To meet these mission requirements, the office  relies on several mission-related systems, as well as servers, networks,  and the data center managed by the Library’s central IT office—ITS. However, we and others have identified challenges with this environment. For example, external users have described limitations in the  performance and usability of the office’s registration system, and the  Copyright Office has expressed concerns about the integrity of the files  stored in the Library’s servers. Organizationally, responsibility for  managing the office’s IT environment is shared between the Copyright  Office’s Office of the CIO and ITS. However, as we recently reported, the  Library has serious weaknesses in its IT management, which have also  hindered the ability of the Library and the Copyright Office to meet  mission requirements. For example, the Library has not had a permanent  CIO in over 2 years and instead has had a series of temporary CIOs;  according to the Register of Copyrights, this has caused a breakdown in  communication between Library management and the Copyright Office  related to IT. For  example, by law, the office must be able to  receive and examine copyright registration applications,  collect and maintain deposited copies of copyrighted works as  necessary to support the production of “facsimile reproductions” and  retention of works up to 120 years, produce certificates of registration and certified copies of applications, maintain records of the transfer of copyright ownership. The Office’s Current Technical Environment Has Challenges

Our work, Copyright Office employees, and external users have all  identified challenges with the Copyright Office’s current IT environment,  including eCO and the infrastructure supporting that system that is  managed by the Library’s central IT office (ITS), as described below:  Both internal and external users have described challenges with eCO  related to performance, stability, and usability. The Copyright Office, as a service unit within the Library of Congress, is  subject to the organization’s IT policies and procedures. Specifically, while the office has identified several proposed IT initiatives  for improving its IT environment and requested over $7 million to fund  these initiatives, it has not yet developed plans and proposals to justify  these investments, including identifying the business need they will meet  and their expected costs and benefits. In addition, the office has not yet developed an IT  strategic plan to help ensure that its IT goals are aligned with the  agency’s strategic goals, stating that it is difficult to do so when the  Library does not yet have an IT strategic plan. We agree that the  Copyright Office’s IT strategic planning should be aligned with the  Library’s own efforts in this regard. The Copyright Office Has Proposed Upgrades to Address Technical Challenges

According to Copyright Office officials, the office requested funding for  four initiatives to address immediate technical challenges: (1)  reengineering the recordation function, (2) developing a secure digital  repository for digital deposits, (3) developing a software application  development environment, and (4) developing a data management team. This investment would create a development environment for all  future copyright-specific applications (e.g., an online system for the  recordation process). The office  requested $2.43 million in fiscal year 2015, but did not receive funding  for this investment. By identifying mission needs and plans in  investment proposals and charters, and by presenting the requests to the  IT Steering Committee as part of the Library’s investment selection  process, decision makers at the Library and the Copyright Office would  have greater assurance that the selected investments meet mission  needs and do not duplicate existing efforts. In our review of the Library’s IT  management, we noted that the Library does not have an IT strategic  plan and that efforts to develop such a plan have just recently begun. Conclusions

The Copyright Office has an important legal mission supporting the  creative industries that significantly contribute to the United States  economy, and the office relies heavily on IT to carry out this mission. Recommendations

To help ensure that the Copyright Office makes improvements to its  current IT environment, we are recommending that the Librarian of  Congress direct the Register of Copyrights to take the following two  actions:
For current and proposed initiatives to improve the IT environment at  the Copyright Office, develop plans including investment proposals  that identify the business problem, a proposed solution, the expected  benefits, how the solution aligns with the Library’s strategic plan, an  initial 3-year cost estimate, and expected funding sources, and bring  those to the Library’s IT Steering Committee for review, as required by  Library policy. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying the fiscal  year 2015 legislative branch appropriations bill (S. Rep. No. Our specific objectives for this review were to (1) describe  the legal, technical, and organizational aspects of the Copyright Office’s  current IT environment and (2) describe and evaluate the Copyright  Office’s plans for modernization.
Why GAO Did This Study

The mission of the Copyright Office, a service unit within the Library of Congress, is to promote creativity by administering and sustaining a national copyright system. As part of this mission, the Copyright Office registers about 500,000 creative works a year for copyright and records documentation related to copyright transfer and sale. In recent years, the Register of Copyrights has discussed the need for a modernized Copyright Office, to include upgrades to the current IT environment.
The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying the 2015 legislative branch appropriations bill required GAO to review the Copyright Office's current IT environment and plans for the future. This report (1) describes the legal, technical, and organizational aspects of the Copyright Office's current IT environment, and (2) describes and evaluates the Copyright Office's plans for modernization. To carry out its work, GAO reviewed Library policies and related best practices, comments by stakeholders, IT funding requests, and other relevant documentation, and interviewed key Library and Copyright Office officials.

What GAO Found

The Copyright Office has a legal mission supporting the creative industries that significantly contribute to the United States economy and relies heavily on information technology (IT) to carry out this mission. For example, by law, the office must be able to receive and examine copyright registration applications, collect and maintain deposited copies of copyrighted works, and maintain records of the transfer of copyright ownership. To meet these mission requirements, the office relies on several IT systems, as well as the infrastructure managed by the Library of Congress's central IT office. However, GAO and others have identified challenges with this environment. For example, comments solicited by the Copyright Office from external users have described limitations in the performance and usability of the office's electronic copyright registration system, and the Copyright Office has expressed concerns about the integrity of the files stored in the Library's servers. Organizationally, responsibility for managing the office's IT environment is shared between the Copyright Office's Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Library's central IT office. The Library has serious weaknesses in its IT management, which have hindered the ability of the Library and the Copyright Office to meet mission requirements. For example, the Library has not had a permanent CIO in over 2 years.
The Copyright Office requested over $7 million in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to address four key challenges: (1) reengineer recordation—one of the office's key business processes—to include developing an online filing capability; (2) develop a secure digital repository for its electronic materials (e.g., books and music); (3) develop a software application development environment; and (4) establish a data management team, to include developing data standards. The office has also published a report that summarizes stakeholder comments on the current IT environment and makes several recommendations to improve this environment.
However, the office has not adequately justified these proposed investments. Specifically, it has not identified the business needs they are intended to meet, expected costs, or how they align with the agency's strategic plan, as called for by Library IT investment management policy. The office also did not present the investments to the Library's IT investment review board, which was established to select investments for funding that meet defined criteria and ensure that such investments are not duplicative of existing investments or activities performed within the Library. Copyright officials stated that these initiatives were in early stages and the office was not yet in a position to develop this information. However, without identifying key costs and benefits of proposed initiatives and presenting this information to the Library-wide investment review board, decision makers at the Library and the Copyright Office do not have the assurance that the selected investments support the organization's goals and do not duplicate existing activities. In addition, the office does not have an IT strategic plan, and officials described difficulties in developing such a plan given that the Library has not yet developed one. As noted in a recent GAO review of the Library's IT management, the Library has recently committed to developing an updated IT strategic plan, and it will be important for the Copyright Office's own strategic planning to be aligned with this effort.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the Copyright Office (1) develop key information to support proposed initiatives for improving its IT environment and submit them to the Library's IT investment review board for review, and (2) develop an IT strategic plan that is aligned with the Library's strategic planning efforts. The office neither agreed nor disagreed. GAO continues to believe its recommendations are warranted.