Applicability of Depository Library Act to National Technical Information Service Publications

A decision was requested regarding the applicability of the Depository Library Act to publications issued by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). The section of the Depository Library Act which exempted cooperative publications, which must necessarily be sold in order to be self-sustaining from free distribution to designated depository libraries indicated that publications of NTIS which were based on material furnished by other agencies were deemed cooperative. Since the statute establishing NTIS provided that publications for special use and the benefit of private groups and individuals must be self-sustaining while those issued primarily for the general benefit of the public need not be, the former category was exempt while the latter was not.