From GraphicArtsOnline.com (10/5/09): The White House, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) andthe National Archives' Office of the Federal Register (OFR) achieved abreakthrough in making Government information available and usable bythe public.
GPO converted the text of the Federal Register (2000-2009)into XML (extensible markup language) and placed it online in numerousFederal Government portals, which include: GPO’s Federal Digital System(www.fdsys.gov), The Federal Register Web site(www.federalregister.gov) and the Government’s new portal for Governmentdata (www.data.gov). This project began when President Barack Obamachallenged Federal agencies to create a more open and transparentGovernment. GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), a world-classinformation management system for Federal publications, is instrumentalin enabling this enhanced capability for the Federal Register.
“The transformation, undertaken by the Government Printing Office andthe National Archives and Records Administration, vastly increases theFederal Register’s usefulness to the American public and further opensthe curtains on the inner workings of Government, a major goal of theObama Administration,” said Beth Noveck, Deputy Chief Technology Officerfor Open Government.
The change supplements the official publishing formats with XML, a formof text that can be manipulated in virtually limitless ways with digitalapplications. For example, people who want to know about the workingsof the Executive branch of the Federal Government no longer need to siftthrough the Federal Register in its traditional Department-by-Departmentand Agency-by-Agency format. This new format will allow applications tobe developed that will support user needs and can rearrange the FederalRegister’s contents in personalized ways to match their particularinterests. It will be possible, for example, to download the FederalRegister and easily see what proposed actions might affect one’scommunity or region, or what actions might have an impact on one’sprofession or business interests.
“Providing ten years of Federal Register data in a format that is easyto manipulate is an exciting and ground-breaking development,” said RayMosley, Director of the Federal Register. “This paves the way forconsumers, rather than Government officials to be in charge of decidinghow to access critical information. The Government Printing Office andthe Office of the Federal Register accomplished a minor miracle inwarp-speed time.”
“I want to congratulate GPO employees who worked with The White Houseand the Office of Federal Register in providing the American people thetools to provide openness and transparency to the documents of ourdemocracy,” said Public Printer Bob Tapella. “GPO’s Federal DigitalSystem not only provides transparency to our Government, but providesAmericans a permanent repository of authentic Federal Governmentinformation.”
The Office of the Federal Register, within the National Archives andRecords Administration, publishes seven major publications containingthe official text of Federal laws, Presidential documents,administrative regulations, public notices, and the descriptions ofFederal organizations, programs and activities. Its premierpublications are the daily Federal Register and the 226-volume Code ofFederal Regulations.