core locator records for completeness and to determine the extent to which they include Federal records as defined at 44 U.S.C. 3301. For all Federal records covered by the inventory, the agency shall determine whether they are covered by a records disposition schedule authorized by the Archivist of the United States. (4) By (insert two years from date of issuance), submit to the Archivist a request for disposition authority proposing schedules for unscheduled records in the information resources described in the GILS Core locator records. The agency shall also advise the Archivist if it believes any information resource described in the GILS Core locator records has sufficient historical or other value to warrant continued preservation after the information is no longer needed in the agency. The inventories of agency automated information systems and information dissemination products that are reflected in the GILS Core could serve as the foundation for developing the records schedules proposed by the agency. When an agency needs to retain different categories of records covered by a GILS Core locator record for different periods of time, the agency should supplement the GILS Core locator record by describing each category. Agencies should cite the applicable disposition authority in the GILS Core element for "supplemental information" for entries that cover records that have been scheduled. When information dissemination products are part of an on-going series, the agency may submit a proposed records schedule which applies to the entire series. The schedule entry describing such a series may refer to GILS Core locator records to supplement the series description included in the request. (5) Continually update its inventory and GILS Core locator records as new information dissemination products and automated information systems are identified. b. Department of Commerce. The Secretary of Commerce should: (1) Maintain FIPS Pub XXX specifying a GILS Profile with mandatory application for Federal agencies establishing locators and inventories of government information, and, working through the Open Systems Environment Implementors Workshop, maintain and publish the application profile specifying GILS compliance. (2) Determine the need for and develop appropriate procedures, as appropriate, to identify and validate commercial software packages for compliance with FIPS Pub. XXX. c. National Archives and Records Administration. The Archivist of the Unites States should: (1) Publish guidance and provide, on a reimbursable basis, training to Federal agencies on the development of records inventories, determining records retention needs, and on describing information dissemination products and automated information systems using GILS Core Elements. (2) Use GILS entries as an information resource in its records disposition and evaluation programs. (3) Cooperate with agencies to reduce reporting burdens and facilitate scheduling of records by accepting GILS data entries when they provide the information required on Standard Form 115, Request for Records Disposition Authority. d. General Services Administration. The Administrator for General Services should include commercial software packages that implement FIPS Pub. XXX on appropriate Federal Supply Schedules. e. Interagency Committees. Interagency committees which promote access to and use of Federal information are encouraged to coordinate the efforts of their participating agencies in developing their respective GILS inventories and interagency topical locators when appropriate to their respective missions. These committees include, but are not limited to, the Committees of the National Science and Technology Council, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), the Commerce, Energy, NASA, NLM, Defense Information Committee (CENDI), and the Federal Information Resources Management Policy Council (FIRMPOC). f. Information Processing Service Organizations. Any agency that operates an Information Processing Service Organization, as defined in OMB Circular No. A-130, capable of providing on-line access, or other dissemination service, suitable for providing public and interagency access to the GILS, may provide such service for other agencies' GILS on a cost reimbursable basis. 7. Government Information Locator Service Board. There is established a Government Information Locator Service Board to evaluate the development and operation of the GILS. Membership on the Board shall include representatives of the Director, Office of Management and Budget, the Secretary of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, and the Administrator of General Services. The Public Printer and the Librarian of Congress will be invited to participate. The Board may ask the heads of other agencies to designate representatives to serve on the Board or on task forces established by the Board. The Board shall prepare and disseminate publicly an annual report that evaluates and recommends enhancements to GILS to meet user information needs, including factors such as accessibility, ease of use, suitability of descriptive language, as well as the accuracy, consistency, timeliness and completeness of coverage. 8. Information contacts. General policy questions: Peter N. Weiss, Information Policy Branch, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10236, New Executive Office Building, Washington DC 20503. Telephone: (202) 395-3630. Records management and archival questions: James J. Hastings, Director, Records Appraisal and Disposition Division, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. 20408. Telephone: (301) 713-7096. Questions regarding FIPS Pub. XXX: Shirley Radack, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg MD 20899. Telephone: 301-975-2833. General technical questions: Eliot Christian, Information Systems Division, United States Geological Survey, 802 National Center, Reston, VA 22092. Telephone: (703) 648-7245. Electronic mail: echristi@usgs.gov. 9. No Private Right of Action. Nothing in this Bulletin shall be construed to confer a privite right of action on any person. 10. Sunset date. This Bulletin expires on [three years from issuance].