GPO Hires Its First Preservation Librarian

The U.S. Government Printing Office has hired its first preservation librarian, David Walls.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) is continuing its commitment to preserving the documents of our democracy by establishing the agency’s first preservation librarian position. GPO’s preservation librarian will be tasked with updating the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) collection management plan for the preservation of federal government documents. David Walls will serve as GPO’s first preservation librarian; he is a member of the American Library Association (ALA) and comes to the agency from Yale University where he worked as a preservation librarian for 12 years. While at Yale, Walls established practices for the digital conversion of library and special collection materials.

Digital preservation is an ongoing initiative for GPO. In 2009, the agency launched GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), a content management system, preservation repository and advanced search engine that provides the public with permanent public access to federal government information. GPO is also a member of LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), a worldwide digital preservation alliance that collaborates with libraries and organizations on preservation initiatives.