Best Sources for Legislative Info

The Government Printing Office recently completed an in-depth analysis of access to legislative information provided by eight government and non-government websites. The report specifically evaluates the availability of legislative resources on all of the databases examined, the scope of the resources on each database, the source of those resources (i.e., whether they house their own content or link to other Web sites for it), and additional legislative resources or features exclusive to comparable Web sites.

The report, "Comparison of Legislative Resources on GPO Access and Selected Government and Non-Government Web Sites, October 2008," and previous reports are available through the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) at http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov/library/compare/. Federal agencies use the FBB as a means to distribute electronic files in various file formats to the public.

The eight websites studied are:

• GPOaccess.gov


• THOMAS


• House.gov


• Senate.gov


• CQ.com


• Heinonline.org


• Lexis-Nexis
  Congressional


• Westlaw.

New Journal: Federal History

The first issue of Federal History, January 2009, is now available online at http://www.shfg.org/SHFGv3JournalIssues.html.

The journal is published by the Society for History in the Federal Government. According to the publisher's blurb, "Federal History features scholarship on all aspects of the history and workings of the federal government, and of critical historical interactions between American society and the government, including the U.S. military, 1776 to the present. It also publishes articles examining contemporary issues and challenges in federal history work."

This Month in Senate History: January 21, 1861

"In a scene of high drama, Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis and four southern colleagues rose on the Senate floor to to ffer final remarks before withdrawing from the body and returning to their states. As spectators jammed the galleries, Davis ... stated his belief that sovereign states had the right to leave the Union.... Within weeks, Davis would become president of the Confederate States of America, a position he held throughout the Civil War."

This factoid appears in "January: This Month in Senate History," Y 1.3:S.PUB.105-32, one of a series of pamphlets published by the Senate Historical Office. These pamphlets may be found at the ULM Library in the file cabinets located in Media Services, Room 205. Ask for assistance in the Government Publications Office, Room 210.

Change Comes to www.whitehouse.gov

Following the transition to the Obama administration on January 20th, there is a new look and feel and new content on the White House website at http://www.whitehouse.gov.

Web pages from the Bush administration may be found at http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/.

Inauguration Got Your Attention?

Did you know that President Obama took the oath of office on the same Bible used by President Abraham Lincoln?

If you would like to know more about this, or what other Presidents had to say at their inaugurations, or if you really want to know more about where the President and his family live, or about that beautiful room in the U.S. Capitol where the VIPs had lunch after the inauguration ... Come to the University Library. There are new displays on the 1st and 2nd floors to satisfy your curiousity.

On a more serious note, the new bulletin board display in the 2nd floor Government Documents Reading Area shows how federal laws are made, and just how you can keep on top of what laws and regulations are being passed.