GPO in the 21st Century

We've written several times about the Government Printing Office, the behoemeth print operation just down the road from us. Though it isn't humming at quite the same rate it did in its heyday, an article in today's Washington Post talks about how the GPO is preparing for its future:

"Pressmen are being trained to operate digital presses designed for shorter runs. When they retire, their jobs will move to a new generation schooled in building e-book partnerships and designing iPhone apps."

Though the GPO is going digital to stay relevant, paper lovers needn't get themselves too dogeared:

"For whose who fear the end of the printed word, there is good news. GPO officials, working with librarians in the federal depository system, have come up with a canon of about 160 titles that will continue be printed by the GPO indefinitely, from the Economic Report of the President to the Internal Revenue Bulletin."

Personally, I can't think of better bedtime reading than the Internal Revenue Bulletin. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The piece also features an historic photo gallery.

Wildwood

Duckpin's apprentice-for-life, Christine, just returned from Wildwood, New Jersey. She was there as part of the Society for Commercial Archeology's "Wildwood Daze" conference. (Christine moonlights as a preservationist when she's not slinging ink.) According to their mission statement, SCA is "the nation’s oldest organization devoted to the buildings, artifacts, structures, signs, and symbols of the 20th-century commercial landscape. The SCA recognizes the historical significance the automobile has had in shaping our landscape and culture."  

Christine was there to present her paper “A Need for Speed: The Cultural Landscape of Stock Car Racetracks” which examines the impact of race car culture on the built environment. But more importantly, she was there to tour the Wildwoods. While there, she captured some great signage from this mecca of Doo-Wop design. We'll be using it as inspiration in upcoming projects. Hope you can, too.

Click on images for the wicked big size