After the bad news about how some great information sources may not be published by the U.S. government any more, here’s some good news.
First a little history: when I was in library school in the pre-web days learning reference sources from the late, great Terry Crowley, he taught us about the U.S. Government Manual — the standard source for basic information about every branch, department, and bureau of the federal government. It was updated annually, but a good reference librarian, Crowley said, would pencil in any major changes that occurred in between editions. (He also said that a really good reference librarian should know and be able to name all the current members of the president’s cabinet.)
Then the web came along, and the federal government put lots of its standard works online. The U.S. Government Manual was no exception. It was free and available from any device with an internet connection. However, it was still updated just once a year. You can still see the 2009-2010 edition and older editions as they were.
Finally, the good folks at the Government Printing Office and the National Archives have released USGovernmentManual.gov. The new site, backed by a database and XML, will be updated as changes happen. Terry Crowley would be pleased.
(Hat tip to Infodocket.)
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