| Abstract: | The period 1972–1974 saw the establishment of the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) and the Depository Library Council to the Public Printer. This same period also saw the development of the concept of a National Depository Agency, and the transfer to the National Archives of the Public Documents Library which would form the nucleus of the comprehensive retrospective collection of U.S. documents of that proposed agency. This article discusses the origins of the Public Documents Library within the Government Printing Office, its transfer in 1972, and the three subsequent moves ofthat collection. It discusses the role of GODORT in the development of the proposed National Depository Agency, and related Title 44 revision proposals during the 96th Congress. It examines the concerns of GODORT and the Depository Library Council over maintenance and servicing of the Public Documents Library collection by the National Archives, and its relation to a National Depository Agency. |
