The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has once again made history by becoming the only organization to maintain the highest global standard of excellence for digital repositories. GPO successfully completed its second yearly surveillance audit that is required to maintain its ISO 16363 Trustworthy Digital Repository certification for govinfo, the one-stop site for authentic information published by the Government. GPO achieved the certification by meeting official criteria for trustworthy digital repositories as defined by experts in the field.
“This recertification of govinfo’s status as a trustworthy digital repository confirms to the world what GPO already knows: govinfo is the one and only resource for authentic, trustworthy information published by the Federal Government,” said GPO Director Hugh Halpern. “This certification is difficult to earn and maintain, and I am proud of our team for their hard work to keep govinfo fully certified. It is a huge step towards fulfilling our mission of Keeping America Informed.”
GPO’s govinfo was audited in two stages. As part of the audit, the GPO team provided presentations, responded to questions, and supplied documentation to serve as evidence of GPO’s commitment to standards-based digital preservation best practices. Presentations included guided walkthroughs of govinfo internal processes and procedures, policy frameworks, and technology demonstrations.
ISO is the International Organization for Standardization and the world’s largest developer of international standards used by Government, business and new information technology companies. The standard achieved by GPO outlines the expectations for digital repositories to be certified as “trustworthy,” meaning that they are implementing digital preservation practices to ensure long-term preservation and access. Certification under ISO 16363 provides assurance to the public that govinfo is a standards-compliant digital archive in which Government information will be preserved, accessible, and usable into the long-term future. The certification demonstrates that not only the documents, but also the organizational structures and systems around those documents, maintain integrity.
The Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorization Body Ltd. first awarded certification to GPO under ISO 16363:2012 in December 2019.
GPO is the Federal Government’s official, digital, secure resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies in digital and print formats. GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through www.govinfo.gov and partnerships with approximately 1,100 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov
