New Collections Available on FDsys

GPO is pleased to announce the release of the following collections into the Federal Digital System (FDsys):

• Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (1991-2005)
• Code of Federal Regulations (2007-2009)
• Precedents of the United States House of Representatives (as part of the GPO Federal Publications collection)

Visit FDsys at http://www.fdsys.gov .

More Gift Ideas

I know, it's too late for this year. But keep this site in mind for the next time you need a gift for a special person. USA.gov has collected most, if not all, of the gift ideas which include ornaments and souvenirs from agencies, institutions and presidential libraries. Happy shopping!

Ideas for Presents from USGS & NASA

The USGS idea is almost impossible for us living in Alabama but, how cool would it be to receive a gift wrapped in a topo map? Is a Kindle or a Reader from Sony on your list? If Santa delivers, you'll be able to download aviation e-books from NASA for free.

Earth as Art

Need a new desktop image? Check out Earth as Art.

Vote for the President's SAVE Award

You have the opportunity to vote for the President's SAVE Award. Over 38,000 ideas on ways our government can save money and perform better were submitted by federal employees. You can vote for the best idea from the final four. The voting ends at 11:59pm on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009.

Pearl Harbor

Today, we remember Pearl Harbor. More images with an overview are available from the Naval History & Heritage Command.

New National Map Beta Viewer and Download Platformhttp://nationalmap.gov/viewers.html

Distracted Driving Summit at UAB Dec. 3, 2009

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is hosting the first statewide distracted driving summit today, Dec. 3, 2009. Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary, will make a scheduled appearance. Check his blog, Fast Lane, tomorrow for a report of the summit.

Government Spending

While not necessarily new sites, these 2 are useful for tracking government spending:

USAspending.gov

FedSpending.org

What On Earth

NASA is now blogging about earth science. From the first post:

The "What On Earth" blog is composed by the science writers, producers, and educators who cover NASA from the inside. We are former journalists and scientists; communications majors and science majors; news hounds and would-be poets. We work with NASA-funded scientists to tell their stories; periodically they will write for themselves in this forum.

Our goal is to provide glimpses of the everydays of Earth science -- the field campaigns, lab experiments, technology development – that illuminate the work behind the breakthroughs. We hope to share the evolution of scientific thinking and debates, and the practical application of NASA science in society. Most of all, we want to share the fun we have watching science in progress.

Thanksgiving FAQs

Need some trivia to share during your Thanksgiving meal?

• The forecast for U.S. cranberry production in 2009 is 709 million pounds.
• There are eight places and townships in the United States that are named Cranberry or some spelling variation of the red, acidic berry (e.g., Cranbury, NJ).

For more facts, read the Thanksgiving FAQ from USA.gov.

Senate Health Care Reform Bill on GPO's Federal Digital System

Where does Thanksgiving Dinner Grow?

Many thanks to Linda Zellmer, Government Information and Data Services Librarian at Western Illinois University for compiling all of the data for us to ponder while we enjoy our Thanksgiving dinners.

Poster

Maps & Poster

Documents of the Week: National Archives and Records Administration & Federal Register Office

We're combining the National Archives and Records Administration with the Federal Register Office for out documents of the week display.

• Family History Sources
• Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom
• National Archives of the United States
• Ronald Reagan: Presidential Library and Museum
• Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office
• The Korean War
• Historical Materials in the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library
• Historical Documentary Editions
• The Face of War
• United States Government Manual (1936 & 2008-09)
• A selection of Public Papers of the Presidents
  

New Documents

These were recently added to our collection:

• Records Relating to Personal Participation in World War II: American Military Casualties and Burials, revised 2009
• U.S. History Framework for the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress
• Honor and Fidelity: The 65th Infantry in Korea, 1950-1953
• Style Manual of the U.S. Government Printing Office, 2008
• The Future of Diving: 100 Years of Haldane and Beyond
• Heliophysics: The solar and space physics of a new era
• Investigation of Failure of the SEC to Uncover Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme (Public Version)
• Army Family Team Building, Program Handbook, 2004

Layaway Plans and You

I'm sure most of you have already finished your holiday shopping. If you haven't and you're considering a layaway plan, be sure to read this. Did you know some online merchants offer layaway plans?

The 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower

Documents of the Week: U.S. Department of Commerce

We are now displaying some eye-catching documents from the Department of Commerce.

• 1990 Population Distribution in the United States
• 1980 Population Distribution in the United States
• Sea Turtles of the World
• State Minority Business in America
• American Community Survey
• Fish & Seafood Made Easy
• Rip Currents: Break the grip of the rip
• Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2003
• U.S. Exports and Imports, 1958-1968
• Education and Training for the Information Technology Workforce
• Making Sense of Census 2000
• Trends in the Income of Families and Persons in the United States: 1947 to 1960
• Commerce Yearbook, 1923
• Fishery Bulletin, October 1997
• Evaluation of the National Impacts of the Local Public Works Program
• Watch Out... Storms Ahead!
• U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook `99

I'm not ready for Thanksgiving

but I imagine you are. Preparing the turkey is probably the most difficult part of the day. Never fear, the USDA Blog has a post dedicated to turkeys. You'll be able to receive tips via Twitter, called Turkey Tweets. They will also offer safe turkey live chats on Facebook.

Catching up

1. Young Readers Center Opens at Library of Congress - Center is first in library's history for young people.
2. GPO Honored for Production of Secure Border Credential - The news release includes links to photos and a video.
3. House Health Care Reform Bill Available on GPO's Federal Digital System - Includes links to FDsys and a direct link to the bill.
   

Ares I-X Launched Today

U.S. Secretary of Transportation's Blog

Welcome to the Fast Lane is the official blog by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation's Blog. You may wish to follow Secretary LaHood via Twitter and Facebook. Both options are on the blog. Vroom vroom!

National Emergency Declaration on H1N1

President Obama signed a National Emergency Declaration on H1N1 Flu.

Documents of the Week: Commission on Civil Rights

Our focus this week is on documents from the Commission on Civil Rights:

• Religious Discrimination: A Neglected Issue
• Schools and Religion
• Enforcing Religious Freedom in Prison
  
• The Working and Living Conditions of Mushroom Workers
• Becoming Less Separate?
• The Indian Civil Rights Act
• Constitutional Aspects of the Right to Limit Childbearing
• The Federal Response to Domestic Violence
• Behind the Scenes
• The Other Side of the of the Tracks
• A Guide to Federal Laws and Regulations Prohibiting Sex Discrimination
• Igualdad en la Educacion: Un Derecho (Un Folleto para Padres Que Desean Saber Mas Sobre la Educacion Bilingue Bicultural
• Civil Rights Journal, Winter 2002
  

New Documents

A few of our newly processed documents:

• Transformation Army Science and Technology
• Coral Reef Educational Resources
• Child-Specific Exposure Factors Handbook
• Consumer Credit Briefcase
• Naturalization Preparation Materials
• Finding History's Forgotten People
• Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book
• What You Need To Know To Help Your Child In School
• High Reliability Operations
• Official Vice Presidential portrait of Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., 47th Vice President
• Marine Advisors with the Vietnamese Marine Corps
• Integrated Defense acquisition, technology, and logistics life cycle management system
• Army Family Team Building, 2004 Instructor Training Guide

Documents of the Week: Civil Service Commission

• Women in the Federal Service
• The First Year: A Study of Women's Participation in Federal Defense Activities
• Federal Employment Under the Merit System
• History of the Federal Civil Service: 1789 to the Present (1941)
• Annual Report of the United States Civil Service Commission (1932)
• Merit Promotion plans: A Source Book of Information for the Development of Promotion Plans (How To Do It Kit)
• Official Register of the United States 1941
• Official Register of the United States 1909 Vol. 1 Directory & Vol. 2 The Postal Service
  

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By Presidential Proclamation, October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. USA.gov has pulled together a short FAQ along with links to more information about domestic abuse.

Popular Senate Documents

The Senate's website has a popular documents group of active legislation. Of course, most of the documents are related to health care.

Checklist for Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Now Online

How much do state of Alabama employees earn?

The state website devoted to transparency, Open.alabama.gov, is now including the checks issued to state employees. Soon, checks issued to state officials will be included. Select the State Spending icon in order to search by name (payee), category or agency.

To the Moon!

Catch up on the preparation, the impact and follow the results at LCROSS (Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite).

Preliminary Analysis of the Chairman's Mark for the America's Healthy Future Act, as Amended

The Congressional Budge Office (CBO) released the report "Preliminary Analysis of the Chairman's Mark for the America's Healthy Future Act, as Amended" yesterday. The link will take you to both the PDF and the CBO's related blog post.

Exquisite Corpse & loc.gov

Missed the Library of Congress Book Fest 2009? Here's a video of the Exquisite Corpse presentation with Kate DiCamillo, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Steven Kellogg, Megan McDonald, & John Scieszka.

Introducing loc.gov: Orientation and Research Strategies from the Virtual Programs and Services. Sign up soon because registration is limited to 15 people. The sessions will be offered on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:00 until noon Eastern time.

Documents of the Week: U.S. Department of Defense

This is part two of our display from the Department of Defense.

• The Enlisted Experience: A Conversation with the Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force
• Train Wreckers and Ghost Killers: Allied Marines in the Korean War
• U.S. Marines in Iraq, 2003: Basrah, Baghdad and Beyond
• The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History
• Meeting the Submarine Challenge: A Short History of the Naval Underwater Systems Center
• The War of the American Revolution
• Weapon Systems, 2007-2008
• Armor: The Professional Development Bulletin of the Armor Branch, March 1997
• Military Chaplain's Review, April 1972
• Air Defense Artillery, Winter 1987
• Interdiction in Southern Laos, 1960-1968
• Operation Dragon Comeback: Air Education and Training Command's Response to Hurricane Katrina
• Reflections and Remembrances: Veterans of the U.S. Army Air Forces Reminisce about World War II
• Airpower Journal, Fall 1990

What You Need To Know About Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the National Cancer Institute has an informative resource titled What You Need To Know About Breast Cancer. This resource includes causes of breast cancer, screenings, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and supportive care. There's also information about breast cancer in men with a link to more information on that particular topic.

Read!

From the Library of Congress:

"Explore new worlds: Read. The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress invites people of all ages to discover the fascinating people, places and events that await you whenever you read."

Read.gov!

Today's Document from the National Archives

Add Today's Document from the National Archives to your daily Internet routine. Missed yesterday's document? No worries, there are links to both yesterday's and tomorrow's documents.

Working from Home, North Face & the EPA and Rain

• Thinking about working from home? There's a lot to consider. Read the post from Library of Congress Blog since it contains information about self-employed individuals, tools for brainstorming, tips on how to turn your hobby into a job you love and resources.
• Tell me there's one student at Samford that doesn't own a North Face item. Admit it, you aren't cool until you do on this campus. Here's something to think about, ‘The North Face’ Clothing Parent Company Facing Nearly $1M in Federal Fines Following Unsubstantiated Product Claims
• Tired of the rain? Here's an image from NASA that shows estimates of rainfall for the southeastern US from Sept. 14-21.
  

Name Your Favorite National Park

A segment of Sunday Morning (CBS) was devoted to our National Parks. Reveling in 'America's Best Idea' shows not only how wonderful and beautiful our National Parks are but also about a new documentary by Ken Burns, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. The six episode documentary will begin next Sunday on PBS.

National Park Service's America's Best Idea Today

Documents of the Week: U.S. Department of Defense

For the next two weeks, we will display documents from the Department of Defense. You won't want to miss these next two displays! These will be shown for the next week as Part One of our DOD display:

• All Roads Lead to Baghdad: Army Special Operations Forces in Iraq
• Armed Forces Decorations and Awards
• Arming the Eagle: A history of U.S. weapons acquisition since 1775
• Army Nursing: Pride and Professionalism
• Considering a Career as a Historian in the Federal Government: A Quick Guide
• Iraq: a country study
• Israel: a country study
• Military Funeral Honors: Honoring Those Who Served
• Military Women in the Department of Defense
• North Korea: a country study
• Operation Enduring Freedom: The United States Army in Afghanistan
• Pearl Harbor: 50th Anniversary Commemorative Chronicle
• Prisoner of War: Rights & Obligations Under the Geneva Convention
• Soviet Military Power, 1990 (Map)
• Soviet Military Power: An assessment of the threat, 1988
• The Korean War: Years of Stalemate
• The Most Secret War: Army Signals Intelligence in Vietnam
• The U.S. Army and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
• U.S. Naval Test Pilot School
• When It Mattered Most: Remembering Our Fallen Medical Personnel in Iraq-Afghanistan

America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009

Space Shuttle Discovery Landing

Wow. Amazing.


Follow NASA on Twitter.

Documents of the Week: Department of Energy

This week our focus will be on documents from the Department of Energy:

• The Nuclear Waste Primer
• An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on My Land?
• Energy Facts, 1992
• Solar Collector Manufacturing Activity 1991
• Monthly Energy Review, Jan. 2001
• Cogeneration
• Nuclear Safety
• Students Go Solar
• geothermal energy & our environment
• Closing the Circle on the Splitting of the Atom
• Logos, Spring 1993
• LBL Research Review, Aug. 1994

9/11 Commemorations and Information

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS ON HEALTH CARE

In case you missed viewing it live or would like to review his remarks, REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS ON HEALTH CARE are available courtesy of the White House.

C-SPAN has a video of the speech along with the Republican response and the remarks.

E-Verify, Health Care & Education

E-Verify makes it easy for businesses to verify legal working status of new hires by entering the new hire's social security number along with other information from the I-9 form. E-Verify is free and returns results in seconds.

Tonight, you will be able to view the Presidential Address on Health Care Reform.

Missed President Obama's message to school children? A Message of Hope and Responsibility for America’s Students

Documents of the Week: U.S. Department of Education

We are now displaying documents published by the U.S. Department of Education. These documents provide a variety of information, from statistics to practical advice for all facets of education.

• AIDS and the Education of Our Children: A guide for parents and teachers
• Assessing the Arts (CD)
• Building on Results: A blueprint for strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act
• Characteristics of American Indian and Alaska Native Education
• College Preparation Checklist
• Community Colleges: Federal Resources supporting Local Opportunities
• Growing Up Drug Free: A parent's guide to prevention
• Handbook for Local Goals Reports
• Healthy Start, Grow Smart: Your Eight-Month Old
• Helping your child become a responsible citizen
• Helping your child learn mathematics
• Helping your child with homework
• Helping your preschool child
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 1976-1994
• How can we help make schools safe for children?
• Learning Well at Work: Choices for Quality
• Looking for student aid: Federal, state, and other sources of information
• NAEP 1996 Mathematics: State Report for Alabama
• Partnership for Family Involvement in Education (CD)
• Paying for College?
• Protecting Children from Exposure to Secondhand Smoke (CD)
• Strengthening your child's academic future
• Summer Home Learning Recipes for Parents and children, grades 4-5
• Technology for Students with Disabilities: a decision maker's resource guide
• The Condition of Education, 1975
• The Condition of Education, 2009
• The High School Counselor's Handbook, 2000-2001

Elmo has a PSA

SNAP - The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

More patrons than we realize might be hungry. Losing a job and/or a home will most likely have a negative impact on the amount of food that patrons once took for granted. Don't forget the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Transparency Tuesday

The last site for our Transparency Tuesday series is OpenSecrets.org. Their mission is to:

• Inform citizens about how money in politics affects their lives
• Empower voters and activists by providing unbiased information
• Advocate for a transparent and responsive government

Homeschooling?

Cash for Clunkers Press Release

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's press release for the Cash for Clunkers program on Aug. 26, 2009. See Cars program stats for top 10 vehicles purchased and trade-ins.

The Budget

It's time for the Mid-Session Review of the Budget of the United States Government. The review updates estimates and other changes that have occured since the budget was released in May.

Latest & Greatest: New Documents

Our newest print documents are:

• Congressional Pictorial Directory


• The Redesigned (New) Naturalization Test


• Expanding ESL, Civics, and Citizenship Education in Your Community


• Junior Ranger Night Explorer


• An Analysis of the Army's Transformation Programs and Possible Alternatives


• Join the Voices for Recovery


• Incident Management Handbook


• Perspectives on Leadership


• Generalship: Historical Perspectives


• Effects of All-Terrain Vehicles on Forested Lands and Grasslands


• 2007-2008 Tribal Resource Guide


• Bodyworks: A Toolkit for Healthy Teens & Strong Families

Transparency Tuesday & a NTIS School Flu Toolkit

Our transparent government site for this Tuesday is GovTrack.us. From the homepage "We help you keep tabs on the U.S. Congress. This is the independent, nonpartisan website that started the "civic hacking" movement in the United States." GovTrack.us pulls information from Thomas & other sources for you to track via feeds or email. This site also makes it easy to research the members of Congress. I think this feature will help us fill in a gap made by budget cuts.

Don't be complacent about the flu. Wash your hands & cough/sneeze in the crook of your arm or in a tissue. The NTIS has a free School Flu Toolkit for grades K-12.

Read the House Health Care Reform Bill

The House Health Care Reform Bill (H.R. 3200) is now available for your reading pleasure on FDsys (GPO's Federal Digital System).

Documents of the Week: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

This week, we will display documents from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with emphasis on sustainability, emissions, and water quality.

• Tap into Prevention: Drinking Water Information for Health Care Providers (CD)
• WAVE: Saver for Office Buildings, Water Management System (CD)
• Keep Your Paws off Mercury (CD)
• Today's Special: Energy Savings
• Should I Eat the Fish I Catch?
• Read this if you plan to breathe this summer
• Charlie goes to town (keeping children lead-free)
• Citizen's Guide to Ground-Water Protection
• Clear Your Home of Asthma Triggers
• Diagnosing Vegetation Injury Caused by Air Pollution
• Atlas of America's Polluted Waters
• Purchasing Strategies to Prevent Waste and Save Money
• A Decade of Children's Environmental Health Research
• U.S. Climate Action Report, 2002
• An Organizational Guide to Pollution Prevention
• Climate Change, Wildlife, and Wildlands: A Toolkit for Teachers and Interpreters

Battling Childhood Obesity at Home

We're battling childhood obesity at home. It's a difficult battle. It's really hot outside, candy & soda are offered by well-meaning people and to top it all, the school has this wonderful watermelon drink. I was fine with it until I heard it was green. If it's real watermelon, wouldn't it be red? Plus, how often do you see watermelon juice? How can you get a child to eat fruits and vegetables without forcing it down his throat? It's taking a lot of time and creativity.

Needing more resources, I turned to USA.gov. I found a Childhood Obesity Health Topic from the CDC. It's full of statistics and strategies. The Department of Health & Human Services has a nice report on Childhood Obesity. Finally, with a lot of useful links, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Newsline has published a report about Childhood Obesity.

Updated Guidance for Businesses and Employers for the Fall Flu Season

The Flu.gov site has updated the flu information for businesses. Consider signing up for updates to the site.

Updated Guidance for Businesses and Employers for the Fall Flu Season

Transparent Tuesdays

Continuing with our transparency in government series, our next site is the Sunlight Foundation. They offer an up-to-date blog that discusses current issues, applications that enable you to keep up with with congress, along with a variety of other projects. You can also join the transparency movement by signing up for their mailing list. Use Twitter? Consider following Sunlight on Twitter.

From their About Us page:

"The Sunlight Foundation was co-founded in 2006 by Washington, DC businessman and lawyer Michael Klein and longtime Washington public interest advocate Ellen Miller with the non-partisan mission of using the revolutionary power of the Internet to make information about Congress and the federal government more meaningfully accessible to citizens. Through our projects and grant-making, Sunlight serves as a catalyst for greater political transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government. Sunlight’s ultimate goal is to strengthen the relationship between citizens and their elected officials and to foster public trust in government."

Are you following Claudette?

Tropical depression (at this time) Claudette is making her way up Alabama bringing gusty wind and rain. Along with my local weather sites, I'll be checking Weather.gov for more information regarding Claudette and future weather systems. Weather.gov includes: storm data, warnings, forecasts, NEXRAD radar displays and so much more.

Transparent Government

I thought it would be interesting to do a series on organizations that help make our government transparent. As a user, you will want to carefully consider the about information for each organization and draw your own conclusions.

Let's begin with OpenCongress.org. This organization is a project of participatorypolitics.org and sunlightfoundation.com. OpenCongress allows you to track a bill, a member of Congress or an issue by utilizing web 2.0 tools and applications like RSS feeds and a blog.

Finding Reports

Need a report? From eduction & housing to civil rights, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) produces reports on a variety of topics for the members of Congress. As a matter of fact, GAO is an independent, nonpartisan agency. It's possible to search for reports by date, topic or agency.

To give you an idea, here are some titles of recent reports:

• Characteristics and Performance of Nonprime Mortgages

• Climate Change Policy: Preliminary Observations on Options for Distributing Emissions Allowances and Revenue under a Cap-and-Trade Program

• Energy Markets: Refinery Outages Can Have Varying Gasoline Price Impacts, but Gaps in Federal Data Limit Understanding of Impacts

• Homeland Defense: Preliminary Observations on Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and High-Yield Explosives Consequence Management Plans and Preparedness

Sotomayor has been confirmed by the US Senate

White House Blog

New York Times

Washington Post

College Freshmen & Credit Cards

Much of the credit card discussion has focused on adults currently using credit cards. But what about the new batch of college freshmen? (I know, most of them have had credit cards since what, 3rd grade?) Many students will be targeted with temptation beginning late August. How will the credit card companies deal with this new batch of consumers? Never fear, the new Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 specifically mentions college students:

Cleans Up Credit Card Practices For Young People at Universities. The act contains new protections for college students and young adults, including a requirement that card issuers and universities disclose agreements with respect to the marketing or distribution of credit cards to students. (from White House FACT SHEET: REFORMS TO PROTECT AMERICAN CREDIT CARD HOLDERS)

Read Public Law 111-24

FDA: For Women

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a site just for women. Here's an excerpt:

"In their daily lives, women use many products that are regulated by the FDA including medicines, cosmetics, pregnancy kits, microwaves, pet foods, and vaccines. Throughout its 100-year history, FDA has been committed to providing women with up-to-date information on all of the products that it regulates. Check the links in this section for information on women's health topics as well as news about product recalls, safety warnings, and other FDA activities."

I'll be reading the microwave use information.

Cars & Flu

No, they don't go together unless you are riding in a car to get your flu shot.

Cars - I've heard a lot of commercials about clunkers for cash so I thought I'd share the actual site so you won't have to rely on your local car commercials for your information.

• Cars.gov is the official government site for the car allowance rebate system.

H1N1 flu - I've heard some debate as to who will be allowed to receive the new flu vaccine first.

• CDC Advisors Make Recommendations for Use of Vaccine Against Novel H1N1

Latest & Greatest: New Documents

We would like to share some of our new documents with you:

• Diversifying Your Workforce
• The Vice Presidential Bust Collection
• National Archives at Kansas City Central Plains Region
• Voices of the Forest: A collection of memories from the Colville National Forest and the US Forest Service
• 150th Anniversary Celebration of the Pony Express: 1860-2010
• Potential Impacts of Climate Change in the United States
• The "MCC Effect" Creating Incentives for Policy Reform; Promoting an Environment for Poverty Reduction
• American Place: The historic American buildings survey at seventy-five years
• Chasing the Dark: Perspectives on place, history and Alaska native land claims

"Race to the Top" Fund for Education

Today, President Obama announced a new $4.35 billion educational fund. From the Department of Education's website:

"President Obama joined US Secretary Arne Duncan in announcing the draft application for the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" Fund.

This largest-ever federal investment in education reform will reward eligible states for past accomplishments and create incentives for future improvement in four critical areas of reform: adopting rigorous standards and assessments; recruiting and retaining effective teachers, especially in classrooms where they are needed most; turning around low-performing schools; and establishing data systems to track student achievement and teacher effectiveness."

View the archived webcast from the URL above or read the remarks from President Obama from the White House's website.

Is this in time to help our schools?

Apollo 11 - 40th Anniversary

On July 20th NASA will will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. NASA has planned events leading up to the big day along with a collection of images, onboard audio and many other interactive opportunities (feel like making an image to send to NASA?).

Email Alert Service from GPO

GPO (Government Printing Office) now offers an email alert service of selected new publications available for sale.

Alabama and the Surgeon General

President Obama has selected Dr. Regina Benjamin from Bayou La Batre, Alabama as his nominee for the U.S. Surgeon General.

The White House Blog announcement (with video)

Supreme Court Nominations

The transcripts of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation hearings will be available soon. That is, if you aren't watching via live coverage from MSNBC or C-SPAN. Don't forget - television also offers viewing options.

For nomination resources past and present, visit the Supreme Court Nominations site by Thomas (Library of Congress).

Flu.gov

The flu season will be here before we know it. Plus, there will probably be more cases of H1N1 flu than last year. Are you ready? Flu.gov is a great resource for flu information. Addicted to Twitter? Follow Flu.gov, http://twitter.com/flugov.

Vacation Plans?

Have you thought about visiting a National Park this summer? Family Fun 2009 lists events that will be occurring at all of the parks during the summer. Some of the parks are offering Fee-Free Weekends. Start planning now!

Google Patents

I have to admit, I don't know how long the beta Google Patents search has been available but I discovered it yesterday. It is too cool! Warning, each time you hit the main search page, you'll see images of different patents. Be sure you have a few minutes to spend on this site.

Latest & Greatest: New Documents

From our latest additions:

• National Park Service Science in the 21st Century
• Blood and Steel! The History, Customs, and Traditions of the [Third Armored Cavalry Regiment]
• Fire Management and Invasive Plants: A Handbook
• The Federal Aviation Administration: A Historical Perspective, 1903-2008
• Enduring Voices: Oral Histories of the U.S. Army Experience in Afghanistan, 2003-2005
• When it Mattered Most: Remembering our Fallen Medical Personnel in Iraq-Afghanistan
• Nursery Manual for Native Plants: A Guide for Tribal Nurseries, vol. 1 Nursery Management
  

Are You Ready for Digital TV?

If not, you'll be in for a surprise later tonight if not earlier! DTV.gov has all of the information you need from FAQs to a help line, 1-888-CALL-FCC. The FCC has also placed support centers around the country.

You Tube and the Government

Several government agencies and departments now have their own You Tube channels. For instance, the Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office. For more channels, see the U.S. Government channel.

What's New for the World Factbook

What's new for the World Factbook? Some of the new fields are school life expectancy, stock of domestic credit, freshwater withdrawal and more!

Data.gov

My family just finished aiding the tourist industry. You be sure to do your part!

Data.gov became live while we were away so my apologies if you've already encountered this site. Data.gov aims to make high value Executive Branch datasets available to the public.

Thinking of buying a car in 10 years?

Then you will want to do some research because our President has targeted fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards as his next cause for change. Be sure to include these factors along with your price and safety analysis. Oh, and the cost of tire replacement.

President Obama and Vice President Biden's Personal Financial Disclosures Now Available

From the White House Blog - President Obama and Vice President Biden's Personal Financial Disclosures Now Available

Eye on the Government Printing Office

The Washington Post Federal Eye by Ed O'Keefe video profile focuses on Peter James, a GPO employee. Mr. James is responsible for "building, binding and marbling some of the most important government documents." I've had the pleasure of watching Mr. James demonstrate marbling edges of documents and seen works in progress along with some final results. It's amazing. Please, take a few minutes to view the video.

Documents of the Week: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Authority

The documents on display this week are from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Authority, otherwise known as HUD.

• Building Partnerships Building Futures
• Relocation Assistance to Displaced Homeowners
• Suddenly thousands of families who couldn't buy a home, can (Vietnamese)
• Are You a Victim of Housing Discrimination?
• Danger in the home
• Resident Rights and Responsibilities (Russian)
• U.S. Housing Market Conditions, August 1997
• Preserving Historic America
• Open Space for Urban America
• Best Practices for Effecting the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing
• Curbing Predatory Home Mortgage Lending: A Joint Report, June 2000
• Help Yourself to a Health Home
• Fair Housing Act, Fair Housing Act as Amended (Title 8) (Braille)
• County Planning and Development Training, 2003 & 2004 Courses
• The State of the Cities, 1998
• 100 Q&A About Buying a New Home
• Home Buyer's Vocabulary
• Renewing Government

Electronic Documents

• Homes for Sale by the U.S. Government
• Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure
• HUD Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act)

A New Feed for Government Information

GovFresh combines Twitter, YouTube, RSS, Facebook & Flickr to feed you official U.S. government information in one place.

School Enrollment Data

School is almost out for the summer! Before you go on summer break, consider checking out some school enrollment data from the Census.

Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals

We're going thru our CD/DVD collection and this title caught my eye. I believe it's something that our nutrition students might find interesting. The same data from our CDs and more is available on the food surveys tab of the USDA website.

This caught my eye, What's in the Foods You Eat Search Tool, 3.0. You can find nutrient profiles for 13,000 commonly eaten foods in the U.S. Very cool!

I'm still finding useful information. Go to the Shopping, Cooking & Meal Planning section for:

• finding healthy foods
  
• reading & understanding food labels
• ethnic cooking
  
• cooking methods & recipes
  
• food storage & preservation
  
• emergency food supplies (do we really need to stock up on bread & milk when we think it might snow?)
  
• FAQs

Lots of great information!

Re-launch of GPO.gov

GPO is pleased to announce the re-launch of its agency Web site, http://www.gpo.gov. This enhanced site includes separate Web pages for FDLP and LSCM information for the public. The new Web pages will help inform the public about and lead the public to Federal depository libraries. The redesigned site includes links to FDsys, GPO Access, the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, the Federal Depository Library Directory, The FDLP Desktop, Ben's Guide,

and more, as well as Web pages for each of the agency's departments. (from announcements from the FDLP)

The enhanced site includes a Depository Library Spotlight (select Libraries link) which is currently spotlighting the documents collection at the University of Alabama. Congratulations to UA for being the first spotlighted library!

Fraud and the Recovery Act

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice has a list of resources to aid you with identifying and reporting Recovery Act fraud.

How the Government Measures Unemployment

PDF version

Finding Stats on Google

Continue to wash your hands!

Now you can find limited public data (stats) on Google. The data comes from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census Bureau's Population Division.

Are you ready for the swine flu?

As yet, no cases of the swine flu have been announced in Alabama. But, I thought it would be a good idea to share some resources so you can be prepared.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Swine Flu

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has links to more information on their home page

World Health Organization (WHO) Swine influenza

(WHO) Swine influenza FAQs

Documents of the Week: Department of Homeland Security

Are you prepared?

This week, our display will showcase items from the Department of Homeland Security:

• Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants
• ICE: Integrity * Courage * Excellence
• The Redesigned Naturalization Test
• Know Before You Go
• A Performance Review of FEMA's Disaster Management Activities in Response to Hurricane Katrina
• Preparing Makes Sense. Get Ready Now.
• ICE Update
• Building a Secure Nation
• The Citizen's Almanac
• National Response Plan
• Civics and Citizenship Toolkit
  

The Census is Coming to You!

The 2010 Census is will be coming your way before you know it. At the very least, you will participate by completing a survey. It's also an excellent way to earn some extra money by being a Census Taker. You might be interested in assisting your community by forming or working with a Complete Count Committee.

Questions about the Census? Is it really private? How does the Census aid my community? Will they really knock on my door if I don't complete the first survey? FYI, your participation is required by law. (Read the How section.)

Latest & Greatest

We just added a few new Department of Defense items and one from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that I thought you would find interesting.

• Mixed-Gender Basic Training: The U.S. Army Experience, 1973-2004
• Operation Urgent Fury: The Invasion of Grenada, October 1983
• Victory Starts Here: A 35-year History of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command
• DARPA - 50 Years Bridging the Gap
• Responding to War, Terrorism, and WMD Proliferation: History of DTRA, 1998-2008
• The Battle of An-Najaf
• Election Management Guidelines

These documents may be checked out for your reading or research pleasure.

Pineapple & Coffee

Dreaming of a trip to Hawai'i? Get ready by learning more about the food and agriculture produced on the islands. The Hawai'i Agriculture & Food Products Database includes vendors contact information along with websites.

Earth Day is April 22

Are you ready for Earth Day?

State Recovery Sites

From Recovery.gov, a map of state recovery sites.

Documents of the Week: United States Information Agency

While it's a small collection of documents at Samford, you will no doubt be intrigued by these documents on display.

• USIA
• Communist Propaganda: A Fact Book 1957-1958
• Cuban Crisis 1962
• In a Place without a Soul: The Testimony of Former Cuban Political Prisoners
• Worldnet at a Glance / Arabic
• A World View of Women: Social, Political and Economic Attitudes
• Sports in the United States
• The People Act
• To Protect the Peace
• Korea: in the Common Interest
• Forum: A Journal for the Teacher of English Outside the United States, January 1996 & July 1997

COBRA & The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

From the website:
"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides for premium reductions and additional election opportunities for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA. Eligible individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage beginning on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to nine months for those eligible for COBRA during the period beginning September 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009 due to an involuntary termination of employment that occurred during that period. The TAA Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2009, enacted as part of ARRA, also made changes with regard to COBRA continuation coverage."

For more information, see COBRA Assistance under ARRA.

Do you owe the IRS?

If so, be sure to check out the Online Payment Agreement (OPA) Application from the IRS.

Documents of the Week: U.S. Department of the Interior

This week, we are happy to showcase a selection of documents from the Department of the Interior:

• Water, Ice, and Meteorological Measurements at South Cascade Glacier, Washington, Balance Year 2002
• Education in the United States of American, Bulletin 1939, Misc. No. 3
• Carl Sandburg Home
• Blue Ridge Parkway: Virginia Trails
• Benton Lake
• Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace
• Death Valley National Monument
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast Ecological Inventory
• Reclamation era
• Earthquakes & Volcanoes, 1988
  
• Answers to your questions about American Indians
• Standing Witness: Devils Tower National Monument: a History
• Frederick Douglass
• More Readings from One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 1974-1880
• My Forefathers are still Walking with Me: Verbal Essays on Qizhjeh and Tsaynen Dena'ina Traditions
• The Duck Stamp Collection
• Clara Barton National Historic Site: Historic Structure Report
• National Parks Webcams (Glacier National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park & more!)
• Interior Recovery
• Sport Fishes
  

Secretary Arne Duncan Announces $44 Billion Now Available Under the Recovery Act

That is the title of the press release given by Arne Duncan, the Department of Education's secretary yesterday. Go to the DoE recovery site for the press release along with guidance and fact sheets.

Military Power of the People’s Republic of China

The Department of Defense has released the report "Military Power of the People’s Republic of China." The URL will take you to the DoD current releases site. This report is the 2nd on the list (as of today).

Latest & Greatest: Magnificent Mavericks

Magnificent Mavericks: Transition of the Naval Ordnance Test Station from Rocket Station to Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Center, 1948-58.

This is volume 3 of the History of the Navy at China Lake, California. I have to admit, the main reason this is our latest & greatest document is due to the fact I'm a former resident of China Lake.

USDA Food Safety on Twitter

You may now receive updates regarding food safety information from the USDA on Twitter.

Documents of the Week: United States Department of Justice

Documents from the Department of Justice will be on display this week.

• Domestic Violence by Police Officers
• Use of Computers in the Sexual Exploitation of Children
• Steriod Abuse by School Age Children
• School Disruptions: Tips for Educators and Police
• Our Immigration: A Brief Account of Immigration to the United States
• The Border Patrol: Its Origin and Its Mission
• Help for Victims of Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor
• But I can Work
• The Department of Justice
• Interpol
• Getting Started as a Federal Judge
• United States History: 1600-1987
• Federal Offenders, 1941
• The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008
• Drugs of Abuse
• Drugs & Terrorism: Teacher Lesson Plans
• Career Resource Centers
• The Sexual Victimization of College Women
• Research on Women and Girls in the Justice System
• Juvenile Justices
• Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Murder in Families
• Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2003
• Recovery Act Information
  

Department of Defense Recovery Act Projects

The DoD has a Recovery Act site listing their projects since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 distributed $7.4 billion to the DoD.

Latest & Greatest: United States Senate Chamber, 1859-2009

The United States Senate Chamber, 1859-2009, is an overview of the Senate for the past 150 years. At the very least, you will find yourself intrigued by the images. This document is available for your research or reading pleasure.

Image is of the United States Senate in Session. More images are available as well as exhibits, paintings and sculpture from the Art & History section of the United States Senate site.

Documents of the Week: Department of Labor

Our new display will focus on the United States Department of Labor.

• Sexual Harassment
• Pregnancy Discrimination
• Family & Medical Leave
• Age Discrimination
• Timeless Education for a Future World
• Understanding the Department of Labor Solicitation for Grant Applications & How to Write an Effective Proposal
• A Matter of Style at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Occupational Injuries and Illnesses: Counts, Rates and Characteristics, 2005
• Occupational Outlook Quarterly: Careers for Creature Lovers, winter 2006-07
• Extended Mass Layoffs in 2000
  
• Mass Layoffs by Industry in January 2009
• Mass Layoffs in January 2009
• Birmingham, AL National Compensation Survey, February 2000
• Job Safety & Health Quarterly (JSHQ), fall 1999
• Labor Information bulletin, April 1953
• The American Workers' Fact Book, 1956
• National Compensation Survey: Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United States, 2005
• Working in the 21st Century
• Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09
  

More Stimulus Watch Sites & Scams

• SBA.gov click on Scam Alert
• Financialstability.gov from the Department of Treasury
  
• Emergency Economic Stabilization Act also from the Department of Treasury
• Congressional Research Reports search
• Congressional Budget Office Stimulus Proposals
• An Act to Provide Economic Stimulus through Recovery Rebates to Individuals, Incentives for Business Investment, and an Increase in Conforming and FHA Loan Limits, Public Law 110-185

Spring Break!!!

Samford University will be celebrating Spring Break March 16-20, 2009. The library hours are noted on the website.

The Documents of the Week display will continue with the Library of Congress.

White House Council on Women and Girls

President Obama Announces White House Council on Women and Girls

Department of Education

The Department of Education has been in the news lately. There's been talk about merit-based pay for teachers, the reality of more folks going back to school after layoffs and money to distribute from the stimulus package. The Department of Education has links to remarks made by President Obama and Ed.gov for recovery information among other timely articles.

Women's History Month

March is Women's History Month. The theme for this year is "Women taking the lead to save our planet."

Documents of the Week: Library of Congress

The Library of Congress, which is near and dear to the hearts of all librarians, is our focus for the next week.

• The Library of Congress, 1981
  
• Growing up on Capital Hill: A young Washingtonian's journal, 1850-1852
• History of the U.S. Army battle command training program, 1986-2003
• The Russian Orthodox Church of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands and its relation to Native American Traditions -- an attempt at a multicultural society, 1794-1912
• English defenders of American Freedoms, 1774-1778
• Gathering history: the Marian S. Carson collection of Americana
• Yiddish American popular songs, 1895-1950
• Justifying Jefferson: the Political Writings of John James Beckley
• Leo Lionni at the Library of Congress
• Jefferson's legacy: A brief history of the Library of Congress
• African and Middle East collections
• Aeronautical and astronautical resources of the Library of Congress: a comprehensive guide
• Prints and photographs: an illustrated guide
• Hispanic and Portuguese collections: an illustrated guide
• The geography and map division: a guide to its collections and services
• Blind justice: Jacobus tenBroek and the vision of equality
• The musical mainstream, July-August 1982
• American Poetry at Mid-Century
• Folklife center news, winter 1998
  

HealthReform.gov

HealthReform.gov

"In December 2008, President-elect Obama invited Americans to host and participate in HealthCare Community Discussions to talk about how to reform health care in America.

Over 9,000 Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia signed up to host Health Care Community Discussions. Thousands more participated. Friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers, representing the views of both health care patients and providers, came together in homes and offices, coffee shops and fire houses, universities and community centers, all with a common purpose: to discuss reforming the health care system.

After each Health Care Community Discussion, hosts were asked to fill out a Participant Survey and submit a Group Report summarizing the group’s main concerns and suggestions.

The 3,276 group reports were systematically analyzed and the information generated by the Health Care Community Discussions captured in the report, Americans Speak on Health Reform: Report on Health Care Community Discussions.

The Report is being formally presented to President Obama and is the foundation for the March 5 White House Forum on Health Reform, a further public discussion of the need for health reform." from the About HealthReform.gov page

Read the minutes from the Alabama Health Care Community Discussion.

Open.Alabama.gov

A new website, Open.Alabama.gov, has been created for Alabamians to track how our state leaders distribute the money received from the federal stimulus package.

Geography of a Recession

The New York Times has an interactive map, the Geography of a Recession, which shows unemployment rates in the United States. Be sure to read the related article.

Latest & Greatest: Foreign Aid

Have you thought about foreign aid lately? You can, and probably should, search the USAID reports. The reports may be limited by subject (agricultural, economic or health to name a few) or by country. USAID is an independent federal government agency. For more information about USAID, see This Is USAID.

Government Documents has just added the online individual country health statistical reports to our catalog. To search, use the name of the country.

Let's explore USA.gov

USA.gov offers a variety of web 2.0 tools, such as videos, podcasts & RSS feeds. These are found on the Government 2.0 site. May I recommend videos from USA.gov? It opens with the USA.gov videos but you will see options from other channels on the left.

Documents of the Week: NASA

We're showcasing some of our NASA documents this week. Be sure to take a look at the spacelab poster!

• NASA Pocket Statistics (1997)
• United States NASA Academy
• Living with a Star
• Discovering Jupiter
• Discovering Mars
  
• Human Physiology in Space
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration: First Semiannual Report to Congress (Oct. 1958-March 1959)
• "Before this Decade is Out..." Personal Reflections on the Apollo Program
• Realizing the Dream of Flight
• ICESat: Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite
• The First Lunar Landing as Told by the Astronauts: 20th Anniversary
• Spinoff, 1981
• Space Settlements: A Design Study
• Crew of Space Shuttle, Mission 61-B
• Viking Orbiter 1 Mars Mosaic
• Shuttle-Mir: The United States and Russia Share History's Highest Stage

Enjoy!

A New Era of Responsibility

For more information about A New Era of Responsibility (the budget), see the Briefing Room section of whitehouse.gov. GPOAccess has an electronic version available. Soon, we'll have it in our catalog.

Yesterday, I spoke with a student about her difficulties with finding Obama's inaugural address on the White House website. Evidently, libraries aren't the only ones that use weird terms. Briefing Room didn't exactly translate to "click here to locate speeches, a blog, the latest news and more." All of this is to say, you will find a lot of timely and relevant information about the president, his speeches and events in the Briefing Room.

Federal Grants

Need a federal grant? You can search the Federal Register for announcements or Grants.gov.

Grants.gov offers tools for applicants such as a way to track your application, resources and FAQs.

Census Product Update and Your Taxes & the Stimulus Package

Do you find yourself intrigued by fascinating facts? Are you always looking for a topic to ease social situations? (You know, those parties where you're supposed to mingle AND be interesting.) Do you love statistics? You should consider signing up for the Census Product Update.

The IRS has released Tax Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This release includes information about:

• your payroll checks (with new withholding tables for employers)

• Social Security recipients, veterans and railroad retirees

• getting money back for new vehicle purchases

Latest & Greatest Document!

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 1948-2000 is a fascinating look at the history of the OSI. The epilogue includes the War on Terror. This document may be checked out for your reading or research pleasure.

Declassified Oral History Interviews Released from the National Security Agency

The NSA has released the following declassified oral history interviews:

• Arthur J. Levenson
• Dr. Solomon Kullback
• Oliver R. Kirby
• Benson K. Buffham

Documents of the Week: National Foundation of the Arts and the Humanities

National Endowment for the Arts

Design America: Projects Created by State Arts Agencies
The Art of City Design
The Art of Landscape Architecture
From Commas to Cathedrals: Design at Work
One America Indivisible: A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity
Picturing America
Rediscovering America
Places as Art
My History Is America's History: 15 Things You Can Do to Save America's Stories
The Changing Faces of Tradition: A Report on the Folk and Traditional Arts in the United States
1997 Annual Report, National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts 1965 - 2000: A Brief Chronology of Federal Support for the Arts

Audio & Video **New

Stimulus Watch

Stimulus Watch isn't a government site but I thought you all might be interested since the city of Birmingham is included. Be sure to read the FAQs since they give more information about the folks that put this site together and why.

ARRA

Would you like to comment on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009? Provided by the White House with links to the final text.

Don't forget to follow the money at Recovery.gov.

Documents of the Week: National Science Foundation

For the week of February 15-20, we will display documents from the National Science Foundation.

• Science and engineering indicators 2000, vol. 1
• Federal support to universities, colleges and selected nonprofit institutions, Fiscal Year 1977
• Arctic research of the United States, vol. 8
• MOSAIC, vol. 23 no. 3 fall 1992
• Antarctic journal of the United States, vol. 31
• Survival in Antarctica
• The first annual report of the national science foundation, 1950-51
• Annual report, 1986
• Climate change impacts on the United States: The potential consequences of climate variability and change
• Science and engineering statistics (Division of science resources statistics)
• Multimedia gallery **check out the worm grunting and the human anagen scalp hair follicle

The Gavel

On Nancy Pelosi's blog, The Gavel, you will find links to the text of the conference report of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Congress Reaches Stimulus Accord (Washington Post)

Details Emerge of a Trimmer Stimulus Bill (New York Times)

Compare the House and Senate versions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Curious about the differences between the House and Senate versions of the stimulus bill?

Senate Passes $838 Billion Economic Stimulus Bill

Liber8

The latest issue of Liber8 includes "What is a recession" and a map showing the current economic indicators.

Thanks to Katrina Stierholz, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, for bringing this to our attention.

Documents of the Week: Peace Corps

The following documents are on display in the Government Documents area:

At Home in the World: The Peace Corps Story
To Touch the World: The Peace Corps Experience
The Great Adventure: Volunteer Stories of Life Overseas
A Life Inspired: Tales of the Peace Corps Service
Older Americans and the Peace Corps
Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook
Peace Corps on the Home Front: A Handbook for the Families of Volunteers
Destination: Poland
Career Resource Manual
Peace Corps Times 1994 no.1
Culture Matters: The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook

GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) Available

GPO's Federal Digital System (FDsys) is now available. From the about page:

GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) is an advanced digital system that will enable GPO to manage Government information in a digital form. FDsys will enable GPO to manage information from all three branches of the U.S. Government. As a state-of-the-art digital content management system, FDsys will contain information gathered through three methods:

*Files submitted by Congress and Federal agencies;
*Information gathered from Federal agencies’ web sites (often referred to as “harvesting” information);
*Digital files created by scanning previously printed publication

Techline offers more information regarding the FDsys

4 More Months!

Congress has given us 4 more months to prepare for the digital transition.

Congress gives nation four more months to prepare for switch to digital TV broadcasts

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has created an Emergency Economic Stabilization Act website. Be sure to subscribe to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act e-mail updates.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Thank you Lilly Ledbetter!

Documents of the Week: Office of the President

The following documents are on display in the Government Documents area:

• Introduction to the Army: Suggestions for pre-induction informational meetings (1944)
• Thirty years: the White House fellowships
• White House fellows
• for guys and galls who are looking for summer jobs
• National strategy for homeland security
• The White House: the house of the people
• The White House
• A thousand points of light: the seventh hundred
• America's climate change strategy
  
• National security strategy of the United States
• Campus unrest
  
• Full partnership of women in our democracy
• Leadership & public service
• Whom we shall welcome
  

recovery.gov

The House passed the stimulus package yesterday. In expectation of it being passed by the Senate, a website, recovery.gov, has been created. The purpose is to show us exactly "how and where your tax dollars are spent." from website

Federal History Journal

The Society for History in the Federal Government is announcing the first issue of their journal, Federal History. The peer-reviewed journal is available online and will be published annually.

WhoRunsGov.com by the Washington Post

WhoRunsGov.com blog by the Washington Post

"With a new presidential administration in town for the first time in eight years, there will be hundreds of new faces appearing on the subway, in congressional hearings, on K Street and of course in the White House. And many of us will be asking: Who Are They?

WhoRunsGov.com hopes to provide you with a quick and easy answer to that question. Simply put: it will be an ever-growing database of government power-brokers containing key information on new administration officials, lawmakers, senior Hill aides and ultimately interest group and think tank experts. We aim to be a single-stop shop for all those interested in the people and personalities who run the government." from 01/22/09 post

Documents of the Week: Executive Office of the President

Documents from the Executive Office of the President:

• Keeping your kids drug-free: A how-to guide for parents and caregivers
• The old executive office building, 1998
• Israel, 1988 (map)
• Israeli-Developed Areas in Jerusalem, 1984 (map)
• The president's health security plan
• Environmental quality: the eighth annual report of the council on environmental quality
• The agency and the hill: CIA's relationship with congress, 1946-2004
• The world factbook, 1985
• The world factbook, 2007
• Assessing the Soviet threat: The early cold war years
• The budget of the United States Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939
• Vital Voices, 1997-1999
  
• Buy American Act: A study of alternatives to the rule of origin, 1990

Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents

The Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents will replace the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. GPO Access has links for browsing and searching the compilations.

Note - the daily version will only be available online.

Open Government

On January 21, 2009, President Obama signed the Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act, reversed changes made by President Bush with an executive order for the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and issued a Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government.

Search for Peanut Butter Product Recalls

Use this Search for Peanut Butter Product Recalls from the FDA.

Troubled Asset Relief Program

The Troubled Asset Relief Program: Report on Transactions Through December 31, 2008 is now available. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was created back in October 2008 by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA).

Office of Legal Counsel releases reports, Final Bush press conference & Change.gov

The Office of Legal Counsel (Department of Justice) has released reports on the topics of Iraq, taliban, and use of military force.

This morning, President Bush held his final press conference. This transcript is from the New York Times via the White House.

If you haven't followed Obama's transition, be sure to add his Change.gov website to your daily reading. It includes a blog, information about the inauguration and a section titled The Agenda which covers a variety of topics.

Documents of the Week: Vice President of the United States

Our focus this week is on the Vice President of the United States.

• Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (Gore)
• Turning the Key: Unlocking Human Potential in the Family-Friendly Federal Workplace (Gore)
• The Best Kept Secrets in Government, Digest Version (Gore)
• The Best Kept Secrets in Government (Gore)
• Reinvention Roundtable (Gore)
• Businesslike Government: Lessons Learned from America's Best Companies (Gore)
• Space Support of U.S. National Security (Bush)
• Building Livable Communities (Gore)
• Public Report of the Vice President's Task Force on Combatting Terrorism (Bush)
• Creating a Government that Works Better & Costs Less (Gore)

For information on the current Vice President, see Richard Cheney.

The Bush Administration - a new report

Be sure to check out the new report about the Bush Administration. It is on the Bush Record section of the White House website

Highlights of Accomplishments and Results: the Administration of the President George W. Bush, 2001-2009.

The appendix might interest you as well, 100 Things Americans May Not Know About the Bush Administration Record.