Edmon Low Library on the campus of Oklahoma State University.

OSU celebrates 115 years in Federal Depository Library Program

Friday, February 17, 2023

Media Contact: Bonnie Cain-Wood | Manager, Library Communication Services | 405-744-7331 | lib-pub@okstate.edu

March 1 marks Oklahoma State University’s 115th anniversary in the U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Federal Depository Library Program.

“We are proud to celebrate 115 years with the FDLP and our partnership with GPO,” said Sheila Grant Johnson, OSU dean of libraries and Clerico Family Chair for Library Excellence. “The ability to offer our community free public access to these vitally important government documents is an integral part of our land-grant mission.”

The FDLP ensures the public has free access to federal documents in participating libraries across the nation. OSU serves as the only regional depository library in the state and has done so since 1907. Materials in this special collection are retained permanently as part of the agreement with the GPO.

The department also collects Oklahoma and other state publications, government publications from other countries, and international agency publications including the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The collection is open to the public and research assistance is available.

Through the FDLP, approximately 1,110 libraries nationwide work with GPO to provide public access to authentic, published information from all three branches of the federal government in print and electronic formats. The program's antecedents can be traced back to the act of Congress dated Dec. 27, 1813, (3 Stat. 140), which provided that one copy of the House and Senate Journals and other Congressional documents be sent to certain universities, historical societies and state libraries. GPO has operated the FDLP since 1895.

The Government Documents Collection is located on the fifth floor of the Edmon Low Library on the OSU-Stillwater campus. Learn more about the collection and request research assistant by visiting info.library.okstate.edu/government-documents or calling 405-744-6546.