ODDS AND ENDS : MARCH 1995

With Hypertext Links to Web Sites Where Appropriate

Table of Contents

Administrative Notes Index
Adobe Acrobat Viewer Review
Agricola News
American Memory Project
ArtsEdge Home Page
Best Federal Government BBSs
Canada News
Canadian Govt. Info
CapWeb: A Guide to the U.S. Congress
Census Bureau Telephone Numbers
Census on the Internet
Civilization
Clinton Declassifies NARA Records
College Textbooks
Congressional Record in the News
Congressional Record Update
Copyright Office Gopher Site
Currency Exchange Rates
DOE Web Page Available
Depository Logo
Economic BB Now Indexed
EDSEARCH Available Over the Net
FCC Anniversary
Federal Entitlement Reform
Federal Govt. Info Internet Guide
The Federal Internet Source
Federal Regulatory Info on the Net
Federal Trade Commission Info
Fish and Wildlife Service WWW Site
FOIA Handbook
GAO Planning Internet Site
Gettysburg Address Exhibit
Godort Scholarship Available
Govt. Information and Policy
Govt. Information Locator Service
Government Surplus Property WWW Site
Human Rights Gopher
The Internet Connection
Legi-Slate Gopher
LC Launches New Magazine: Civilization
MAGIC
Marketing Information Sources
1993-94 Mich. Legislative Session Recap
New MLink Web Site
Monthly Catalog
NASA Fantasy Trips Available
National Center for Health Statistics
National Park Service WWW Site
NSF Launches New Newsletter: Frontiers
OSHA Web Page Available
Patent and Trademark Office WWW Site
Senate Dem. Policy Committee WWW Site
Serial Set
SIC Code Help
Space Shuttle Endeavour
Statistical Abstract
Tax Forms Available via FedWorld
More Tax Form Sites
Even More Tax Form Sites
Model UN News for College Students
United Nations Links
U.S. Code
U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
Villanova University School of Law
Weeding Federal Documents
Wetlands Inventory
What's Newt?

ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES INDEX.

Andrea Sevetson, a Government Documents Librarian, has mounted A Cumulative Table of Contents (9/1980-1994) to Administrative Notes on the University of California at Berkeley Library Gopher. Although not a subject index, it is divided into sections and is searchable. Gopher or telnet to infolib.berkeley.edu (port 70, login as guest). Take the following path: #6, Research Databases by Subject; #20, Government Information; #11, Resources of Use to the Government Documents Round Table. Click here to review other items of interest including: the GODORT Directory, GODORT Handout Exchange documents (from the University of Michigan), a Documents to the People Index, a list of Federal Depository Libraries by state, GOVDOC-L Archives postings (from LC Marvel), and ALAWON postings. Source: GOVDOC-L, February 1, 1995.

ADOBE ACROBAT VIEWER.

PC Magazine (Jan. 10, 1995, pp.37-38) contains reviews of the Adobe Acrobat Viewer. The Acrobat Viewer works in conjunction with the GPO WAIS client software and can be downloaded via FTP. Macintosh viewers are also available. Source: John R. Little, Duke University, GOVDOC-L, December 15, 1994.

AGRICOLA NEWS.

Many university libraries subscribe to AGRICOLA, a database produced by the National Agricultural Library and containing over 3.1 million abstracts about research on agriculture, pesticides, forestry and related issues. James Love of the Taxpayer Assets Project has begun a campaign to see if he can make the federal government reduce the cost of this database so that someone will make it available over the Internet. Source: James Love, TXDN-L, January 18, 1995; for more information see James McDonough, Electronic Public Information Newsletter, January 27, 1995.

AMERICAN MEMORY PROJECT.

In the last issue of Red Tape, I mentioned that the Library of Congress had embarked on a massive, futuristic project to create the virtual library by digitizing its various collections. If you want to take a peak at the first offerings, set your sights on the following www address: [http://rs6.loc.gov/amhome.html]. Sample offerings include color photographs of rural and small town America during the 1930s and scenes of the war mobilization effort from 1939 to 1944; early motion pictures of President William McKinley and the Pan American Exposition in New York City and San Francisco before and after the Great Earthquake and Fire; Life History Manuscripts from the Great Depression courtesy of the Folklore Project and the WPA Writer's Project; and Selected Civil War Photographs by Mathew Brady. Warning you may have to download some of these files to disk and acquire special software to view them.

ARTSEDGE HOME PAGE.

A joint project between the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the U.S. Department of Education. A few of the resources available include: ArtsEdge Newsbreak, an online newsletter including color pictures of the 20,000 year old Stone Age Cave Paintings recently discovered in France; ArtsEdge Information Gallery, including funding sources for the arts; and Cutting Edge developments of online technology for the teaching of the arts in K-12. [http://k12.cnidr.org/janice_k12/artsedge/artsedge.html] Also available via gopher at [purpole.tmn.com]; choose artsedge information gallery (#6). Source: Internic Scout Report, November 4, 1994.

BEST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BBSs.

In a world where gopher, the world wide web, and Mosaic reign supreme, BBSs may seem like relics. Yet many of them offer valuable information that is not available on the Internet. This article by Bruce Maxwell reviews ten : FedWorld, Consumer Information Center (CIC) BBS, Agricultural Library Forum (ALF), Economic Bulletin Board (EBB), NIH Information Center, OASH BBS, Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB), Labor News, Office of Educational Research Improvement (OERI) Electronic Bulletin Board, and Bibliographic Retrieval System (BRS). Source:Database, December 1994, pp.30-34.

CANADA NEWS.

The 1994 Report of the Auditor General of Canada is available via the world wide web and gopher. It contains 34 chapters on government wide audits and studies and specific audits of federal departments. Sample chapters include: Correctional Services and Parole; Foreign Affairs and International Trade; and Nuclear Regulation. The URL address is [http: //www.phoenix.ca] or [gopher://gopher.phoenix.ca:70/11/auditor] Click here to try the www site. Click here to try the gopher site. Source: Netscape What's New Page, January 12, 1995.

CANADIAN DOCUMENTS LIBRARIANS

may want to take a look at Government Information in Canada, a quarterly electronic journal for the discussion and study of Canadian federal, provincial/territorial, and local government information published by the University of Saskatchewan and available free via the world wide web. The URL is [http://www.usask.ca/library/gic/index.html] Source: Andrew Hubbertz, University of Saskatchewan Library, GOVDOC-L, October 26, 1994.

CAPWEB: A GUIDE TO THE U.S. CONGRESS.

Issue Dynamics, Inc. of Washington, D.C. has provided an alternative world wide web site useful for tracking down information about the U.S. Congress and related topics. Contains a slick and sophisticated forms-based search engine called W. T. BILL for searching 104th Congress bills. Requires Mosaic 2.0, Netscape 1.0, or Lynx. [http://policy.net/capweb/congress.html/] Click here to give CAPWEB a try. Source: Larry Schankman, Mansfield University, GOVDOC-L, January 30, 1995; NCSA What's New Page, January 6, 1995.

CENSUS BUREAU GETS NEW TELEPHONE NUMBERS.

Effective Monday, December 19, all telephone numbers at the Census Bureau will change, as part of a switchover by federal agencies in the Washington, D.C. area, to a different telecommunications system. The Public Information Office number will be (301) 457-2794. The fax number will be (301) 457-3670. Source: Paulette Harding, GOVDOC-L, December 13, 1994.

CENSUS ON THE INTERNET.

If you can log onto the Internet, you can get immediate access to a wealth of Census Bureau statistics. This article is a guide by Jackson Morton, Public Affairs Specialist at the Census Bureau, to the numbers now available and directions to the bureau's home on the electronic frontier. Click here to give the Census Bureau via the World Wide Web a try. Source: American Demographics, March 1995, pp.52-54.

CLINTON DECLASSIFIES NARA RECORDS.

On November 10, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12937 calling for the bulk declassification of almost 44 million pages of security-classified records in the National Archives. This bulk declassification represents approximately 14 percent of the National Archives holdings of classified materials and is the largest single group of classified materials ever to be declassified. 21 million pages date from World War II and the rest from the postwar period through the Vietnam War. Source: ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 69, Nov. 22, 1994.

COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS.

In his capacity as Co-Chairperson of the House Higher Education Standing Committee, Representative Kirk A. Profit held two public hearings on June 7 and June 21, 1994 on the spiraling retail cost of college textbooks in comparison with their resale value. To get more input, Representative Profit also established a College Textbook Committee to gather information from all 15 communities where state universities are located. The final report was finished in October. For copies of College Textbooks: A Growing Economic and Academic Dilemma, contact Representative Profit (D-Kalamazoo), House of Representatives, P. O. Box 30014, Lansing, MI 48909-7514.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD IN THE NEWS.

For an interesting article about the continuing saga of the Congressional Record as a verbatim report, see the New York Times, January 22, 1995, p. E7. Source: George Barnum, Case Western Reserve University, GOVDOC-L, January 23, 1995.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD UPDATE.

The CR for January 4th, the first day of the new 104th Congress, totaled 603 pages, compared to the 338 pages for the opening day of the 103rd Congress. According to a GPO News Release, approximately 18,300 copies of the CR are printed daily. Of these, 5,800 are printed for congressional use and 6,800 for recipients designated by law. The remaining 5,700 copies are printed for agencies which requistiion them and for GPO's depository program. The average CR contain slightly more than 200 pages, about as much as 4 to 6 metropolitan daily newspapers. No wonder GPO would like depository libraries and other interested parties to use online versions instead! Source: GPO Public Affairs, GOVDOC-L, January 12, 1995.

COPYRIGHT OFFICE GOPHER.

The Library of Congress Copyright Office is now posting copies of Copyright Basics, Copyright Information Circulars, and other related information on LC Marvel. The URL address is [gopher://marvel.loc.gov/11/copyright]. Click here to take a peek. Source: Internic Scout Report.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES.

Need weekly updates on how much various foreign currencies are worth in relationship to the dollar? If you have access to the world wide web, try the Global Network Navigator/Kobles Currency Converter at the following URL address: [http:www.ora.com/cgi-bin/ora/currency]. Monthly figures can be found in International Financial Statistics by the IMF.

DOE WWW SITE.

The Department of Energy WWW Site serves as the official access point for the DOE servers, National Laboratory Home Pages, and other servers throughout the DOE community. Additional connections are also provided to other federal agencies. DOE's home page offers information on technology transfer, human radiation research, science and math education, environment, and declassified documents. For more information contact (webmaster@apollo.osti.gov). Source: Ruth Murphy, GOVDOC-L, Dec. 8, 1994.

DEPOSITORY LOGO.

A good gif of the depository logo can be found at the following url address: [http://www.access.gpo.gov/images/dllogo&.gif] Click here. Source: Mark Gooch, Government Documents Librarian, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, GOVDOC-L, January 25, 1995.

ECONOMIC BULLETIN BOARD NOW INDEXED.

If you ever search the Economic Bulletin Board on the University of Michigan Library Gopher, you will be glad to know that it is now searchable using Jughead. In all, the EBB now contains over 3500 files. Congratulations to Jan Zauha and Tim Prettyman for a job well done. Source: Grace York, GOVDOC-L, February 4, 1995.

EDSEARCH AVAILABLE OVER THE NET.

If you have found Education Statistics on Disk useful on the depository CD, you might also be interested to know that the same information is available over the Internet as well, including the 1993 Digest of Education Statistics, the 1993 and 1992 Condition of Education, Projections of Education Statistics to 2004, Historical Trends: State Education Facts 1969 to 1989, 120 Years of American Education: A Statistical Portrait, Education in States and Nations, and 1993 Youth Indicators. Education data junkies who know how to unzip files should take a look at the following URL address: [gopher://gopher.ed.gov:10000/11/table-gen/EDsearch 93]. Click here. If you need help, call Keith Stubss at (202) 219-1547 or send him an e-mail message to (kstubbs@inet.ed.gov).

FCC ANNIVERSARY.

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Communications Act of 1934 and the creation of the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Communications Law Journal is providing volume 47, issue number 2, free of charge over the Internet. Four previous issues have also been made available in this manner. These five issues are available on the Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington www server at [http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/fclj.html] Click here. Source: Will Sadler,Indiana University, LAWSRC-L, January 6, 1995.

FEDERAL ENTITLEMENT REFORM.

Try your hand at entitlement reform. Download BUDGET SHADOWS, a challenging, fun, interactive program that puts you in the driver's seat. See what effect different policy decisions would have on entitltement programs, the U.S. budget, and U.S. citizens. Decide for yourself what choices and trade-offs you think the federal government should make to address our fiscal challenges. (Lotus for Windows is required.) [http://www.charm.net/dcarolco/] Click here. Budget Shadows is a byproduct of the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform's year long study of the nature and scope of America's long-term fiscal-dilemma. The Bipartisan Commission, jointly chaired by Senator Bob Kerrey (D) and Senator Jack Danforth (R), is scheduled to deliver a final report to President Clinton by the end of the year describing possible reforms. Source: Internic Scout Report, December 9, 1994.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET.

Maggie Parhamovich's Guide to Federal Government Information has been converted to html and mounted at the following URL address: [http://www.wcs-online.com:80/usgovdoc/index.html]. Click here. Source: Mary Shearer, University of Houston Law Library, TXDXN-L, February 8, 1995.

THE FEDERAL INTERNET SOURCE.

The National Journal and the Internet Letter have released The Federal Internet Source, what they call the first complete directory of government resources on the Internet. It contains listings and descriptions of nearly 300 different resources, covering the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of our government. The 53-page book costs $18.95 plus $1.90 shipping and handling. Call 1-800-424-2921 for more information. Source: Lyonette Louis-Jacques, LAWSRC-L, October 28, 1994.

FEDERAL REGULATORY INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET

has been added to the resources available at the Clearinghouse for Subject-Oriented Interent Resource Guides, which now contains over 160 topical guides. [http://asa.ugl.lib.umich.edu/chdocs/federalregs/regshome.html] Click here. Source: Jim Milles, NETTRAIN, December 22, 1994.

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION INFO VIA WWW.

The full text of FTC consumer advisories covering credit, health care, investment, telemarketing, autos, and consumer products are now available on the Advertising Law Internet Site. [http://www.webcom.com/~lewrose/home.html]. The files are provided to the law firm by the FTC's Office of Consumer and Business Education. Also available are FTC speeches and testimoney, consumer brochures, rules and regulations, and selected articles. Source: Netscape What's New Page, November 21, 1994.

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE INFO VIA WWW.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has created a world wide web site providing access to information about its mission and activities, endangered species, migratory birds and waterfowl, fisheries, wildlife law, and federal aid to states, plus links to other related servers. [http://www.fws.gov] Source: NCSA What's New Page, January 9, 1995.

FOIA HANDBOOK.

Steve Harrington has published The FOIA Handbook: A Complete Guide to the Michigan and Federal Freedom of Information Acts. Written for both the citizen and the government official. Includes text of statutes and answers to common questions. 207pp. 1994. ISBN:0-962429-9-8. Order from Beagle Publishing, Inc., 290 Gorman Road, St. Ignace, MI 49781 or call (906) 643-6211.

GAO PLANNING INTERNET SITE.

GAO is planning a dedicated Internet Site where one can find the full text of all newly released GAO reports along with search and retrieval options. Current plans call for establishing a gopher server, anonymous ftp capability, LISTSERVs, and a WAIS server. Details are still being developed and implementation is expected in 1995. However, the future GAO Internet site will not charge for downloading. Source: Keith Bonney, GAO, TXDXN-L, January 26, 1995.

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS EXHIBIT

is the newest offering on the Library of Congress Web server. See holographs of the "first draft" and "second draft" in Abe's own handwriting, the first of which is thought to be the copy he read on November 19, 1863. Also, the only known photograph of President Lincoln at the dedication of the Civil War cemetary at Gettysburg is also included. Click here. Source: Internic Scout Report, January 27, 1995.

GODORT SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE.

Final approval was given at the Miami Conference to establish a new GODORT award, the David Rozkuszka Scholarship, to provide financial assistance to an individual who is currently working with government documents in a library and is trying to complete a masters degree in library science. The first scholarship will be given this year. Announcements and forms appear in the September issue of DttP and should also be available soon on the ALA/GODORT gopher. For further information, contact Jan Swanbeck, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; (904) 392-0366. Source: Sandy Peterson, Yale University, GOVDOC-L, February 17, 1995.

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION AND POLICY: CHANGING ROLES IN A NEW ADMINISTRATION,

NFAIS's latest publication, addresses government actions on the electronic networking front and ways in which the administration is trying to make federal information more accessible. Topics include a history of change from the 1980s to the 1990s and beyond, exploring the emerging information infrastructure, copyright issues, and the many growing networks. Contact NFAIS at (215) 893-1561 or fax (215) 893-1564 for a copy. Source: Database, December 1994, p. 70.

GOVERNMENT INFORMATION LOCATOR SERVICE ANNOUNCED.

On December 7, the Clinton Administration announced the initiation of the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) to help the public locate and access information from the federal government. GILS will identify public information resources, describe the information, and help the public gain access to it. It will consist of a network of decentralized, agency-based locators. The public will be able to use GILS either directly or through intermediaries such as libraries, private information providers, or academic institutions. It will eventually be accessible through various media including the Internet, by dial-up from FedWorld, and from the World Wide Web via the "Welcome to the White House" server. Source: ALAWON, Vol. 3, No. 69, November 22, 1994.

GOVERNMENT SURPLUS PROPERTY WWW SITE. The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) sells surplus Department of Defense (DoD) property to the general public. Current DoD drawdowns and inventory reductions mean more surplus items are available for sale than ever before. This includes everything from computers to vehicles, aircraft parts to clothing, and furniture to scrap metal. To make it easier for web browsers to find out where items will be made available for sale, both locally and internationally, the DRMS has created a WWW site at [http://131.87.1.51/index.html] Click here. Source: Robert Schneider, RESADM-L, January 24, 1995.

HUMAN RIGHTS GOPHER.

In an effort to increase access to human rights information, seven human rights monitoring organizations have begun to centralize their material on the Internet. Amnesty International, Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights in China, Human Rights Watch, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, PEN, and Physicians for Human Rights have created a "Human Rights Gopher" -- a series of menus simplifying access to Internet resources and designed to provide up-to-date information for journalists, academics, health professionals, or anyone with access to the Internet. The URL address is [gopher://gopher.humanrights.org:5000]. Click here. Source: Lyonette Louis-Jacques, University of Chicago, INT-LAW, February 20, 1995, via Debbi Schaubman, International Documents Librarian and Acting Head of the Government Documents Library, Michigan State University.

THE INTERNET CONNECTION.

Now you can subscribe to an entire newsletter with the latest information about government information on the Internet. Published ten times a year by Bernan Press, The Internet Connection will tell you how to locate and make best use of the wealth of information available. For example, highlights from the March 1995 issue include "SEC EDGAR Filings--Free from the Town Hall", "From the Editor: NTIS Preview", "Tax Forms from FedWorld", and "Washington Watch: The Debut of Thomas". A subscription costs $69 a year. Call (800) 274-4447 and ask for Jeff Steinman, the editor.

LEGI-SLATE

is now providing free unrestricted access to portions of the Legi-Slate Gopher Server to Internet users. The Legi-Slate Gopher Server allows all users to locate any bill or resolution introduced since the beginning of the 103rd Congress by number (requires Gopher+ client), date, sponsor, chamber, and type. Once a specified bill or resolution has been selected, the following documents are available: Title and Current Status, Congressional Research Service Bill Status, Names of Cosponsors, List of Bill Text Versions Available, List of Committee Reports Filed, Counterpart, and Companion Bills. Additional information is available--each field is clearly marked--for a fee. Source: Internic Scout Report, December 9, 1994.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS LAUNCHES NEW MAGAZINE: CIVILIZATION.

The Library of Congress has launched a new magazine, a cross between Smithsonian and American Heritage, based on the exhibits, documents, and materials in the LC. The magazine is the result of a partnership between LC and L.O.C. Management Corporation of New York, a group of private investors. They have a licensing agreement that gives the Library of Congress a one-time payment of $250,000, plus a gift of $1 per member. Produced by private funds, the magazine will be editorially independent of the Library of Congress. Source: Carol Singer, GOVDOC-L, Dec. 14, 1994.

MAGIC, THE MSU LIBRARIES ONLINE CATALOG.

An experimental Z39.50 search engine, providing search capabilities of MAGIC and selected other online catalogs, is now available via the world wide web. The URL is: [http://www.lib.msu.edu/] Try it out. Warning: Netscape required.

MARKETING INFORMATION SOURCES.

The January 1995 issue of American Demographics contains an article about the best 100 sources for marketing information. Agencies, addresses, phone numbers, and descriptions are all provided.

1993-1994 MICHIGAN LEGISLATIVE SESSION RECAP.

3407 bills were introduced, 2042 in the House and 1365 in the Senate. 742 bills were signed into law by Governor Engler, and 22 were vetoed. Another 30 to 50 bills are still sitting on his desk as of December 30th. Source: Lansing State Journal, p. 1A.

NEW MLINK WEB SITE.

The University of Michigan's MLink Project staff, creators of the Go M-Link Gopher, have begun constructing a world wide web site. The URL address is [http://mlink.hh.lib.umich.edu] Check it out! Source: Sue Davidsen, Dec. 9, 1994.

MONTHLY CATALOG.

The January 1995 Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications is the centennial issue of this publication. For background on this publication, see "GPO Cataloging Reaches the Century Mark", Administrative Notes, February 15, 1995, posted on GOVDOC-L, February 14, 1995.

NASA FANTASY TRIPS AVAILABLE.

Fasten your seatbelts, cybernauts. Robert J. Memiroff will take you on a ride to a black hole [circling and approaching the photon sphere], a neutron star [circling just above its surface], and an ultracompact star [descending to and surveying the surface]. The 18 MPEG movies are wild trips, but you must have the appropriate software to view them. The URL address is [http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/rjn_bht.html]. Click here. Source: Prodigy, March 7.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS WORLD WIDE WEB SITE.

Need to take a peak at one of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports or one of its various permutations (Recommendations and Reports, Surveillance and Summaries, Supplements, Summary of Notifiable Diseases, etc.)? Then this is the site for you. For more than 25 years, NCHS data systems have covered the full spectrum of health concerns from birth to death, including overall health status, lifestyle and exposure to unhealthy influences, the onset and diagnosis of illness and disability, and the use of health care. And now this data is available online, at least for those with access to the world wide web. To download, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. The URL address is [http://www.cdc.gov]. Source: NCSA What's New Page.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE WWW SITE.

Come visit the National Park Service online. Learn about our national treasures, park information, data, images, bird calls, etc. More park information and resources are being added day by day. The URL address is [http://www.nps.gov] Source: NCSA What's New Page, January 30, 1995.

NSF LAUNCHES NEW NEWSLETTER.

Frontiers profiles NSF's work, research, advancements, and major public policies affecting the agency's future. Monthly. Free. To be placed on the mailing list, write Frontiers, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230. Source: ERC Newsbriefs, January 31, 1995.

OSHA WEB PAGE AVAILABLE.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Web Page provides links to sources of safety and health information and organizations. OSHA is looking for suggestions on information that the public would like to find here. Currently under consideration are topics such as press releases, standards, and inspection data. If you have any suggestions or questions, send an e-mail message to (webmaster@www.osha.gov). [http://www.osha.gov/] Source: Internic Scout Report , November 18, 1994.

U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE WWW SITE.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has created a world wide web site which contains numerous files familiar to U.S. depository librarians including: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions, Basic Facts About Patents, Basic Facts About Registering a Trademark, General Information Concerning Patents and Trademarks, Patent Attorneys and Agents Registered to Practice..., Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries, and a whole lot more. [http://pioneer.uspto.gov/] Source: Internic Scout Report , November 4, 1994.

SEC EDGAR FILINGS MADE MORE COMPREHENSIBLE.

If you have ever downloaded Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR filings from the Internet Town Hall (mentioned in the March 1994 issue of RED TAPE), the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) format can be difficult to decipher. Dave James, a reference and computer-services librarian at Irell & Manella in Los Angeles, has developed a freeware program called EDGARCVT to convert the raw filings into a more readable WordPerfect 5.1 file format. If you are interested, contact James at (djames@netcom.com). Source: The Internet Connection , March 1995.

SENATE DEMOCRATIC POLICY COMMITTEE WWW SITE.

The United States Senate Democratic Policy Committee publishes reports for the benefit of Democratic Senators, members of Congress, their staffs, the press, and the general public. These reports range from weekly hearing schedules to detailed analyses of major bills. For example, as of early February, background briefs have been posted on S.3, The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1995 and S. 4, The Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1995. Legislative Bulletins have been posted covering the major provisions, pros and cons, legislative, history, and budget impact of the following bills: S. J. 1, The Balanced Budget Amendment and S. 1, Unfunded Mandates. The URL address is [ftp://ftp.senate.gov/committee/Dem©Policy/general/dpc.html]. Source: NCSA What's New Page, February 1995.

SERIAL SET.

Rodney Ross has written an interesting article about the Serial Set, what it contains, and indexing, in Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 208-213. Source: Andrea Sevetson, University of California, Berkeley, Library, GOVDOC-L, January 3, 1995.

SIC CODE HELP.

Most documents librarians know that the Standard Industrial Classification Manual tends to provide only 3- and 4-digit breakouts. If you need access to 6- or 8-digit SIC code breakouts and have access to DIALOG, pick any Dun and Bradstreet database that indexes SIC Codes and expand the known 4-digit code. For example, when faced by a request for the 6- and 8-digit SIC code for board games, Chuck Lakin of Colby College Library in Waterville, Maine accessed File 515, D & B's Electronic Business Directory, and expanded the SIC code for toys, games, and children's vehicles (SC=3944) to come up with SIC 394403 (Board games, puzzles, and models) and SIC 39440305 (Board games, children's and adults). The search only cost $1.31. If you need 6- or 8-digit codes often enough to make DIALOG searching too expensive, you can buy Dun and Bradstreet's Standard Industrial Classification SIC 2+2 for $120. Call Peggy Vivone at (800) 526-0651, ext 6705, for more information. Source: GOVDOC-L, December 19, 1994.

SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR ONLINE.

So you want to e-mail those folks circling the Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor? NASA now provides public computer access to nearly every aspect of the current flight (mission beginning March 2, 1995) via the Internet--including occasional exchanges with Endeavour's seven astronauts and continuous updates. And it's causing a cyberspace stampede. Over 600,000 e-mail messages have been received during the first five days of the flight. To communicate with the Endeavour Shuttle crew, use the URL address: [http://astro-2.msfc.nasa.gov]. Most questions are answered by ground controllers or scientists; occasional messages are actually answered by the astronauts. Source: Detroit Free Press, March 6, 1995, p.1A; Prodigy, March 7, 1995.

STATISTICAL ABSTRACT ONLINE.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States is now available online. Like the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, this valuable resource sometimes wanders off or "loses" pages somehow while sitting on your shelf. Now you can locate it online at the following URL address [http://www.census.gov:80/stat-abstract/]. It is also available in gopher format at (gopher.census.gov) and on GoMLink. Source:MLink News, February 24, 1995.

TAX FORMS AVAILABLE VIA FEDWORLD.

Thanks to an agreement between NTIS and the Internal Revenue Service, 500 or so of the most popular IRS forms and booklets are now available free of charge via Fedworld. Warning: users will need appropriate software, computer displays, and printers capable of handling Adobe Acrobat PDF, Hewlett Packard Printer Control Language, Postscript, or SGML. Forms cannot be filled out online; they have to be printed. To log on to FedWorld by modem, dial (703) 321-8020. It is also available via telnet at (fedworld.gov); via ftp at (ftp.fedworld.gov); via www at [http://www.fedworld.gov]. Technical assistance is available during business hours at (930) 487-4608. Source: Electronic Public Information Newsletter, January 27, 1995.

MORE TAX FORM SITES.

The U.S. Department of Treasury provides IRS forms as well. Check out the following URL address [http://www.ustreas.gov/treasury/bureaus/irs/taxforms.html]. If you need a copy of Acrobat Reader to view the forms, take a look at [http://www.ustreas.gov/treasury/bureaus/irs/acrobat.html].

EVEN MORE TAX FORM SITES.

Taxing Times 1995 is yet another site under construction pulling together both federal, state, and Canadian tax forms. If your state tax forms are not yet available, Taxing Times also provides a list of state telephone numbers to call to request forms and tax assistance. When last checked, 1993 Michigan forms were available but not 1994. The URL address is [http://www.scubed.com/tax/tax.html]. Source: Cindy Krueger, Library of Michigan, MICHLIB-L, February 6, 1995.

MODEL UN NEWS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS.

College students interested in attending the Harvard National Model United Nations 1995 should check out this world wide web site. The URL address is [http://hcs.harvard.edu/~hnmun/]. It also includes a list of links to suggested Internet sites to aid in preparation for the conference. Source: Netscape What's New Page, November 21, 1994.

UNITED NATIONS LINKS.

UNDCP is pleased to offer one of the most extensive collection of links to United Nations on-line services via the world wide web available. The URL address is [http://undcp.org/unlinks.html]. Source: Netscape What's New Page, January 22, 1995.

U.S. CODE.

The Legal Information Institute of the Cornell Law School (LII) has mounted the entire U.S. Code at its WWW site. The full code, cross-linked and searchable, has been generated automatically from the GPO CD-ROM by software developed at Cornell. To link to a table of all U.S. Code titles use the following URL: [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/]. Searchers can also link to a table of an individual title using a URL derived from the title number. For example, to access title 29 (Labor) use the following URL: [http://www.law. cornell.edu/uscode/29/]. And one can link to an individual section of the code using a URL derived from title number and section. For example, a link to the minimum wage provision (28 USC 206) would use the URL address [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/29/206.html]. Source: Brian T. Shelden, Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, (bts1@cornell.edu), LAWSRC-L, February 22, 1995.

U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, 11TH CIRCUIT.

Effective January 1, 1995, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will discontinue its dial-in bulletin board. In lieu, opinions will be made available via the www. The URL address is [http://www.mindspring.com/~wmundy/opinions.html] Source: NCSA What's New Page, January 9, 1995.

UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

is an ongoing project to make information about the museum, its resources, and its research activities on holocause and genocide studies more widely known. The URL address is [http://www.ushmm.org/]. Source: Netscape What's New Page, Nov. 30, 1994.

VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW.

Another source for federal court opinions as well as links to federal government agencies. Try the following URL address [http://www.law.vill.edu/Fed-Ct/fedcourt.html] or [http://www.law.vill.edu/fed-agency/fedwebloc.html]. Source: GOVDOC-L, February 26, 1995.

WEEDING FEDERAL DOCUMENTS.

Have you ever found yourself cramped for space and needing to weed federal documents from your collection? Working in conjunction with GPO, the Wyoming State Library tossed out over 40 tons/10 truckloads of federal documents in 1994. Previous to tossing out the 40 tons, the Wyoming State Library changed its status from full depository to selective, found another regional to cover Wyoming, offered thousands of documents to other libraries, but still had enough left to discard to equal 40 tons according to American Libraries February 1995, p. 132.

A WETLANDS INVENTORY.

The U.S. Government's National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) makes a variety of wetlands-related information available through the Internet. The NWI produces hard-copy and digital versions of wetlands and deep-water habitat maps. You'll find more than 14,000 digital map files via FTP at (enterprise.nwi.fws.gov)> in the dlgdata directory. The NWI also has a world wide web server at [http://www.nwi.fws.gov]. For more information, send e-mail to (herman@enterprise.nwi.fws.gov) or call (813) 570-5400. Source: Internet World, April 1995.

WHAT'S NEWT?.

For an irreverent look at Newt Gingrich-related public events, take a look at What's Newt on the world wide web. What's Newt provides an ongoing chronicle of newsworthy events Newt spawns. Events covered so far range from Newt's orphanages to his firing of his new House Historian. The URL is [http://www.cyberquest.com/users/dans/newt.html]. If you want to contribute news items, send an e-mail to (dans@cyberquest.com). Source: Netscape What's New Page, January 20, 1995.

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Editor's Note:
Web sites mentioned in the Odds & Ends section may sometimes be inaccessible for a number of reasons including maintenance, limited capacity, or perhaps because they have been suspended or moved to a new URL address. Please notify the RED TAPE Editor if you cannot access a particular URL so that he can check it out.

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Last revised: 07/19/95