GPO Access

Training Booklet

A Service of the Government Printing Office 

GPO Publication 500.8 June 1998 

Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services

GPO Access

Training Booklet

A Service of the Government Printing Office

June 1998

G P O Access Training Booklet

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Table of Contents

P r e f a c e

Chapter 1: What is G P O A c c e s s?

History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Objectives/Components of GPO Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3

Chapter 2: The G P O Access Web Interface

GPO Access On the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

SuDocs Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-3

What is GPO Access Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

New and Noteworthy Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

The Federal Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-6

Search Databases Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Connect to Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-8

Federal Register Specialized Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..2-9

Search Results Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Saving and Viewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Find Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Find Government Information on GPO Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Find Products for Sale on GPO Access. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Before Moving On Read This. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Training Curriculum and Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

How to Use this Training Booklet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Understanding Search Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

How to Get User Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

How to Obtain GPO Access Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
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Chapter 4: Searching Strategies and Components

Developing Search Criteria

Boolean Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-2

Quotation Marks, Multiple Boolean Operators, and Truncation . . . . . . .4-3

Default Stopword List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-4

Relevance Ranking and Document Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-5

Maximum Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-6

Identification Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-6

Query Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-7

Structural Enhancements/1,000 Point Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-7

Copyright Information and User Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-7

Chapter 5: Searching Databases Online via G P O A c c e s s

Learning the Basics

Federal Register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Code of Federal Regulations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Congressional Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-12

Congressional Record Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-16

Congressional Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-18

History of Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-20

Public Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22 

Chapter 3: Adobe Acrobat Reader

General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Adobe Acrobat Reader Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Adobe Acrobat Reader Pull-down Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Adobe Acrobat Troubleshooting for a Windows Platform. . . . . 3-5

Adobe Acrobat Troubleshooting for a Macintosh Platform . . . . .3-9
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Chapter 5: Searching Databases Online via G P O A c c e s s

Web Applications Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-2

GILS 

Database Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3

What is GILS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-4

GILS General Search Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-5

GILS Fielded Search Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6-6

GILS Customized Search Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Locator Services

Content/General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

Browse Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..6-9

Browse Electronic Titles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11

Catalog of Government Publications (MoCat)

Database Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-12

General Search Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-13

Fielded Search List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-14

Customized Search Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-15

Search Results Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-16

Locate Library Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-17

Locate Library Search Results Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-18

United States Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24

Congressional Calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25

Congressional Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27

GAO Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29

Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32

Chapter 6: Additional World Wide Web Applications
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Appendix

Federal Bulletin Board (FBB)

General Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19

Federal Bulletin Board Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20

File Library Listing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21

File Listing Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21

Complete File Listing Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22

FBB FTP File Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22

Sales Product Catalog

SPC Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-23

SPC Main Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-24

Search Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-25

SuDoc's Order Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-26

Congressional Bills Database Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2

Methods of Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-10

Public Access Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-10

Federal Depository Gateways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-10

World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-11

Access Method Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-12

World Wide Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-12

WAIS Client Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-12

SWAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-13

Access Method Cheat Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-14

File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-15

ASCII Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-15

Portable Document Format (PDF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-16

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-16

TIFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A-16

Chapter 6: Additional World Wide Web Applications (continued)
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Appendix

GPO Access Client Software

Question Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-17

Selecting Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-18

Saving/Viewing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-19

FIND Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-20

Relevance Ranking/Relevance Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-21

Protecting Source Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-21

Maintaining a List of Common Searches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-22

Source File Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-23

User Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-24

Simple WAIS (SWAIS)

Connecting to SWAIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-26

Selecting Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-27

Source Selection Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-27

Source Selection Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-28

Executing a Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-28

Search Result Screen Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-29

Viewing Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-30

Find Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-30

Viewing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-31

Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-31

Retrieving Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-32

Exiting the System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-32

Glossary
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T

o a great extent this book is the result of

feedback we have received from

participants of GPO Access classes held in

the past. The content of this manual is

furnished for informational use only and is

subject to change as enhancements to the

GPO Access service are implemented. 

Before Moving On

Read This...

Training Curriculum and Objectives

✮ Components of GPO Access - Provides a brief history of GPO Access, as

well as a description of GPO Access products and services. 

✮ Adobe Acrobat Reader - Explores the Adobe Acrobat Reader toolbar and

functions used when viewing Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format

(PDF) files. Troubleshooting issues are also addressed. 

✮ Searching Strategies and Components - Outlines searching concepts and

methods that are constant throughout all interfaces, such as stopwords,

boolean operators, identification codes, relevance ranking, etc.

✮ GPO Access Databases - Learn to search the most popular databases

online via GPO Access such as the Code of Federal Regulations, the

Federal Register, the Commerce Business Daily and the Congressional

Record.

✮ Locator Tools - Assists you in locating Government information products

by topic, title, agency, or through an Internet keyword search.

✮ Sales Information - Find out what products are available for sale and place

an order online. You can also locate a bookstore near you, find out about new

products, etc. 

This training booklet was developed by the Government Printing Office's (GPO) Office of

Electronic Information Dissemination Services (EIDS) to be used in conjunction with GPO

Access training classes. This booklet is intended to show you the general and fundamental

capabilities of the GPO Access service. It provides an overview of the GPO Access components

and features so that even if you are a beginner you will be able to utilize all components of the

GPO Access service. The topics covered include:
G P O Access Training Booklet

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N

ote: This booklet covers all methods of access

and interfaces so that no matter how you reach

GPO Access you will find this booklet useful. The

searching strategies and components can be used

across all interfaces. 

Because this booklet covers all methods of access, the searches are constructed

so that no matter which interface you use (Web, SWAIS or a WAIS client) the

search will be correct. As a result, field names are used. Most times, users who

access GPO Access through the Web will be able to use checkboxes to select a

particular field instead of typing in the field name followed by the equal sign (=).

For example, when searching the Federal Register database, typing the search

string: section=contents and date=1/2/98 will give you the same results as

selecting the contents box, typing the term “contents” in the search box and

typing the date of 1/2/98 in the date box. 

How to Get 

User Support

The GPO Access User Support Team is available Monday- Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST

(except for Federal holidays) through the following methods:

E-mail: gpoaccess@gpo.gov

Phone: toll-free 1-888-293-6498 or 1-202-512-1530 (DC area)

Fax: 202-512-1262

How to Use 

this Training Booklet 

This training booklet is divided into several sections, each dealing with

fundamental questions about the GPO Access service such as: What is GPO

Access? How do I access the databases and the different locator services? How do

the different interfaces work? How do I search?, etc.

Understanding

Search Examples
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How to Obtain Copies of GPO Access Materials 

Training Booklet

User Booklet and Helpful Hints

Dial-in

Web/FTP

Dial-in

FTP

Online Databases

SuDocs WWW Site

Access the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) at 202-512-1387. From the Main

Menu select B for G P O A c c e s s; select # 4 GPO A c c e s s WAIS User

Documentation and Helpful Hints; select 1 for User Documentation. The selfexecuting file names are traintxt.exe for the text version and trainpdf.exe for

the Adobe Acrobat PDF version (traintxt.sea or trainpdf.sea for Macintosh).

Access the FBB at fedbbs.access.gpo.gov or point your Web browser to:

http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov. The file is in the HELP directory. The file

00INDEX.txt provides file descriptions.

Access the FBB at 202-512-1387. From the Main Menu select B for GPO

Access; type the number 4 GPO Access WAIS User Documentation & Helpful

Hints; select number 2 for Helpful Hints. The booklet is available in sections or

in its entirety and hints are listed by database name. Files are available in

ASCII and PDF formats.

The User's Booklet and Helpful Hints are available at:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/desc004.html

The Users Booklet is available as a database online via GPO Access and can be

accessed through the Web, WAIS, and SWAIS. Documents are available in

ASCII and PDF formats. The Helpful Hints are available online by searching

for the word hints in each database. 

Access the FBB at fedbbs.access.gpo.gov or point your Web browser to:

http://fedbbs.access.gpo.gov. The file is in the HELP directory. The file

00INDEX.txt provides file descriptions. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

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Introduction

Since its inception, GPO Access has proven to be yet another example of the Government Printing

O ffice's (GPO) commitment to provide access to official Government information by

strengthening and improving the public's ability to access timely information in an efficient

manner. The highly successful launch of GPO Access in June 1994 was the result of an agencywide initiative and commitment to the dissemination of electronic information that was carried

out without the benefit of additional funds from Congress to cover the costs. Through this free

program, users can:

✮ Access and obtain typeset copies of official government documents such as

the Federal Register, Congressional Record, and Congressional bills, the day

of publication, exactly as they appear in print, or search the real-time

Commerce Business Daily database for notices before they appear in the

printed copy;

✮ Locate and research other Government information products by title, topic or

an Internet search; 

✮ Locate Government information products in a Federal Depository Library; or 

✮ Place an electronic order to purchase a paper or electronic product.

Recognizing the various needs and technological capabilities of the public, GPO Access supports

a wide range of information dissemination technologies; from the latest client/server applications

through the Internet to dial-up modem access, including methods compatible with assistive

technologies. Gateway libraries provide convenient off-site access to users, from their homes or

offices. Even those without computers can utilize GPO Access through public access terminals

located at Federal Depository Libraries throughout the country. GPO Access currently averages

over 10 million document retrievals per month, while assisting the GPO, Federal agencies,

Federal Depository Libraries and Congress in carrying out the mission of disseminating official

government information products quickly, efficiently, and inexpensively.

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What is 

GPO Access?
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In 1993, Congress passed Public Law 103-40, amending GPO’s duties to include

provisions for the dissemination of information in electronic format. Under the

GPO Access legislation, the Superintendent of Documents is required to 1)

Maintain an electronic directory of Federal electronic information (the Federal

Pathway Locator Service); 2) Provide a system of online access to the

Congressional Record, Federal Register, and other appropriate publications; 3)

Operate an electronic storage facility for Federal electronic information (the

Storage Facility); and 4) Maintain the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB), already in

existence. Collectively these components are referred to as GPO Access. As a

result, in June 1994, GPO Access was introduced, encouraging and supporting

immediate public access to electronic information products of the United States

Government.

The vast majority of information currently available via GPO A c c e s s i s

information derived from databases used in the printing of Government

publications. For example, in the case of Congressional publications, GPO's

Congressional Printing Management Division receives a requisition from a

Congressional office asking that a specific document be processed for online

access. Internal GPO communications then establishes authorization, priorities,

etc. Subsequent to processing the database for printing, software developed by

Production Services, Graphic Systems Development Division is used to prepare

the data for optimum screen presentation and place it in the form required by

commercially procured server software which indexes the data to facilitate

effective searching via client software and/or World Wide Web browsers. At the

same time PostScript output of GPO's Automated Composition software is

processed by Electronic Photocomposition Division personnel via a network

version of Adobe's Distiller software to produce files in the Adobe Acrobat

Portable Document Format (PDF) which are then programatically associated

with the appropriate online documents. These Production services computerbased operations are all performed on equipment configured and maintained by

personnel of the Electronic Systems Development Division.

In order to assist users in all facets of GPO Access and to monitor user

requirements, the GPO Access User Support Team was developed. This Team

provides the public with a wide range of support for the electronic products and

services available through GPO Access. GPO Access became available to the

public free of charge on December 1, 1995, further enhancing public access to

electronic Government information. Initially, the service was available free to the

public only through the Federal Depository Library Program or directly from

GPO at modest rates designed to recover the incremental cost of dissemination

to registered users.

What is GPO Access ?

History
G P O Access Training Booklet

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Components

Objectives

The objectives of GPO Access are as follows:

✮ Improve access to official Federal Government information in electronic

f o r m a t s .

✮ Provide electronic document delivery and online interactive services

that are well-designed, easy to use, and available to the public without

charge.

✮ Ensure access to a broad spectrum of users with a wide variety of

technical capabilities both directly and through an active partnership

with Federal Depository Libraries. 

✮ Establish and operate an online interactive service that is capable of

rapid expansion to meet the needs of Federal agency publishers and

public users.

✮ Encourage the use of electronic database standards and permit

dissemination of the original document, without rekeying, in print

and/or electronic format.

✮ Utilize a variety of dissemination media and methods, including World

Wide Web (Web), bulletin board services and online interactive search

and retrieval services in order to achieve cost effective information

delivery, that is appropriate to both the type of information being

disseminated and the needs of users of that information.

GPO Access consists of four components:

✮ The Wide Area Information Server (WAIS): Provides full-text search

and retrieval for the Congressional Record, Federal Register, and a

growing number of other databases, through the Web, WAIS client

software, telnet, and dial-in software. 

✮ The Federal Locator Service: Provides a pathway/directory to

Government information, including Government Information Locator

Service (GILS) applications, via the Web and locator tools.

✮ The Federal Bulletin Board: Provides immediate self-service access

to Government information, including thousands of agency files.

✮ The Storage Facility: Provides electronic files, assuring permanent

access of electronic information beyond the short-term use for

producing print products or initial electronic dissemination.

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The 

GPO Access

Web Interface

CBDNet

Code of Federal

Regulations

Congress

Federal Budget

Federal Register

GILS

MOCAT

Sales Products

FDLP

Administration

Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO Access User Support

Team by Internet e-mail at gpoaccess@gpo.gov; by telephone at 1-202-512-1530 or toll

free at 1-888-293-6498 ; by fax at 1-202-512-1262 . 

Welcome to the Superintendent of Documents Home Page and 

GPO Access

A Service of the U.S. Government Printing Office

What Is GPO Access? Search Databases 

New/Noteworthy Products from GPO Find Government Information 

Browse Federal Bulletin Board Files Find Products for Sale by GPO 

Government Information at a Library Near You 
2-2

There are three primary GPO Access interfaces. The type of interface you will

use during this class is the Web interface. The SWAIS and WAIS interfaces are

described in detail in the appendix of this booklet. 

The GPO's Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) home page can be reached

at URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs. The SuDocs home page makes it

easy for you to locate government information by providing quick links to the

most popular databases, to locator tools, to general and specialized search pages

as well as sales and library information.

The links listed on the SuDocs home page are as follows:

What Is GPO Access?

Search Databases 

New/Noteworthy Products from GPO 

Find Government Information 

Browse Federal Bulletin Board Files 

Find Products for Sale by GPO 

Government Information at a Library Near You 

GPO Access on the Web

World Wide Web

N

ote: The layout of the web pages

presented on the following pages has

been modified for this training booklet. As

a result, pages may not exactly match their

online counterpart. 

The site is constantly being enhanced to better satisfy your needs. In fact, many of

the enhancements are a direct result of user feedback. We welcome all suggestions

and comments. In order to help encourage feedback, the following link is provided

at the bottom of every page on our Web site:

Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO

Access User Support Team by Internet email at gpoaccess@gpo.gov
G P O Access Training Booklet

2-3

Welcome to the Superintendent of Documents Home Page and 

GPO Access

A Service of the U.S. Government Printing Office

CBDNet

Code of Federal

Regulations

Congress

Federal Budget

Federal Register

GILS

MOCAT

Sales Products

FDLP

Administration

What Is GPO Access? Search Databases

New/Noteworthy Products from GPO Find Government Information

Browse Federal Bulletin Board Files Find Products for Sale by GPO

Government Information at a Library Near You

Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO Access User

Support Team by Internet e-mail at gpoaccess@gpo.gov ; by telephone at

1-202-512-1530 or toll free at 1-888-293-6498 ; by fax at 1-202-512-1262 . 

January 1, 1998

Below is an illustration of the Superintendent of Documents Home Page. The URL is:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs

C o n venient, quick jumps to

our most popular databases

and applications are listed

here.

Connects you to the GPO

Access FBB, giving you access

to over 4,500 government files.

This link is a good link for new users! It

summarizes and organizes the entire

GPOAccess Service and provides links

to available applications.

Provides links to over 100 databases.

Connects you to the Locator

Tools which help you locate

Federal information by topic,

title, etc.

Provides links to our Sales Product Catalog,

CDRom lists, etc.

Provides Federal Depository

Library information. 

Links to a list of new

print and electronic

products.
2-4

GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic

access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government. The

information provided on this site is the official, published version and the information retrieved

from GPO Access can be used without restriction, unless specifically noted. This free service

is funded by the Federal Depository Library Program and has grown out of Public Law 103-

40, known as the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Enhancement Act of

1993. 

The free services of GPO Access fall within the following categories: 

Government information databases for your online use. 

Individual Federal agency files available for download. 

Tools to assist you in finding Government Information. 

Collections of Government information available for free use at a library near you. 

User Support. 

Government Information Databases

GPO A c c e s s provides free online use of many Federal databases. These databases include the following: 

Popular regulatory materials such as: The Federal Register and The Code of Federal

Regulations.

Critical Congressional products such as: The Congressional Record and Congressional

Bills. 

Important business materials such as: Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet). 

Useful reference tools such as: Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MOCAT), The

Sales Product Catalog (SPC), and The Government Information Locator Service (GILS).

You can use these and the other GPO Access databases in two ways. A general search page

provides the opportunity for searching one or multiple GPO Access databases from a single

page. Specialized search pages allow you to easily perform detailed searches of most GPO

Access databases.

[Back to Top] 

What Is GPO Access?

These links connect you to a

summary or description of

the applications and

services available online via

GPOAccess.

These convenient links connect you to

various databases online via GPO

Access.

Below is an illustration of the What is GPO Access Page. This page is great for novice users because

it highlights each application. The location is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/whatis.html
G P O Access Training Booklet

2-5

[ 1998 ] [ 1997 ] [ 1996 ] [ 1995 ] 

[ 1998 ] 

February 2, 1998, FY 1999 Federal Budget Publications and The 1998 Economic Report of

the President 

January 22, 1998, Biennial Report to Congress on the Status of GPO Access

[ 1997 ] [ Back to Top ] 

December 22, 1997, 1997 Statistical Abstract of the United States 

December 19, 1997, The Final Report of Independent Counsel Curtis Emery von Kann In Re:

Eli J. Segal 

December 4, 1997, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Homepage 

November 26, 1997, The 1996 Supplement to the Annotated Constitution (1992 edition) 

November 24, 1997, Top Selling Products from the Superintendent of Documents from

October 1, 1996 to September 30,m 1997 

November 19, 1997, Survey of Attitudes about GPO Access and the GPO web site 

October 31, 1997, The October 29, 1997 issue of the Unified Agenda is now available online

as part of the 1997 Unified Agenda Database on GPO Access

October 31, 1997, A new interface for searching the Code of Federal Regulations on the

World Wide Web through GPO Access

October 29, 1997, New Clinton-Gore Reinvention Report Focuses on Successful

Government/Business Partnerships 

October 24, 1997, Healthy Heart Handbook for Women 

October 24, 1997, The History of the District of Columbia Air National Guard 

October 20, 1997, National Bankruptcy Review Commission Homepage 

Below is an illustration of the New and Noteworthy from GPO page. It links you to new

information available online. The URL is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/newnote.html

New and Noteworthy from GPO
2-6

The Federal Bulletin Board

Online via GPO Access -- About this system

NEW! Biennial Report to Congress on the Status of GPO Access

Below is an illustration of the Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) page. It provides buttons to the

most popular links as well as a link to the full listing of file libraries. The URL i s :

h t t p : / / f e d b b s . a c c e s s . g p o . g o v /

Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO Access User

Support Team by Internet e-mail at gpoaccess@gpo.gov; by telephone at 

1-202-512-1530 or toll free at 1-888-293-6498; by fax at 1-202-512-1262. 

Page #Index - January 27, 1998 

White House Organizations

Federal Depository Library Information - (includes Shipping

Lists)

View Alphabetical List of All file Libraries

OR Download the User’s Manual

Federal Agency Files

Congressional and Legislative Information

U.S. Supreme Court Opinions (1992-1998 Terms)

GPO Access Information - Source and Help files

Commerce Business Daily - Templates and Help Files
G P O Access Training Booklet

2-7

Below is an illustration of the Search Databases page. The URL is:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dbsearch.html

Find Out More About These Databases

General search page for all databases. 

Perform a simple search of one or more GPO Access databases. 

Specialized search pages for detailed search of individual databases. 

Budget of the United States Government 

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MOCAT) 

Code of Federal Regulations 

Commerce Business Daily 

Congress 

Congressional Bills 

Congressional Directory, 104th and 105th Congresses 

Congressional Documents 

Congressional Pictorial Directory, 105th Congress 

Congressional Record 

Congressional Record Index 

Congressional Reports 

Economic Indicators 

History of Bills 

Miscellaneous House Publications 

Miscellaneous Senate Publications 

Public Laws 

U.S. Code, 1994 edition 

U.S. Constitution, Analysis and Interpretation: 1992 Edition and 1996 Supplement 

Federal Register 

GAO Comptroller General Decisions 

GAO Reports 

Government Information Locator Service (GILS) Records 

Privacy Act Notices 

Sales Product Catalog (SPC) 

Supreme Court Decisions 

U.S. Government Manual 

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

Search Databases Online via GPO Access

Click this link to access

the Generalized Searc h

page which lets you searc h

multiple databases. 

Click this link to access a

database listing which

includes the Helpful Hints

and database content and

file formats. 

Click this link to link to a

Specialized Search Pa g e. If yo u

wish to search across multiple

databases click on the link

“ Pe rform a Simple Search of one or

m o re G P OA c c e s s databases” link

(shown above ) .
2-8

Budget of the US, FY 1999

Budget of the US, FY 1998

Budget of the US, FY 1997

Campaign Reform Hearing

Congressional Bills, 103d Congress (1993-1994)

Congressional Bills, 104th Congress (1995- 1996)

Congressional Bills, 105th Congress(1997- 1998)

Congressional Directory 105th Congress

Congressional Documents, 104th 

40

Menu of available

databases.

Highlight the

database(s) you

wish to search. 

SUBMIT CLEAR

General search directions are provided.

Enter keywords here.

Click on submit button to initiate search.

Click on clear button to clear search box. 

If you click on the on the Connect to Databases Online link you will connect to the page

shown below. The URL is http://www.access.gpo.gov/aces/aaces002.html

List and Description of Databases Access Methods for Online Databases

Specialized Search Pages

Connect to Databases Online via GPO Access

Because the content of each database is unique, the databases on the Specialized Search Pages allow you to

perform fielded searches to help make the search more specific. These fields make it possible to perform more

advanced functions, such as limiting results by date or by section of the Federal Register or Congressional Record,

for example, but are tailored to the individual databases. 

Select databases and enter searches below. Access is also available through Federal Depository Library Gateways

or on-site at a Federal Depository Library. Helpful Hints provide instructions for searching the databases.

Food and Drug Administration Nicotine Regulation Pages

For simple searches select one OR MORE databases from the list below:

Enter search terms in the space below. Phrases must be in quotation marks (""). The operators ADJ (adjacent),

AND, OR and NOT can be used, but must be capital letters. For example: "environmental protection agency" AND

superfund. Word roots can be searched using an asterisk ( * ) following the word stem. For example: legislat* will

retrieve both legislation and legislative. Additional instructions and examples.

Maximum Records Returned: Default is 40. Maximum is 350.

Search Terms:
G P O Access Training Booklet

2-9

Database for the 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 Federal Register

(Volumes 60, 61, 62 and 63)

The Federal Register is the official publication for Presidential Documents and Executive Orders as well as

Notices, Rules and Proposed Rules from Federal Agencies and Organizations. Helpful Hints provide instructions

for searching the database.

Federal Register Volume:

1998 Federal Register 1997 Federal Register 

1996 Federal Register 1995 Federal Register

Federal Register S e c t i o n s (If you select none, all sections will be searched, but you may select one or more sections):

Contents and Preliminary Pages Presidential Documents

Final Rules and Regulations Sunshine Act Meetings*

Proposed Rules Reader Aids

Notices Corrections

Issue Date (Enter either a range of dates or a specific date in the format mm/dd/yy):

Date Range: From to 

OR

ON BEFORE AFTER 

Search Terms: 

Maximum Records Returned: Default is 40. Maximum is 350

Enter search terms in the space above. Phrases must be in quotation marks (" "). The operators ADJ (adjacent), AND, OR and

N O T can be used, but m u s t be in capital letters. For example: "environmental protection agency" A N D superfund. Word roots

can be searched using an asterisk ( * ) following the word stem. For example: re g u l a t * will retrieve both regulation and regulate.

Additional instructions and examples

Browse the Table of Contents of the current issue of the Federal Register ASCII PDF

Cancellation of Legislative Items Pursuant to Line ItemVeto A c t (as published in the Federal Register)

To search the Unified Agenda, return to the list of databases available for simple searches.

Federal Register

Online via GPO Access

Below is an example of the Federal Register Specialized Searching Page. This page allows you to check boxes

to limit your search to a particular section of the FR and/or use a date or date range when developing your

search criteria. TheURL is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html

You can choose which

FR database(s) to

search.

Check boxes allow

you to limit search

by section name.

SUBMIT CLEAR Click on submit button to initiate search.

Click on clear button to clear search box. 

40 Set the no. of docs.

to be retrieved. 

The Table of Contents for

the current day is available

through these links.

Code of

Federal

Regulations

Federal

Register

Privacy Act

Issuances

Public

Laws

US

Government

Manual

Weekly

Compilation of

Presidential

Documents

U.S.

Congress

Information

GPO Access

Search

Page

Date boxes and radio buttons

allow you to limit your search

using date(s) or date ranges.
G P O Access Training Booklet

N

ote: You cannot bookmark a

Search Results Page

because the data or results

change daily. You can bookmark

the Searching Page where you

enter your search criteria.

Federal Register Search Results

Search Database: 

Federal Register,Volume 63 (1998)

For: "section=contents AND date=3/17/98"

Total Hits: 4

[1]

fr17my98C Contents 

Size: 3190 , Score: 678 , TEXT , PDF , SUMMARY

Once a search has been completed, the Search Results Page will appear. The Search Results

list consists of the score, size of the text document, the identification code and the truncated

title. The following is an example of a portion of a Search Results entry via GPO Access. 

Displays the database(s) searched. 

Search string is displayed here.

The total number of documents retrieved appears here.

The identification code is displayed first in

the search results followed by the title.

You are given several different formats to

choose from.

The size of

the ASCII

text file is

shown.

The Score shows how relevant this document is to the search criteria. 

2-10
G P O Access Training Booklet

2-11

To save a document via the World Wide Web, click on the format you wish to

download (TIFF, PDF, etc.). Once the document is listed to your screen, you can

view or print the document. However, you can save a document from the search

results page without viewing it. The manner in which you save the document

depends on the browser you are using. For example, if you are using Netscape

click on the link for the document you wish to access and choose the "Save This

Link As" option. You will then be prompted to designate where you want to save

the document.

N

ote: The document will be saved in the

format you specify. For example, if you

click on the PDF format button while holding

the control key the document will be saved in

PDF format. However, you will need to name

the file accordingly, using the .pdf extension. 

Saving/Viewing a Document

Find Command

Most Web browsers have an icon which will allow you to find a specific word or

phrase in a document you are viewing. For example, in Netscape, the binocular

icon enables you to search the text of the document. To find a particular word in

a document using Netscape:

✮ Click the binocular icon.

✮ Type in the word(s) to be searched. 

✮ Click the Find Next button.
Find Government Information on GPO Access

and

Other Federal Internet Sites

2-12

This Locator Services page allows you to find official Government information in various

ways including by topic, title, or through an Internet search. The URL for this page is:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/locate.html

Find Out More About These Tools

Search Databases Online via GPO Access

Search a Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MOCAT) 

Search and Order From Sales Product Catalog (SPC) 

Search the Government Information Locator Service (GILS) 

List of Federal Agency Internet Sites 

Browse Government Internet Sites by Topic 

Browse Electronic Government Information Products by Title 

Search for Government Information on Selected Internet Sites (Pathway Indexer) 

Core Documents of U.S. Democracy 

Find a Depository Library in Your Area 

New/Noteworthy from GPO 

Obtain Information on Demand from U.S. Fax Watch 

Federal Web Sites Hosted by GPO Access 
G P O Access Training Booklet

2-13

Customers can now search and browse for Government information products available for sale

through GPO. You can place orders online, via fax, mail, or telephone, or you

can purchase products on-site at a local U.S. Government Bookstore.

Search and Order From Sales Product Catalog (SPC) 

New Product Announcements 

Browse Government Information Products for Sale by Topic 

Browse a Catalog of Available Subscriptions 

Browse a List of CD-ROMs Available for Purchase 

U.S. Government Bookstore Locations and Hours 

The Consumer Information Center (Pueblo, CO) 

Obtain Lists of Sales Products on Demand from U.S. Fax Watch 

This page assists you in purchasing products from the Superintendent of Documents. It

provides various links which allow you to search the Sales Product Catalog, look at new

product announcements, find a bookstore in your area, etc. The URL for this page is:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/sale.html

Find Products for Sale By GPO

G P O Access Training Booklet

3-1

C

H

A

P

T

E

R 3

The Adobe

Acrobat

Reader
Adobe Acrobat Reader

The Adobe Acrobat Reader is software from Adobe Systems Incorporated that allows you to

access the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files online via GPO Access.

Adobe’s Acrobat software is very useful for sharing typeset documents between users. The

software essentially takes a snapshot of a document, preserving fonts, spacing, and images.

Unlike scanned image files, PDF files support search, copy and paste functions. PDF documents

may be viewed and printed on any machine equipped with the Adobe Acrobat Reader and a

printer.

N

ote: You can download the Adobe Acrobat

Reader for free from http://www.adobe.com.

You will need to configure the Reader when

using the GPO Access WAIS client and/or a

Web browser after installation. 

The Acrobat Reader is a free application which is available from many sites, including the Federal

Bulletin Board and the GPO Web site. The Acrobat Reader is available for DOS, Windows,

UNIX, and Macintosh machines. The following is an overview of the Adobe Acrobat Reader

Toolbar. Additional information on the Adobe Acrobat Reader is located in the HELP file of your

Adobe Acrobat Reader Software.

3-2

Page Only - Use this tool to close the overview area of the window.

Bookmarks and Page - Use this tool to open the overview area and display

bookmarks created for the document. Click a bookmark's name

to go to the location marked by that bookmark. 

The tool bar contains tools for selecting and viewing documents. Select a tool by clicking the

tool icon. To hide or show the toolbar, choose Hide Toolbar or Show Toolbar from the Window

Menu.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Toolbar
H

INT: If you want to select one column of text in a

document click the ABC button in the toolbar;

place your cursor at the beginning of the text you

wish to copy; hold down your mouse key and the

control key at the same time (mouse key and the

option key for Macintosh users) and block the text

you wish to select. A box will appear around the

selected text. Once you have blocked all the text,

release your mouse and control keys (the text should

now be highlighted/selected). At this point, you can

copy this text using the Edit pull-down menu and

import/paste it into another application.

G P O Access Training Booklet

3-3

Previous/Next Page - Use this tool to move the document backward or

forward, one page at a time.

First/Last Page - Use this tool to move the document to the first or last page

of a document. 

Go Back/Go Forward - Use this tool to retrace your steps in a document,

moving to each view in the order visited. Go Back also returns you

to the original document after you click a link to another

document.

Actual Size - Use this button to display the page at 100%.

Thumbnails Page - Use this to open the overview area and display thumbnail

images of each document page. Click a thumbnail to go to the

page marked by that thumbnail. 

Hand Tool - Use this tool to move a document page on-screen when it does not

fit within the window. Drag the hand tool in the direction you

want to move the page. 

Zoom Tools - These tools are used to magnify and reduce the page display by a

factor of 2. 

Text Tool - Use this tool to select text in a document, which can then be

copied to the clipboard by using the Copy command. Choose

Select Graphics from the Tools menu to select graphics in a

document. 
3-4

Fit Page - Use this tool to scale the page to fit within the window.

Fit Width - Use this tool to scale the page to fill the width of the window.

Pressing the button and the Control (Windows) or option (MAC) key fills

the window with only the visible text and graphics on the page.

Find - Use this tool to search for part of a word, a complete word, or multiple

words in a document.

Web Browser - Use this tool to start your Web browser. If your Web browser is

already running, it becomes the active application. If the Web Browser

button does not appear in the toolbar, make sure you have the Weblink

plug-in installed and that the Show Toolbar Button option in the Weblink

Preferences dialog box is selected. (To see the Show Toolbar Button

option, choose Edit>Preferences>Weblink.)

There are five pull-down menus in the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Many of

the functions featured in these menus are included in the toolbar.

✮ The FILE pull-down menu permits you to open, close,

save, and print your document. 

✮ The EDIT pull-down menu allows you to copy, paste

and set general preferences. 

✮ The VIEW pull-down menu allows you to move

throughout the document.

✮ The TOOLS pull-down menu allows you to move,

magnify and demagnify the document on the screen as

well as select text and find information in the

document, etc.

✮ The WINDOW pull-down menu allows you view the

document(s) in various positions on the screen. 

✮ The H E L P pull-down menu serves as a ready

reference if you need additional application

information. 

This figure represents the EDIT pulldown menu of the Reader.

Pull-down

Menus
Adobe Acrobat Reader FAQ’s 

and Troubleshooting (For Windows)

The following are some frequently asked questions cited on the Adobe’s Home Page.

1. What Does Acrobat Reader Do?

Acrobat Reader enables you to open and print Portable Document Format (PDF) files. PDF files

can be created from almost any software, while maintaining the look and feel of the source file. 

2. Unable to Install Shared Copy of Reader

While you can install Reader 3.0 onto an internal or external hard disk, you cannot install a

shared copy of Reader onto a network drive for use by multiple users. To use Reader from a

network, install it onto each user's workstation or into each user's directory in a shared

installation of Windows. 

3. Unable to Download Reader from the Web 

Reader for Windows is available for download from Adobe's Web site (http://www.adobe.com)

compressed in a Winzip, self-extracting *.exe file format. You do not need Winzip to

decompress the file. Downloading instructions are also available on Adobe's Web site.

If you have problems downloading Reader from the Adobe Web site, do one or more of the

following: 

A. If you are connected to the Internet using a standard phone line, disable call waiting and check

the line for clarity to make sure voice communication is free of noise and static.

B. Download Reader when there is less activity on the Internet (e.g., late in the evening, early in

the morning). 

C. Download Reader from an alternative site:

- CompuServe: Go ADOBEAPP; Browse Libraries

- ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobat reader/

- Reader mirror sites at (http://www.ambia.com) and (http://www.emerge.pdfzone.com)

D. Download a file from another site to make sure you have a good connection to the Internet.

E. Contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for assistance with your internet software.

F. Order the Acrobat Reader 3.0 CD-ROM from Adobe Customer Services at 800-642-3623.

G P O Access Training Booklet

3-5
3-6

4. Errors Occur During Installation

Installed device drivers can prevent Reader from installing successfully. Disabling drivers before

installing may enable you to install Reader without error.

To disable drivers in Windows 95, restart Windows in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key when

the message, "Starting Windows 95..." appears, and selecting Safe Mode from the startup menu.

If you're installing Reader from a CD-ROM, copy the Reader setup files to your hard disk before

restarting Windows in Safe Mode. 

To disable installed device drivers in Windows 3.1x, restart the computer using a bootable floppy

disk. If you're installing Reader from a CD-ROM, copy the Reader setup files to your hard disk

before restarting the computer.

5. Using Reader with Netscape Navigator

Use Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later, which supports all Reader 3.0 features, to view PDF files

inside the browser window. Although you can use Reader 3.0 with Navigator 2.0, it does not

support all Reader 3.0 features (e.g., PDF forms). 

During installation, Reader 3.0 installs the Nppdf32.dll file (Windows 95 or Windows NT), or

the Nppdf16.dll file (Windows 3.1x), into the Netscape Navigator plug-ins folder. These files

enable Reader 3.0 to display PDF files in the Navigator browser window, instead of opening a

separate Reader window. You do not need to set up Navigator 3.0 to recognize Reader 3.0 as a

helper application. If you have multiple versions of Navigator installed, make sure the

appropriate plug-in file (i.e., Nppdf32.dll or Nppdf16.dll) is installed in the plug-ins folder for

the version of Navigator you'll be using. If you open a PDF file from within Navigator, but

Reader opens a separate window outside the Navigator window, do one or more of the following:

A. Use Navigator 3.0 or later.

B. Delete Reader from the Helpers pane in Netscape Navigator's Preferences dialog box:

1. In Navigator, choose Options > General Preferences.

2. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Helper tab.

3. Select "application/pdf" from the File Type list.

4. Select Unknown: Prompt User in the Action section, then click OK.

5. Repeat step 4 for all other PDF extensions listed in Extensions.

6. Restart Navigator.

If you don't want Reader to display a particular PDF file automatically in the Navigator browser

window (e.g., if you want to use Acrobat's Find option in the PDF), save the PDF file to your

hard disk, open Reader, then use Reader's Open command to open the file. To permanently

prevent Reader 3.0 from displaying PDF files in the Navigator browser window, remove the

appropriate plug-in file (i.e., Nppdf32.dll or Nppdf16.dll) from the plug-ins folder for the version

of Navigator you're using, then set up Reader as a helper application in Navigator. For more

information, see document 4459.
G P O Access Training Booklet

3-7

6. Reader's Find and Copy Options Aren't Available When You Open a PDF

File in a Web Browser

Reader and Exchange do not enable you to search for or copy text from a PDF file opened within

a Web browser window. To search for or copy text from a PDF file, save the PDF file to your

hard disk, then open it directly in Reader or Exchange. If you configure your viewer as a helper

application within the web browser, you can find and copy text. For more information, see the

"Using Reader with Netscape Navigator" section of this document.

7. Can't Print Odd or Even Pages, Tiled Pages, or Selected Views

Reader and Exchange cannot print odd- or even-only pages, tiled pages, or selected views.

However, the Ambia Arial plug-in for Windows, from Ambia Corporation (www.ambia.com),

enables you to tile pages from Exchange. 

8. Adobe's PostScript Fax Printer D r i v e r Is Not on the A c robat 3.0 CD-ROM

The ReadMe file, located in the Drivers folder on the Acrobat 3.0 CD-ROM, incorrectly states that

Adobe Systems has a PostScript fax printer driver for printers that support the PostScript Fax feature. 

9. Windows 95 Restarts When You Start Reader

If Reader is incompatible with an installed device driver (e.g., video driver) or application on

your hard disk, Windows 95 may restart when you start Reader. If Windows 95 restarts when you

start Reader, uninstall the Reader from your hard disk; restart Windows 95 in Safe Mode by

pressing the F8 key when the message, "Starting Windows 95..." appears, and selecting Safe

Mode from the startup menu; then reinstall Reader. Starting Windows 95 in Safe Mode disables

most device drivers that can interfere with installation. If you're installing Reader from a CDROM, copy the Reader setup files to your hard disk before restarting Windows in Safe Mode. 

To uninstall Reader, choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, open the Add/Remove Programs

Control Panel, select Reader in the Install/Uninstall pane, then click Add/Remove. If Windows

95 restarts after you uninstall and reinstall Reader, the installer you're using may be damaged.

Download another copy of Reader from Adobe's Web site or order the Reader CD-ROM from

Adobe Customer Services.
10. Error "Out of Memory" When Printing a PDF from Reader to a 

Non-PostScript Printer

When printing a PDF file from Reader in Windows to a non-PostScript printer, Windows returns

the error, "Out of memory," and the PDF file does not print. This error may occur when you're

printing with an outdated printer driver or when there are insufficient system resources. If you

receive an "Out of Memory" error when printing from Reader, do one or more of the following:

A. Verify that you are using the most current printer driver available for your printer. Contact the

printer manufacturer for more information.

B. Reduce the memory required to print the file by limiting the substitution fonts to one font instead

of two fonts: 

1. Open Acrobat Reader and choose File > Preferences > General.

2. From the Substitution Fonts pop-up menu, select either Sans or Serif. Then click OK to close

the Preferences dialog box. 

C. Print at a lower resolution.

11. Error "Not enough free disk space" 

When Installing The error, "Not enough free disk space to continue installation" can occur during

installation when the installer is unable to access the temp directory specified by the "Set temp="

line in the Autoexec.bat file, or when there is not enough hard disk space on the drive onto which

you're installing Reader. Do one or more of the following:

A. Install Reader on a hard disk that has a minimum of 8 MB of available disk space (16 MB of

available disk space if you are running Windows NT).

B. Make sure the "Set temp=" line in the Autoexec.bat file points to a valid drive and directory: 

1. Open the Autoexec.bat file in a text editor that can save in text-only format (e.g., Windows

Write, Notepad). 

2. Locate the "Set temp=" line and verify that the drive and directory following the equal sign are

valid. If the "Set temp=" line points to an invalid drive or directory, edit the line so that it points

to a valid drive and directory.

3. Save the Autoexec.bat file in text-only format.

4. Restart the computer.

C. Make sure you have write access to the drive containing the temp directory.

3-8
Adobe Acrobat Reader FAQ’s 

and Troubleshooting (For Macintosh)

1. What Does Acrobat Reader Do?

Acrobat Reader enables you to open and print Portable Document Format (PDF) files. PDF files

can be created from almost any software, while maintaining the look and feel of the source file. 

2. Unable to Install Shared Copy of Reader

While you can install Reader 3.0 onto an internal or external hard disk, you cannot install a

shared copy of Reader onto a network drive for use by multiple users. To use Reader from a

network, install it onto each user's workstation or into each user's directory in a shared

installation of Windows. 

3. Unable to Download Reader from the Web 

Reader for Macintosh is available for download from Adobe's Web site (http://www.adobe.com)

compressed in both BIN and HQX formats. You need Aladdin Systems Stuffit Expander to

decompress *.bin and *.hqx files. The Adobe Web site includes a link to the Aladdin Systems

Web site from which you can download Stuffit Expander. Downloading instructions are also

available on Adobe's Web site. If you have problems downloading Reader from the Adobe Web

site, do one or more of the following: 

A. If you are connected to the Internet using a standard phone line, disable call waiting and check

the line for clarity to make sure voice communication is free of noise and static.

B. Download Reader when there is less activity on the Internet (e.g., late in the evening, early in the

morning). 

C. Download Reader from an alternative site:

- CompuServe: Go ADOBEAPP; Browse Libraries

- ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/acrobat reader/

- Reader mirror sites at(http://www.ambia.com/adobe/index.htm) 

D. Download a file from another site to make sure you have a good connection to the Internet.

E. Contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) for assistance with your internet software.

F. Order the Acrobat Reader 3.0 CD-ROM from Adobe Customer Services at 800-642-3623. 

4. Errors Occur During Installation

Installed extensions can prevent Reader from installing successfully. Disabling extensions

before installing may enable you to install Reader without error. To disable extensions on the

Macintosh, restart with the Shift key held down until the message, "Welcome to Macintosh.

Extensions off." appears, or use an extensions manager. If you're installing from a CD-ROM,

use an extensions manager to disable all extensions except your CD-ROM driver(s), or copy

the Reader installation files to your hard disk before disabling all your extensions. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

3-9
5. Using Reader with Netscape Navigator

Use Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later, which supports all Reader 3.0 features, to view PDF files

inside the browser window. Although you can use Reader 3.0 with Navigator 2.0, it does not

support all Reader 3.0 features (e.g., PDF forms). A system error may occur when printing PDF

files from Reader 3.0 opened within Navigator 2.0. During installation, Reader 3.0 installs the

PDFViewer file in the Netscape Navigator plug-ins folder. This file enables Reader3.0 to display

PDF files in the Navigator browser window, instead of opening a separate Reader window. You

do not need to set up Navigator 3.0 to recognize Reader 3.0 as a helper application. If you have

multiple versions of Navigator installed, make sure the PDF Viewer plug-in file is installed in

the plug-ins folder for the version of Navigator you'll be using. If you open a PDF file from

within Navigator, but Reader opens a separate window outside the Navigator window, do one or

more of the following:

A. Use Navigator 3.0 or later.

B. Delete Reader from the Helpers pane in Netscape Navigator's Preferences dialog

box:

1. In Navigator, choose Options > General Preferences.

2. In the Preferences dialog box, click the Helper tab.

3. Select "application/pdf" from the Description list, then press Delete.

4. Select Reader from the Handled By list, then press Delete.

5. Restart Navigator.

If you don't want Reader to display a particular PDF file automatically in the Navigator browser

window (e.g., if you want to use Acrobat's Find option in the PDF), save the PDF file to your

hard disk, open Reader, then use Reader's Open command to open the file. To permanently

prevent Reader 3.0 from displaying PDF files in the Navigator browser window, remove the

PDFViewer plug-in file from the plug-ins folder for the version of Navigator you're using, then

set up Reader as a helper application in Navigator.

6. Reader's Find & Copy Options Aren't Available When You Open a PDF

File in a Web Browser

Reader and Exchange do not enable you to search for or copy text from a PDF file opened within

a Web browser window. To search for or copy text from a PDF file, save the PDF file to your

hard disk, then open it directly in Reader or Exchange. If you configure your viewer as a helper

application within the web browser you can find and copy text. For more information, see the

"Using Reader with Netscape Navigator" section of this document.

7. Can't Print Odd or Even Pages, Tiled Pages, or Selected Views

Reader and Exchange cannot print odd- or even-only pages, tiled pages, or selected views. 

3-10
8. Adobe's PostScript Fax Printer Driver Is Not Located on the Acrobat 3.0

CD-ROM

The ReadMe file, located in the Drivers folder on the Acrobat 3.0 CD-ROM incorrectly states

that Adobe Systems has a PostScript fax printer driver for printers that support the PostScript

Fax feature. 

9. System Error When you Choose File > Open in Reader

Reader quits and returns a system error (e.g., freeze) or a "Type 1" or "Type 88" error when you

choose File > Open in System 7.5.3 or later. The error occurs when Documents Folder is selected

in the Documents section of the General Controls control panel. To deselect Documents Folder:

1. Open the General Controls control panel.

2. Select the Folder That Is Set by the Application option or the Last Folder Used in the Application

option in the Documents section.

3. Close the control panel.

10. Error "Type 11" When Clicking Setup in Chooser After Installing

Reader

The Reader installer installs Adobe Type Manager (ATM) 4.0 Lite. If both ATM Lite and Apple

LaserWriter 8.4.x are installed, the system will return the error, "Type 11" when you select the

Apple LaserWriter 8.4.x printer driver and click Setup in the Chooser. NOTE: System 7.6

automatically installs LaserWriter 8.4.2. 

To prevent the error:

Use the Apple LaserWriter 8.3.x printer driver or Adobe's PSPrinter 8.3.x printer driver. Adobe's

PSPrinter 8.3.1 printer driver is included on the Acrobat 3.0 CD-ROM. To install the driver,

double-click the Installer file, located in the Drivers folder. NOTE: Do not double-click the

PSPrinter Install file. OR: Upgrade to ATM 4.0 Deluxe.option, then click OK. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

3-11

G P O Access Training Booklet

4-1

C

H

A

P

T

E

R 4

Searching

Strategies &

Components
N

ote: These words must be capitalized when using the

SWAIS or WAIS client or they are considered

stopwords and as a result are treated as the default OR. A

search for lyme and disease will be treated as if it had

been entered as lyme and/or disease. These operators do

NOT have to be capitalized when searching via the Web.

4-2

OR

AND

NOT

ADJ

The following text provides information on searching the GPO A c c e s s WA I S

databases, and supplies searching information which includes boolean operators,

basic search procedures, sample searches, stopwords, and search results. 

Developing Search Criteria

Boolean Operators

The boolean operators, OR, AND, NOT, and ADJ aid in establishing logical

relationships between concepts expressed in a natural language query. The

boolean operators are used to make searches more specific.

The OR boolean operator is the default operator for the WAIS service. It is

often used to join two different phrases of a boolean search. A question such

as transportation OR highway results in documents containing either the word

transportation, or the word highway, or both. The relevance ranking feature

will give a higher ranking to documents containing all the requested words, but

all documents containing any of the words will be retrieved.

The AND operator is helpful in restricting a search when a particular pair of

terms is known. For instance, a query such as weather AND aviation returns

only those documents that contain both words. 

The NOT operator is used to reject any documents that contain certain words.

For instance, the question education NOT secondary results in documents

containing the word education that do not contain the word secondary.

The adjacent operator ADJ is used to ensure that one word is followed by

another in the returned document. For example, the search lead ADJ paint

returns documents with the phrase “lead paint” or documents with the words

“lead” and “paint” within 20 characters after lead. Note: the WAIS server will

not change word order.
N

ote: The ADJ operator retrieves not only

documents where the words are immediately

adjacent, but also those where the words are

separated by up to 20 characters. For example, the

search lead ADJ paint (“lead paint”) results in

documents with the phrase "lead paint" or the words

"lead-based paint". The documents with the exact

phrase “lead paint” will be assigned a higher relevance

ranking than those with the phrase “lead-based paint”.

Quotation marks can be used instead of the boolean operator ADJ when

developing a phrase for the search criteria. For example, you can type

“Government Printing Office” instead of Government ADJ Printing ADJ Office.

(The boolean operator ADJ is still functional if preferred.) 

You can use quotation marks in combination with boolean language. Complex

queries can be constructed using multiple boolean operators. For clarity,

parentheses should be used to group sections of the query and ensure that the

WAIS server parses the query as intended; for example: “Department of

Education” AND (“bilingual education” OR “foreign language”) AND (Grants OR

“cooperative agreements”). 

Without parentheses, the WAIS server will first process the phrases, then the AND

operators and then the OR operators, resulting in a query that would read as

follows:(“Department of Education” AND “bilingual education”) OR (“foreign

language” AND grants) OR “cooperative agreements”. A test of these searches in

the Federal Register database in June 1995, retrieved 39 documents from the first

search and 399 from the second search. In this instance, the relevance ranking

feature assigned the highest ranking to the same two documents from each search

since they contain all of the requested phrases. However, it is best not to rely on

the relevance ranking to interpret the intent of a query.

G P O Access Training Booklet

4-3

Quotation Marks and Multiple Boolean Operators

Truncation

The asterisk (* can be used to truncate words. This function can only be used to

find alternative suffixes of words - not prefixes. For example, searching for the

string librar* will find documents with the word(s) library, library’s, librarian,

libraries, etc. 
4-4

all

also

an

and

any

are

as

at

be

because

been

could

did

do

does

e.g.

ever

from

had

hardly

has

have

having

hence

her

here

hereby

herein

hereof

hereon

hereto

herewith

him

his

however

i.e. 

into

is

it

its

me 

not 

of 

on 

or 

our 

nor 

she 

really

should 

so 

some 

such 

than

that

the

their

them

then

there

thereby

therefore

therein

thereof

therewith

these

they

this

those

thus

to

too

unto

us

very

viz.

was

we

were

what

where

when

whereby

whether

which

who

whom

whose

why

with

would

you

Default Stopword List

The following words make up the “default stopword list” used on the databases available

through GPO Access. Stopwords are words which occur so frequently that they are not

useful for distinguishing one document from another. Since they aren’t useful for searching,

they are not indexed. Stopwords that are included in queries are ignored, so a search for

“department of education” will retrieve the same results as a search for “department

education” or department ADJ education.
N

ote: As a general rule, the score of documents

should decrease gradually. Usually results with a

score under 500 are not extremely relevant to your

search criteria. As a result, you may wish to ignore

these results unless you are not exactly sure of the

terminology (i.e. "lead paint" vs. "lead-based paint").

G P O Access Training Booklet

4-5

Word

Weight

Term

Weight

Phrase

Matching

Proximity

R e l a t i o n s h i p

Word

Density

Relevance Ranking and Document Score

The WAIS server automatically displays the results from each search using relevance

ranking. The most relevant document will appear first with a rank of 1,000. The least

relevant will appear with a score of 1. The decrease in the score should be gradual unless

you are not sure of the exact terminology. Relevance is computed based on the

following: 

A higher weight is assigned to a document containing the identical

phrase in the query. For example, if you were searching for " lead

paint", documents with the phrase "lead paint" would have a higher

relevance ranking than documents with the phrase "lead-based paint".

Term weight is based on the frequency of occurrence of a word over

all documents in the database. Words that occur frequently throughout

the database are not weighted as highly as the words that appear less

frequently. Very common words are either ignored or devalued in the

scoring. 

Word weight depends on where the word is found in the document. A

word is rated highest if it appears in the headline/title, unless the word

appears in all capital letters or if the first letter of the word is

capitalized. A word has the least weight if it appears only in the text

of a document. 

The ratio of the frequency at which a queried word appears in a

document to the size of the document. For this reason, it is very

important to look at the size of the file when comparing the relevance

ranking of documents.

Words in a query that are located close together in a document are

given a higher weight than those found farther apart. Remember the

use of quotation marks and/or the ADJ boolean operator will retrieve

documents which not only have the words next to each other but those

that are within 20 characters as well. For example searching for the

phrase “lead paint” will return documents with the phrases, “lead

paint”and “lead-based paint”, and “lead-based type paint”.
U

sually these ID codes are NOT

terms residing in the actual text of

the document and as a result are not

searchable. 

4-6

The default settings for SWAIS and for the WAIS and Web client software is

to return 40 responses to a query. The number of documents to be retrieved

can be changed up to a maximum of 350. However, the higher the number of

documents to be retrieved, the longer it will take to get search results. To

locate a larger number of documents, you will need to change the setting. On

the GPO Access Web Searching Pages a box is provided in which you may

change the number of documents returned.

The WAIS server generates an identification code which is unique to each

database in the Search Results List. The identification code's purpose is

merely to identify the database. Identification codes are especially useful

when searching multiple databases, however, even with a single database

search, the identification code assists the user in differentiating between dates

and segments of the database.

Since the WAIS server ranks the documents by relevance, rather than in

chronological order (or reverse chronological order), the ID code allows you

to differentiate between documents easily.

Identification codes from three GPO Access databases follow.

✮ Federal Register - fr02fe98N 

In this example, fr stands for Federal Register, 02fe96 stands for the date

of February 2, 1998 and N stands for the Notices Section.

✮ Congressional Record - cr31ja98H 

In this example, cr stands for the Congressional Record, 31ja98 stands for

the date of January 31, 1998 and H stands for House pages.

✮ Congressional Bills - S. 1578 (is) 

In this example, S. 1578 is the bill number and (is) stands for "Introduced

in Senate". 

Maximum Responses

Identification Codes
T

he notices placed online noting system

changes and enhancements will not

affect your search. As a result two

documents with a score of 1,000 will

appear.

G P O Access Training Booklet

4-7

The system may be taken off-line periodically for upgrades and structural

enhancements. When re-indexing occurs in a database, you will receive an online

message in the search results list in the form of a 1,000 point hit, stating which

database is affected and the approximate time it will be back online. These

messages are also used to announce new databases, applications and features.

Some are also permanent catalogs. They will always appear as the first document

in the search results list. 

Query Report

Structural Enhancements/1,000 Point Document

Copyright Information and User Accountability

Each Search Results List includes as the final document a “Query Report” with a

score of 1 at the end of the results list. This document can be viewed to determine

how a query was parsed, the speed of the retrieval, the number of words in the

database that conformed to the search request, the total number of relevant

documents identified, and the fields in the database.

Neither the Government Printing Office nor the United States Government will be

held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of

the data and information offered through the GPO Access WAIS system. In

general, information provided online via GPO A c c e s s is uncopyrighted

Government information and there are no restrictions on the republication or other

reproduction of the material. When copyrighted material appears in any of the

databases a copyright statement will appear in the specific document, and will

apply only to the copyrighted material. 

The GPO Access Service is intended for research and reference purposes ONLY.

It supports searches resulting in the identification and retrieval of individual

documents. The service is NOT intended for wholesale or systematic

downloading. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-1

C

H

A

P

T

E

R 5

Searching

Databases Online

via GPO Access
N

ote: The Unified Agenda, also known as

the Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda, is

published in the Federal Register twice a

year. It is available as a separate database

online via GPO Access.

N

ote: Because the content of each

database is unique, some databases allow

you to perform fielded searches to help make

the search more specific. 

5-2

Content 

Federal Register

Learning the Basics

All of the databases available online via G P O A c c e s s have been constructed

in a similar fashion and utilize the same searching concepts. As a result,

you can employ the same searching techniques for all of the databases.

This chapter is broken down into sections which contain the most

commonly performed searches from our most popular databases. T h e s e

searches will teach you the fundamentals of searching via G P O A c c e s s.

There are many ways to search for the same information, however, we have

found the following searches are the most consistent and eff e c t i v e .

The Federal Register is published by the Office of the Federal Register

(OFR), U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). It is

the official publication for Presidential Documents and Executive Orders,

as well as Notices, Rules and Proposed Rules from Federal agencies and

organizations. The Federal Register is published Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays. The 1998 Federal Register database is updated

daily by 6 a.m.. Federal Register documents are available as ASCII text

and Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
Fields in the Federal Register databases online via GPO Access are:

Issue Date: date Sunshine Act Meetings: sunshine

Section Name: section Presidential Documents: presidential

Rules and Regulations: rules Contents: contents 

Proposed Rules: proposed Reader Aids: reader

Notices: notices Corrections: corrections

When searching via SWAIS (dial-in or telnet session) or a WAIS client,

a field can be searched by typing the field name, followed by an equals

sign (=), followed by the term or terms that are sought. Numeric fields,

such as the date field, can use the greater than (>) and less than (<)

symbols to search a range of numbers. Similarly, when searching via the

World Wide Web, you may type in the field name, followed by an equals

sign (=), followed by the term(s) sought or link to the ADVANCED

searching pages which contain established fields. All queries that do not

specify a field search the entire database. 

Query: section=contents AND date=2/2/98

Result: fr2fe98C CONTENTS

This search retrieves the Federal Register Table of Contents for a specific

date. This date can be changed as needed. This query will retrieve

documents from the contents section that were published in the F e d e r a l

R e g i s t e r for February 2, 1998. If a date is used by itself, the database will

list all documents with that date, regardless of the subject matter.

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-3

Fields

Searches

Table of

Contents

Agency

N

ote: Links to the current Table of Contents in PDF and

HTML format are available from the Federal Register

Specialized Page. The HTML version provides direct links

to the articles cited in the Table of ContentsLinks to HTML

files of this year’s FR Table of Contents are also available.

You only need to perform the search above when looking for

the Table of Contents in previous years’ issues of the FR.

Query: "department of transportation” AND safety

Alternative: department ADJ transportation AND safety

Result: fr26ja98R Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant

fr26ja98R Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Reflecting

This search retrieves documents based on the name of the issuing agency.

Usually the agency name search should be modified by a date or a subject

to make the search more specific. The use of acronyms is not

recommended. 
N

ote: The ADJ operator retrieves

not only documents where words

are immediately adjacent, but also

those where the words are

separated by up to 20 characters.

5-4

Subject

Final and

Proposed

Rules

Query: “lead paint”

Alternative: lead ADJ paint

Result: fr16ja98N Federal Property Suitable for Facilities to 

fr21ja98N Amendments to Real Estate Settlement..

This search demonstrates the functioning of the ADJ operator (or use

of a phrase in quotation marks) and the value of the relevance ranking

feature. Although the search specifies the phrase “lead paint” (lead

ADJ paint), the results include documents with the term lead-based

paint as well.

Relevance is computed based on several factors, including the

occurrence of the search terms in the document title, the frequency of

the terms as a percentage of the total document size and conformance

with the exact search phrasing. In the sample search, the first

document retrieved contains both phrases “lead paint” and “leadbased paint” the second document does not contain the phrase “lead

paint” (just lead-based paint) but still is retrieved due to the 20

character proximity rule.

Query: rules="food additives"

Result: fr23ja98R Indirect Food Additives: Adhesives and ... 

fr07ja98R Glutamic Acid;Pesticide Tolerance Exemp... 

This search retrieves final rules on a specific subject in the 1998

Federal Register database online via GPO Access. This query will

retrieve documents that are in the Rules and Regulations section of the

Federal Register that contain the phrase "food additives".

Substituting the field "proposed" for "rules" would limit the search to

Proposed Rules on that subject. The query section=rules AND

date=2/2/98 will retrieve rules on that date, regardless of the subject.
N

ote: The List of Sections Affected

(LSA) is a separate publication

and is not available online.

N

ote: The Summary can be

viewed to determine the

relevance of the listed documents

before viewing or saving the full

document. This is particularly useful

for large documents.

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-5

CFR Part

Number

List of

Parts

Affected

Query: "47 cfr part 1"

Result: fr06ja98P Fees for Ancillary or Supplementary Use... 

fr15ja98R Competitive Bidding Proceeding

This search retrieves a Federal Register Document based on the CFR part

affected by the rule or proposed rule. It is necessary to include the word

"part" in order to limit the query to the introductory material in each

document that references the affected parts.

Query: “parts affected” AND date=2/2/98

Result: fr2fe98C CFR PARTS AFFECTED IN THIS ISSUE

fr02fe98A Reader Aids 

This search retrieves the list of CFR parts affected that appear in each

issue of the Federal Register. The first entry is the list that identifies only

CFR parts affected by the issue of February 2nd. The second entry

includes the cumulative list of parts affected during the entire month of

February.
N

ote: Page numbers do not appear in the 1994

Federal Register database, except in the

Contents and List of CFR Parts Affected.

Instructions for searching by page number in the

1994 database are as follows:

5-6

Page

Number

Query: "page 3063"

Results: fr21ja98P Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, 

fr21ja98P General Administrative Regulations; 

This search retrieves notices that appear, in whole or in part, on page 3063

and can be identified with the legal citation 63 FR 3063 (January 21,

1998). The inclusive page numbers for each document are included in the

heading at the top of each document. For documents that include a page

break, the page numbers appear in the text in the format [[Page 3063]].

The page number is placed between the last word from the previous

page and the first word from the specified page, even if that places the

page number in the middle of a sentence. 

If you have a Federal Register citation from 1994, you must perform a

two step search. First search by date and/or page number and retrieve the

Contents. From the Contents you can identify the article and select

significant words for a second search. For example, if you have a

citation for 59 FR 37929 (July 26, 1994), search the 1994 Federal

Register database for contents AND "register July 26" to retrieve the

Contents for July 26, 1994. View or print the text of the Contents. If

viewing with the Wi n WA I S / M a c WAIS client software, use the FIND

c o m m a n d in the text viewer to search for the page number (37929). If using

S WAIS, use a slash followed by the page number (/37929) to skip to the

line containing that number. The Contents entry is: 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

RULES 

Plant-related quarantine, domestic: 

Oriental fruit fly, 37929-37930. 

Read the entry, select key words, and modify the initial search to "fruit

fly" AND date=7/26/94. This will retrieve the specific document (as

well as the table of contents). Alternatively, you can do an initial search

for the page number, 37929. This will retrieve the Contents and List of

CFR Parts Affected for July 26. Viewing the list of CFR parts shows that

page 37929 modifies 7 CFR Part 301. You can then do a search for "7 cfr

part 301". You can add the date if you wish to limit the search, or merely

select the article with the prefix fr26jy94 from the search results. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-7

Content

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is a codification of the general and

permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive

departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The CFR online is a

joint project authorized by the publisher, the National Archives and Records

Administration's Office of the Federal Register, and the Government Printing

Office (GPO) to provide the public with enhanced access to Government

information. 

The CFR is divided into 50 titles which represent broad areas subject to

Federal regulation. Each title is divided into chapters which usually bear the

name of the issuing agency. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts

covering specific regulatory areas. Large parts may be subdivided into

subparts. All parts are organized in sections, and most citations to the CFR

will be provided at the section level. Each volume of the CFR is revised once

each calendar year and issued on a quarterly basis approximately as follows: 

Title 1 through Title 16..........................as of January 1

Title 17 through Title 27.........................as of April 1

Title 28 through Title 41.........................as of July 1

Title 42 through Title 50.........................as of October 1

CFR volumes are added to the online service concurrent with the release of

the paper editions. When revised CFR volumes are added, the prior editions

will remain on GPO Access as a historical set. Refer to the page, "Search your

choice of CFR titles and/or volumes," for an up-to-date listing of titles and

volumes available in current and historical editions. 

CFR volumes appear online as WAIS databases, accessible through the World

Wide Web, with WAIS client software, or via telnet or dial-in access.

Documents may be retrieved in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), or

in ASCII text format. 

GPO Access provides the user with a number of different ways to find CFR

information online. 

The link, "Search the entire set of CFR databases by keyword," enables you

to search all 50 titles. This option is particularly useful if you do not have any

idea what title to search. However, because you are searching all 50 titles, this

search will take a few minutes to process. (This function searches the most

recent volumes). 

The Code of Federal Regulations

N

ote: In the CFR database documents are

broken down by section, part and subpart.

As a result for every one hit, you will get three

hits. 
CFR Services available online via GPO Access

About the CFR online

Establishing HTML links to GPO's CFR WAIS databases

Search the entire set of CFR databases by keyword (current data)

Retrieve CFR sections by citation (current and/or historical data)

Search your choice of CFR titles and/or volumes (current and/or historical data)

Search the Federal Register for related documents (current and/or historical data)

If you know the CFR citation (title and section) you can take advantage of the "retrieval

function" by using the "Retrieve available CFR sections by citation" link. This provides you with

the capability to execute a very specific search and immediately retrieve the document in PDF

or ASCII text format. (This function allows you to search the most recent and/or historical

volumes). 

The link, "Search your choice of CFR titles and/or volumes," enables you to limit the search to

one or more titles and/or volumes. A table is provided which lists the subject of each title and

allows you to choose current or historical versions. Because this option allows you to limit your

search, you will get a very specific search results list that will appear more quickly than if you

search all the CFR titles. (This function allows you to search the most recent and/or historical

volumes).

5-8

Below is an illustration of the page titled “Code of Federal Regulations”. The URL is:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html

Code of

Federal

Regulations

Federal

Register

PrivacyAct

Issuances

Public

Laws

US

Government

Manual 

Weekly Compilation

of Presidential

Documents

US

Congress

Information

GPO

Access

SearchPage

Provides information

about the CFR’s online

via GPO Access.

Provides information on how

to directly link to various

CFR sections from your Web

site.

Allows you to dire c t l y

re t r i e ve current or

historical sections of

the CFR. To use this

option you must know

the exact CFR

c i t a t i o n .

Links you to the

Federal Register

Page to search for

updates.

Allows you to searc h

the current CFR by

k e yw o rd. 

Allows you to

s e a rch only

the title(s)

you specify.
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-9

Searches

Subject

Agency

CFR

Citation

Query: "narcotic addicts" AND "drug enforcement administration"

Result: 21CFR291-- PART 291--DRUGS USED FOR 

21CFR291-- PART 291--DRUGS USED FOR 

This search demonstrates how to search by agency name. (It is a good idea to use a

subject in conjunction with the agency's name to limit the number of documents in

the search results list.) If the part you are searching has subparts, (in this case 21CFR

PART 291) the Table of Contents will appear with its corresponding part's title but

with a different file size and the label "Table of Contents". (For example, 21CFR291-

- PART 291--DRUGS USED FOR TREATMENTOF NARCOTIC ADDICTS--Table

of Contents).

N

ote: CFR Web Applications such as the

retrieval function are discussed after the

sample searches.

N

ote: If you have the full citation, using the

retrieval application is recommended. 

Query: “flectol h”

Result: 21CFR189.220-- Sec. 189.220 Flectol H

21CFR189-- PART 189--SUBSTANCES PROHIBITED FROM 

21CFR189--Subpart C--Substances Prohibited From .

This search demonstrates how to search the Code of Federal Regulations by

subject matter. The search results are comprised of documents broken down by the

CFR part, subpart and section where the search criteria is found. For example, if

you search for "flectol h" your search results will list the part, subpart and section

where the phrase "flectol h" appears. 

Query: "20CFR404.1576"

Result: 20CFR404.1576-- Sec. 404.1576 Impairment-related work 

This search demonstrates how to search for a CFR citation. In order to retrieve the

most specific search results possible, the citation should be surrounded by quotation

marks. In addition, the citation should have no spaces.

N

ote: Parts contain subparts which contain

sections. As a result, a part will be

substantially larger than a section. (A section

is the smallest segment of text.)
5-10

Title 2 [Reserved] 

120

Title 1 General Provisions 

Title 3 The President 

Title 4 Accounts 

Title 5 Administrative Personnel 

Title 6 [Reserved]

CONTINUE CLEAR

Title

Click on the boxes to

search multiple title

and/or years for each

title you wish to search. If a volume is reserved it

means that an agency

is reserving that

section for future use.

Enter Search Terms

here.

Search Terms:

Select and Search Available CFR Titles or Volumes

Available CFR Titles on GPO Access

Revision Date

(Unless noted, all parts for a given year are available)

Maximum Number of Documents:

CFR Applications Online via GPO Access

N

ote: If you are not sure of the title in which you

need to search, simply select the titles with title

subject matter that pertains to the subject you are 

looking for. The titles of each CFR are listed in the

chart. 

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

1998 1997 1996

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

Feb. 1, 1998

If you want to search

one issue click on the

link for the issue you

wish to search.
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-11

Retrieve Files by CFR Citation

If you already know the exact CFR citation you will be able to retrieve a CFR citation by filling out

the form below: YOU MUST FILL IN ALL BOXES IN THE CITATION: title, part, and

section OR title, part, and subpart. 

FOR EXAMPLE: 20 CFR 404 . 1085

REVISION YEAR TITLE PART SECTION SUBPART TYPE OF FILE 

Most Recent Available

Pull-down box allows you to

chose the year you wish to

search.

CFR Text

Pull-down box allows you

to chose the the file type

(Text, PDF, or Summary).

Type in the exact CFR

citation you want to

retrieve. All boxes must be

filled in. 

.

Once you have selected the title(s) you wish to search, a customized search screen is provided

that allows you to select one or more parts, you wish to search. If you select more than one

title from the previous page (or two years of the same title), two tables will be provided. In the

following example, the user selected only title 20.

Title Volume Chapter Parts Regulatory Entity Online as of

Title 20 I 1-199 Office of Workers Compensation, 6/24/97

Employees' Benefits 1 Programs, Dept. of Labor

Revised April 1, 1997 II 200-399 Railroad Retirement Board

2 III 400-499 Social Security Administration 9/18/97

Dates are provided so

you know exactly when

the data was released

online.

Click here to search a 

specific volume. Note: You

can select multiple volumes.

If this box is checked you will

search the ENTIRE title. To limit

your search to a specific part(s)

deselect this box and select the

appropriate volume(s).

OR
N

ote: In the Congressional Record, a

Senator is identified as Mr., Mrs., or Ms.,

not as Senator. (The name will always

appear in all capital letters and positioned

flush left when the Senator is speaking.)

The Congressional Record (CR) is the verbatim record of the proceedings

and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when

Congress is in session. The 1998 Congressional Record database is usually

updated by 11 a.m., except when a late adjournment delays production of the

daily issue. Each CR document is available as an ASCII text file and as a PDF

file. 

The fields in the Congressional Record database are:

Issue Date: date Section Name: section 

Daily Digest Pages: digest House Pages: house 

Senate Pages: senate Extensions of Remarks: extensions

When searching via SWAIS or a WAIS client, a field can be searched by

typing the field name, followed by an equals sign (=), followed by the term(s)

sought. You can use the greater than (>) and less than (<) symbols to search

a range of numbers or dates. Similarly, when searching via the World Wide

Web, you may type in the field name, followed by an equals sign (=),

followed by the term(s) sought or link to the ADVANCED searching pages

which contain established fields. All queries that do not specify a field

search the entire database. 

Query: robb and (“international trade” or commerce) and

date=2/1/98 TO 2/6/98

Results: cr04fe98S RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON 

cr05fe98S INTERNATIONAL TRADE INITIATIVES

This search retrieves 1998 Congressional Record documents mentioning a

senator by name and demonstrates the use of multiple boolean operators

(ADJ, AND, OR, NOT) in a single query. The list of documents in the search

results does not differentiate if the senator spoke or was spoken about. To

identify a senator when speaking, after retrieving a document, search for the

senator's name in all capital letters using the FIND command in the browser

or Acrobat Reader. If viewing with the WinWAIS or MacWAIS client

software, use the FIND command in the text viewer to search for the name. 

5-12

Content 

Searches

Senator's

Name

Fields

Congressional Record
N

ote The results list presents the

documents in relevance ranked

order, not chronological order.

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-13

Bill

Number

Date

N

ote: There is no date field in the

1994 Congressional Record

database. To retrieve a document

published on February 6, 1994, add the

phrase AND record february 6 to the

query.

Query: "h.r.429"

Alternative: "h r 429"

Result: cr03fe98H REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON PUBLIC BILLS

cr03fe98H HOUSE OF REPRESENT ATIVES

This search retrieves the 1998 Congressional Record documents referencing

the bill H.R. 429. The bill number may be typed with or without the

punctuation; however, a bill number such as H.R. 429 must be entered with a

space between H and R , i.e. "h r 429", if no punctuation is used.

Query: “global warming” and date=1/28/98

Result: cr28ja98S Climate Related Changes

This search retrieves 1998 C o n g ressional Record documents mentioning

"global warming" published on a specific date. If a date is used by itself, the

database will list all documents with that date, even if the documents vary in

subject matter. GPO Access also supports date ranging. The query "global

warming" AND date>1/28/98 will retrieve all documents mentioning "global

warming" published after January 28, 1998. The query “global warming” AND

date=1/28/98 TO 2/10/98 will retrieve all documents mentioning “global

warming" published between January 28 and February 10, 1998.
5-14

N

ote: When searching using dates, the

Web interface provides an easy to

understand interface which uses radio buttons

labeled as On, Before, and After. In the client

you must use the less-than and greater-than

signs. 

Daily

Digest

Query: section=digest AND date=1/29/98

Result: cr29ja98D HOUSE OF REPRESENT ATIVES

cr29ja98D COMMITTEE MEETINGS FOR FRIDA Y

This search retrieves the Daily Digest documents for a specific date. The Daily

Digest provides a summary of chamber actions and other activities of the

Congress. When both chambers are in session, the Daily Digest is presented in

two parts, one for the House and one for the Senate. The Senate part is entitled

Daily Digest. The House part is entitled (House of Representatives.)

Additional information, including front matter and meeting schedules, will

appear as separate documents.

Rollcall

Votes

Query: "rollcall vote no" AND nomination AND 

date=1/20/97 TO 1/24/97

Result: cr22ja97S NOMINATION OF MADELEINE KORBEL 

cr22ja97S NOMINATION OF WILLIAM COHEN OF 

This search retrieves Congressional Record documents from January 20

through January 24, 1997 that include a rollcall vote and mention the word

nomination. If a specific rollcall vote number is known, you can search for it

with the phrase "rollcall vote no 7," for example, omitting the subject and date.

N

ote: The Daily Digest of the current issue

of the Congressional Record is available

for direct download in both ASCII text and PDF

formats.
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-15

Lobby 

List

CR

Citation 

Query: "page S238"

Result: cr29ja98S NATIONAL RADIO MONTH

cr29ja98S UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKO TA MEN’S CROSS...

cr29ja98S TRIBUTE TO PAUL HOLLOW AY ON BECOMING...

The above search retrieves the Congressional Record documents with the

citation S238 (January 29, 1998). The letter “S” refers to a “Senate” page. If

the letter “H” preceded the number, it would reference a “house” page. Page

numbers appear in the document header in the format [Page S237-S238] and

in the text in the format [[Page S238]]. In text format individual page

numbers are placed between the last word from the previous page and the

first word from the specified page, even if that places the page number in the

middle of a sentence. Page numbers do not appear in the 1994 Congressional

Record database.

N

ote: The Congressional Record (CR)

publication is the verbatim record of

the proceedings and debates of the United

States Congress. As a result, the date of

the publication refers to the day in which

the proceedings were recorded; NOT the

day of delivery. For example, the CR you

would receive on February 10 has an

issue date of February 9; the day the

proceedings and debates occurred. 

Query: "lobby list" AND date<3/1/96 

Result: ll29fe96H [Lobby List: Late Reports, 3d Qtr 1995] 

This search retrieves the Lobby List documents published prior to March 1,

1996. The list identifies individuals and organizations who lobby the Congress

and the clientele that they represent. It is based on disclosure forms filed with

the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate and is published in the

Congressional Record quarterly, usually in February, May, August, and

November. The three sections are the Registrations, Quarterly Reports for the

most recent quarter and the Quarterly Reports from the prior quarter that were

received too late for inclusion in the earlier Lobby List.
5-16

N

OTE: The Index entry arranges the

name with the last name first, so a

search for “don young” will not retrieve

Mr. Young’s record. It may result in

finding other index entries which mention

Mr. Young. 

Congressional Record Index

Content 

Searches

Senator

by Name

Bill

Number

The C o n g ressional Record Index (CRI) is a publication of the Joint

Committee on Printing, Congress of the United States. It is published

biweekly when Congress is in session and indexes the daily issues of the

Congressional Record; however the online version is updated daily. The GPO

Access service offers access to the CRI from 1983 forward. Each Index entry

for the current year refers to a Congressional Record page number and the

date of the daily issue in the format S1234 [19JA]. Each issue of the Index has

two parts: the Index proper which lists individuals, organizations and other

topics mentioned in the Congressional Record, and the History of Bills, which

lists legislative actions reported in the Congressional Record. The two parts

are available online as separate databases. The current volume of the

Congressional Record Index is usually updated the day after publication of the

Congressional Record. Documents are available in text format only.

This search demonstrates the correct phrasing for retrieving a Congressional

Record Index document using a Senator's name. Both Don and Donald should

be used if the preferred form of Senator Young's first name is not known. A

phrase may be entered surrounded by quotation marks (" ") or with each

searchable word within a phrase separated by the ADJ operator.

Query: "h.r. 335"

Alternative: "h r 335" 

Result: H.R. 335 (ih) To establish the Commission on Future...

This search demonstrates the correct phrasing to retrieve a Congressional Bill

by number. The bill number may be typed with or without the punctuation;

however, a bill number such as H.R. 335 must be entered with a space between

H and R , i.e. "h r 335", if no punctuation is used. 

Query: young ADJ don OR young ADJ donald

Alternative: "young don" OR "young donald"

Alternative: young ADJ (don OR donald)

Results: cri98 YOUNG, DON (a Representative from Alaska)
Query: "executive communications" 

Result: cri98 EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS 

This search demonstrates the correct phrasing for retrieving the

Congressional Record Index document listing all Executive Communications

to the Congress. Each transmittal is listed by the issuing agency and includes

the report title or description, followed by the Congressional Record page

number, executive communication number and date in the format S 34

(Ec3613) [24JA].

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-17

Executive

Comm. To

Congress

P ro m i n e n t

I n d i v i d u a l

Query: "vice president" AND gore 

Result: cri98 VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED ST ATES (Albert 

cri97 VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED ST ATES (Albert 

This search demonstrates the correct phrasing for retrieving Congressional

Record Index documents about Albert Gore, Jr. in the 1997 and 1998

C o n g ressional Record Index. Unlike other personal name entries, the

President and Vice President are listed by title, with the names appearing

parenthetically, so a search for gore ADJ (Al or Albert) would not retrieve

these entries. Former Presidents can be retrieved by name, so "reagan ronald"

will retrieve the entries for REAGAN, RONALD (40th president of the

United States). However, a search for “albright madeleine” will retrieve a

cross reference to SECRETARY OF STATE (Madeleine Korbel Albright). 

Query : gingrich AND "speaker of the house" 

Alternative: gingrich AND "speaker house" 

Result: cri96 GINGRICH, NEWT (a Congressman from Georgia) 

cri97 SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE 

If an individual has a title, and you are uncertain how it is treated in the Index,

it is best to search for both the name and the title. For example, the search

gingrich AND "speaker of the house" in the 1995 Index will retrieve the

entries for GINGRICH, NEWT (a Congressman from Georgia) and

SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE. The stopwords of and the may be omitted from

the phrase "speaker of the house" without affecting the search results.
The Congressional Bills database contains all published versions of each bill

from the specified Congress. Congressional Bills are available from the 103d

Congress forward. The database for the current Congress is updated daily

when Congress authorizes publication of a new version of a bill. Bills are

available as ASCII text and as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format

(PDF) files.

5-18

Content

Subject

Searches

Congressional Bills

Bill

Number

N

OTE: The results list presents the bills

in relevance ranked order, not

chronological order.

Query: "h.r.2083"

Alternative: “h r 2083"

Result: H.R. 2083 (ih) To prohibit the shipment of pent...

[Introduced in House]

This search demonstrates the correct phrasing to retrieve a Congressional Bill

by number. The bill number may be typed with or without the punctuation;

however, a bill number such as H.R. 2083 must be entered with a space

between H and R , i.e. "h r 2083", if no punctuation is used.

Query: "juvenile crime”

Alternative: juvenile ADJ crime

Result: S362 (is) To deter and punish serious gang and

violent [Introduced in Senate]

H.R. 8 10 (ih) To deter and punish serious gang and

violent [Introduced in House]

This search demonstrates the use of boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT,

ADJ) in a query. This query retrieves bills that include the phrase "juvenile

crime" (which can also be entered as juvenile ADJ crime). 
Query: environment and “native american”

Results: S. 399 (rs) To amend the Morris K. Udall Scholarship-

[Reported in Senate]

H.R. 1381(ih) To amend the Morris K. Udall 

Introduced in House]

This search retrieves the version of S. 339 that was reported in Senate (rs)

and includes deleted text. The Acrobat PDF files display and print the

typeset bills, including canceled type for deleted text, exactly as they appear

in the printed form. In the ASCII text files for the 104th Congress forward,

canceled type is identified with the tag <DELETED> preceding the deleted

text and the tag </DELETED> following the deleted text. When multiple

paragraphs have been deleted, the tags will appear at the beginning and end

of each deleted paragraph. In the ASCII text files for the 103d Congress,

canceled type is identified by the insertion of a dash (-) before each canceled

character.

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-19

Tagging of

Deleted

Text

N

OTE: The number one hit/1,000 point

document which will appear in the search

results list is a document called ”Line-item Veto

and Congressional Bills Glossary”. This and lists

and describes the different versions of bills

available in this database. Only bills that the

Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House

request GPO to print are included in the database. 
5-20

The Congressional Bills databases contain only the text of the published

bills. Additional useful information that does not appear in the text of the bill

itself may be found in the History of Bills (HOB) databases. The History of

Bills is part of the Congressional Record Index. As such it covers only actions

on a bill that are reported in the Congressional Record. The GPO Access

service offers access to the HOB from 1983 forward. The databases are

cumulative from the beginning of each session. A typical entry includes the

bill number, title, summary, sponsors and co-sponsors, and a chronological

list of actions on the bill, each referencing the CR page number and date

when the action is reported.

N

ote: A cumulative listing and quick

reference of bill versions and

abbreviations are provided in the

appendix, as well as in the Helpful Hints

for Searching online via GPO Access and

the GPO Access User's Booklet. 

N

ote: Documents in the Bills Search

Results list appear in relevance

ranked order. If you want to see the

legislative history of a bill use the History

of Bills database. 

Content

Searches

History of Bills 

Subject

and

Sponsor

Query: "national parks" AND boxer

Alternative: national ADJ parks AND boxer

Result: hob97 S. 500 - A bill to authorize emergency...

This search retrieves the 1997 History of Bills entry for the National Parks and

Recreation bill introduced by Ms. Boxer. It summarizes the purpose of the bill

and identifies additional sponsors and cosponsors. It also reports actions taken

on the bill as reported in the Congressional Record. All references are to the

Congressional Record page number and date when the action was reported.
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-21

Bill

Number

House

Report

Number

Public

Law

Number

Query: "h r 363"

Alternative: "h.r.363"

Result: hob97 H.R. 363- A bill to amend section 2118 of the 

Emergency Policy Act..

This search retrieves the 1997 History of Bills entries for H.R. 363. The bill

number may be typed with or without punctuation, but a query without

punctuation must include a space between h and r.

Query: "h. rept. 105-240" 

Alternative: "h rept 105-240" 

Result: hob97 H.R. 2378 - A bill making appropriations for...

This search retrieves the 1997 History of Bills entry for an appropriations bill

introduced by Mr. Kolbe and reported out of committee as House Report 105-

240. The report number search may be typed with or without the punctuation. 

N

ote: The abbreviation for House Report

in this database is H. Rept.

N

ote: The phrase Public Law is not

abbreviated in this database.

Query: "public law 105-48"

Result: hob97 S12 11—An original bill to provide... 

This search retrieves the 1997 History of Bills entries for Public Law 105-48.

The results contains the entry S.1211, which became Public Law 105-48. 
5-22

Content

Searches

Public Laws

U.S. Code

Citation

Public

Law

Number

N

OTE: In this database the

words Public Law are not

abbreviated. In the United States

Code you would search for a

Public Law number using the

string "pub l 104-4".

The Public Laws of the 104th and 105th Congress are prepared and published

by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records

Administration (NARA). Each law is first published as a slip law and then

later compiled into a volume of the Statutes-at-Large. The Public Laws

database contains the text of each law enacted during the 104th and 105th

Congress. The database will be updated whenever the publication of a slip

law is authorized by the OFR. Each law is available as an ASCII text file and

as an Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

Query: "public law 105-52"

Alternative: public ADJ law ADJ 105 ADJ 52

Result: Pub.L. 105-52 To designate the Federal building...

This search retrieves a Public Law by number (105-52). A phrase may be

entered surrounded by quotation marks (" ") or with each searchable word

separated by the ADJ operator.

Query: "18 USC 3481"

Results: Pub.L. 105-6 To amend title 18, United States Code

This search retrieves a Public Law by U.S. Code citation (18 USC3481). Use

of the asterisk (*) at the end of the search string (18usc3481*) retrieves

citations that include a subsection designation as well. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-23

Statutes at

Large

Bill

Number

Subject

Query: "111 stat 1320"

Results: Pub.L. 105-62 Making appropriations for energy and 

This search retrieves a Public Law by Statutes-at-Large citation (111 stat

1320).

Query: "medical leave" AND (congress OR house OR senate OR

legislative) 

Result: Pub.L. 105-55 Making appropriations for the legislative...

This search demonstrates the use of multiple boolean operators (AND, OR,

NOT, ADJ) in a single query. This query will retrieve documents that include

the phrase "medical leave" (medical ADJ leave) AND either the word

Congress OR the word House OR the word Senate OR the word legislative. 

Query: "s.476"

Alternative: "s 476"

Result: Pub.L. 105-133 To provide for the establishment of ....

This search retrieves a Public Law by congressional bill number (S. 476). The

bill number may be typed with or without the punctuation; however, a bill

number such as S. 476 must be entered with a space between S and the number

476", if no punctuation is used. 

Side Notes in the Public Laws Database

The Acrobat PDF files display and print the typeset slip laws, including all

side notes, exactly as they appear in the printed form. In the ASCII text files

side notes appear in the text within double angle brackets. For example, in

Public Law 104-1, the short title appears as a side note in the right margin

adjacent to the end of the "Be it enacted" clause. In the ASCII text file it will

appear immediately following the "Be it enacted" clause, in the following

format: 

<<Note: Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.>> 
5-24

N

ote: The subsections do not

appear in alphanumeric order due

to the relevance ranking feature of the

WAIS server software. 

Content

Searches

United States Code

U . S . C o d e

Citation

Public Law

Number

The United States Code is prepared and published by the Office of the

Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives. It is the

codification of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The

United States Code database contains the text of laws in effect however,

any section that has been affected by laws passed includes a note

indicating the public law that affected that section. This will be updated

as laws are passed during the 105th Congress. Files are available in

ASCII text format.

Query: 2USC661*

Results: 2USC Sec. 661. Purpose

2USC Sec. 661a. Definitions

This search retrieves a U.S. Code section by citation (2 USC 661).

There are no spaces in the citation. Use of the asterisk (*) retrieves

subsections as well. 

Query: "pub l 103-40"

Alternative: pub ADJ l ADJ 103 ADJ 40

Results: 44USC Sec. 4 101. Electronic directory; online access to

This search retrieves a U.S. Code section by Public Law number (P.L.

103-40). It also retrieves the Table of Popular Names entry referencing

that Public Law number. A phrase may be entered surrounded by

quotation marks (" ") or with each searchable word separated by the

ADJ operator. (Note: In this database the correct abbreviation for

Public Law is Pub. L.) 
The House and Senate Calendars are separate databases. The Senate Calendar

databases contain the current daily issue of the Senate Calendar for the 105th

Congress as well as the final calendar for the 104th Congress. The Senate

calendar is published daily when the Senate is in session. It contains a listing

of daily Senate activities only.

The House Calendar databases contain the daily 105th Congress House

Calendar and the final 104th Congress House Calendar. The House Calendar

contains the history of House and Senate bills and resolutions that have been

reported or considered by either house. Every Monday issue of the House

Calendar contains a Subject Index. Documents are available as ASCII text and

Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

The 105th House and Senate Calendar are available as a Browseable Table or

as a searchable database. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-25

Content

Searches

Congressional Calendars

Subject

N

ote: If Congress is not in session on a

Monday, the index will be printed either

the Friday before or the next day the House is

in session.

Query: trade 

Results: S.Cal. (February 9) General Orders

H.Cal. (February 5) Senate Bills

The above search illustrates how to search by subject in the House and Senate

Calendars from the general/simple search page. 
Query: "deadbeat parents"

Results: H.Cal. (February 3) Index of Short Titles

H.Cal. (February 3) Index

The above search demonstrates how to find the index of short titles in the

House Calendar database. The index of short titles lists the popular name of an

act and its bill number. This index can be very useful to users who do not know

a bill number, but know the popular name of a bill. 

5-26

N

ote: The Index of Short Titles appears

in the printed Calendar once a week.

However a link to this index is always

available from the House Calendar

Browseable Table. 

Bill By

Popular

Title

Bill

Resolution

N

ote: If the bill has become a law, it

will also be listed as a Public Law.

Query: “s 16 11”

Alternative: "s.16 11"

Results: S.Cal. (February 9) ENTIRE SENATE CALENDAR FOR...

S.Cal. (February 9) Cross Index of General Orders 

This search is an example of how to search by a bill or resolution number. The

bill or resolution number may be typed with or without the punctuation;

however, a number such as S. 1611, must be entered with a space between “s”

and “1611”, if no punctuation is used.
The Congressional Directory databases contain the Congressional Directory,

for the 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward. The Interim Congressional

Directory contains monthly on-line updates for the current Congress. The

Congressional Directory is prepared by the Joint Committee on Printing

(JCP). Documents are available as ASCII text and Adobe Acrobat Portable

Document Format (PDF) files. Graphics are omitted from the ASCII text

version. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-27

Content

Searches

Congressional Directory

Member

Member

and

Committee

N

ote: The Interim Congressional Directory

does not have a paper equivalent,

because it is updated electronically as

changes are made.

Query: “bill thomas” OR “william thomas”

Alternative: (bill OR william) ADJ thomas

Result: [Jan. ‘ 98 Interim Cong. Dir.] Joint Committees of...

This search shows how to search by member name. A member’s name may

not appear in the same manner throughout the directory. In this example,

William Thomas appears in the Joint Committees of the Congress and Bill

Thomas appears in the Standing Committees of the House. This search also

demonstrates the use of parentheses in a query. You can also search for senior

staff members or senior agency officials. If you want to search by member

and committee name see, the search below.

Query: Feinstein AND "foreign relations"

Result: [Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.] : Standing Committees...

[Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.] : California

This search results in two documents which list committees and members.

The Standing Committee (of the House or Senate) is an alphabetical listing of

each committee and its members. The California document contains a list of

Senators from the state of California.
5-28

Query: Florida 

Result: [Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.]: FLORIDA

[Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.]: FOREIGN DIPLOMATIC 

This search provides the entire entry for the state of Florida printed in the

Congressional Directory. Full b i b l i o g r a p h i e s of each Senator and 

Representative for each district are provided, as well as office listings.

District

Agency

State

Query: Kansas AND "Congressional Districts" 

Result [Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.]: Kansas Congress

[Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.]: Judiciary

A map of every state is provided in the directory. Each map provides

Congressional Districts, county lines, shorelines etc.

Query: "Department of Defense" 

Result: [Jan. ‘98 Interim Cong. Dir.] Department of Defense

This search provides an entry for the "Department of Defense" in the

directory. This entry includes the names of all the officials associated with the

agency, their location and office telephone numbers. 

N

ote: In the above search, the word

"districts" must be plural. This

particular search retrieves the map of

Kansas.
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-29

N

ote: After every search in the GAO Reports

database you will receive GAO's Frequently

Asked Questions as your number one

document. This tells you how to obtain paper

copies, and provides contact persons at the

General Accounting Office, etc.

The GAO Reports are published by the General Accounting Office

(GAO). The GAO conducts audits, surveys, investigations and

evaluations of Federal programs. Their findings and recommendations are

published as reports to members of Congress or delivered as testimony to

Congressional committees. The GAO Reports database contains all

published reports, except correspondence and reports that are restricted or

classified. The database from FY 1995 forward is updated within two

business days after reports are released. Each GAO Report is available as

an ASCII text file and as a PDF file. The report series are identified by the

initials in the report number.

Fields in the GAO Reports database online via GPO Access are:

Report Number: reportnum Report Title: title

Report Issue Date: date Subject Terms: subject

Identifiers: identifier

When searching via SWAIS (dial-in or telnet session) or a WAIS client, a

field can be searched by typing the field name, followed by an equals sign

(=), followed by the term or terms that are sought. Numeric fields, such as

the date field, can use the greater than (>) and less than (<) symbols to

search a range of numbers. Similarly, when searching via the World Wide

Web, you may type in the field name, followed by an equals sign (=),

followed by the term(s) sought or link to the ADVANCED searching page

which contains established fields. All queries that do not specify a field

search the entire database. 

Content

GAO Reports

Fields
5-30

N

ote: The GAO control number is not

included in the report number field. It does

appear in the cover letter accompanying each

report and can be searched using a query like

“b-256567".

Searches

Report

Number

Subject

Field

Title Field

Query: "HEHS-98-16"

Alternative: reportnum="HEHS 98 16"

Result: [HEHS-98-16] Alzheimer’s Disease Estimates of Prevalence in 

This search demonstrates the correct phrasing to retrieve a GAO Report by

number. The report number may be typed with or without the punctuation;

however, spaces must be inserted between segments if no punctuation is used.

To identify all reports in the HEHS series, search for reportnum=hehs.

Query: child* ADJ health OR child* ADJ care OR child* ADJ abuse

Alternative:"child* health" OR "child* care" OR "child* abuse"

Result: [T-HEHS-98-40] Parental Substance Abuse: Implications for 

This search demonstrates the use of multiple boolean operators (AND, OR,

NOT, ADJ) in a single query. This query will retrieve GAO Reports that

include the phrase "child health" (child ADJ health) OR "child care" (child

ADJ care) OR "child abuse" (child ADJ abuse) somewhere in the report. A

phrase may be entered surrounded by quotation marks (" ") or with each

searchable word separated by the ADJ operator. Use of the asterisk (*) after the

word child retrieves phrases including the word child, children or other words

with the root child. 

Query: title="space station"

Result: [T-NSAID-98-54] Space Station: Cost and Control Problems

This search retrieves GAO Reports that include the phrase "space station" in

the report title. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-31

Abbreviations for the report series are based on the division or office

performing the analysis and include:

AIMD Accounting and Information Management Division

GGD General Government Division

HEHS Health, Education, and Human Services Division

HRD Human Resources Division

NSIAD National Security and International Affairs Division

OCG Office of the Comptroller General

OGC Office of the General Counsel

OIMC Office of Information Management and Communications

OP Office of Policy

OPP Office of Program Planning

OSI Office of Special Investigations

PEMD Program Evaluation and Methodology Division

RCED Resources, Community and Economic Development Division

Abbreviations

Date

Range

Query: date=1/1/98 TO 1/31/98 AND medicaid

Alternative: "january 1998" AND medicaid

Result: [GGD-98-52] Medicaid: Disproportionate Share Payments to 

This search uses the date field and the operator TO in order to find reports on

trade published between January 1 and January 31, 1998. The alternate search

uses the narrative date that appears on the report cover to identify a report; the use

of the date January 1998 is less accurate than the use of the date field since a

report may refer to an event that occurred in January 1998 when that is not the

publication date. If a date (or date range) is used by itself, the database will list

all documents with that date, regardless of subject matter. When a report has

no specific day of issue, the date field will contain the dates for the first and

last days of the month. 

Subject

Field

Query: subject="illegal aliens” AND welfare

Result: [HEHS-98-30] Illegal Aliens: Extent of Welfare Benefits 

This search retrieves GAO Reports that includes the phrase "illegal aliens" in

the subject field and mention welfare somewhere in the document. 
5-32

The Commerce Business Daily (CBD) lists notices of proposed government

procurement actions, contract awards, sales of government property, and other

procurement information. Each notice appears in the print CBD only once.

Notices stay “active” in the CBD database online via GPO Access for 15 days

and are then moved to an “archived” database. Each notice is available as an

ASCII text and/or an HTML file. The database is updated continually.

Fields in the Commerce Business Daily online via GPO Access are:

classcod: Classification Code offadd: Office Address

subject: Subject sol: Solicitation Number

due: Response Date poc: Point of Contact

cnt: Award Number amt: Award Amount

line Line Number dtd: Award Date 

awardee: Awardee desc: Description

linkurl: Link URL linkdesc: Link Description

emailadd: Email Address emaildesc: Email Description

part:: Part subpart: Subpart

cite: Submission No.

The Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet)

Content

Fields

N

ote: The CBDNet Web application

allows users to browse all active

notices without performing a search. To

utilize the browse function, click on the

Browse CBD link on the CBD Web page. 

If you perform the following sample searches you may have to use the

"archive of expired notices". This is due to the fact that notices in the CBD

database are only "active" for 15 days. These samples are meant to serve as

examples for creating your own searches in both the "active notices" and

"archive of expired notices" databases.
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-33

Query: "preventive maintenance"

Results: CBD: R-- DESIGN OF PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE...

This search demonstrates how to search the CBD by subject matter. Because

you would like the words “preventive maintenance” next to each other, you

surround the phrase by quotation marks. No fields were designated in this

search, therefore it is a full text search and searches every field for the phrase

“preventive maintenance”. To search specifically the subject field simply

type in: subject=”preventive maintenance” 

Searches

N

ote: When searching by an E-mail address or

WWW URL, enter the entire address enclosed in

quotation marks. Example:

"http://www.access.gpo.gov". Similarly, when

searching for an award amount, enclose the amount

in quotation marks. Example: amt="50,702.30" or

amt="$50,702.30". (Use of the dollar sign is optional.)

Query: cite="I-338 SN00788”

Result: ”D-005 SN155123”

CBD: 99 -- DIGITAL TAPE RECORDING SYSTEM

This search demonstrates how agencies submitting notices can search for a

notice by cite number. The cite number is the number provided as a reference

after an electronic submission has been accepted. It is best to enclose the

entire cite in quotation marks and include hyphens and spaces. 

Query: sol= “N00 10498T1276”

Result: CBD: 58--COMMUNICATION SUBSY 

When searching for a specific solicitation number in the CBD, enclose the

entire number in quotation marks. Remember to include all dashes and do

NOT add any spaces.

Subject

Cite

Number

Solicitation

Number
5-34

Query: cnt=”C-109-S”

Result: CBD: T--Books

This search demonstrates how to restrict your query to a specific award

number. Remember to enclose the award number in quotation marks, do

NOT add spaces and remember to include hyphens.

Query: due=12/30/97

Result: CBD: G -- VOCATIONAL COUNSELING

CBD: S -- VIDEO CONFERENCING UNITS

This demonstrates how to restrict your search by date. In this case you are

searching for all notices with a response date of 12/30/97. You can also use

greater or less signs (< or >) , as well as search for date ranges using the

word "TO" (uppercase). Examples: due>12/30/97 or due=12/1/97 TO

1/31/98 The same technique can be used for the field award date.

Example: dtd=12/30/96.

Restricting

by date

Award

Number

N

ote: Dates should be entered in

MM/DD/YY format. Preceeding

zeros are not needed for single-digit

days/months. 

Query: part= "contract awards" AND subpart=services

Result: CBD:A --TURBINE ENGINE SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY 

CBD: A --TURBINE ENGINE SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY 

This search demonstrates how to restrict your search to a notice type. In

this example, you are searching only contract awards for services. You

can choose to limit your search to any type of CBD notice.

Part and

Subpart

Query: posted=12/29/97

Result: CBD:48-- VALVE REGULATI

CBD: Z--DREDGE MOORING BASIN, JONES BEACH

Posted date is the date the notice was placed in the database, not the date the

notice is printed. Notices usually appear in the printed copy two business

days after their posted date (as long as they were submitted prior to 4 pm

EST).

Date

Posted
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-35

Welcome to CBDNet

CBDNet is the official FREE online listing of Government contracting opportunities which are

published in the Commerce Business Daily.

About the CBD

Readers Booklet

Classification Codes

Numbered Notes

Subscriptions to the Printed CBD

Subscriptions to the CBD Daily Datafeed

CBDNet - The CBD Database Online via GPO Access

Simple Search of the CBD --> Optional Frames Interface

Fielded Search of the CBD

Search FAQ's

Search Help

Extract data from the CBD database

Browse the CBD --> Optional Frames Interface

Submission of Notices to the CBD

Enter a Notice in the CBD (password required)

Submission FAQ's

Submission Instructions.

The following is an example of the Web interface of the CBDNet as well as an example of the

Fielded Search Page.

These links connect you

to valuable information

concerning the s u b m i s s i o n

of notices.

This link connects you

to information about

subscriptions to the

printed CBD. 

This link connects you to the simple

search page for the CBD. 

These links connect you to re f e rence 

documents created to help users submit

CBD Notices electronically.

This link connects you to the "CBDNotice Entry"

page. Submitters must connect to this page and

type in the appropriate information before they can

submit a CBD notice.

This link connects you to the Browse function

of the CBD which allows you to point and click

to find information (no searching is involved) A

frames interface will allow you to see multiple

screens at a time.

These links connect

you to information

to help you learn how

to search the CBD

databases quickly

and easily.

This link connects

you to the Fi e l d e d

C B D S e a rch page,

allowing you to make

your search ve r y

specific.

This links connects you to

information about the daily

CBD data feed (This

information is used

primarily by resellers of the

information.)
5-36

Database to Search: Active Notices Archive of Notices

You can choose which CBD

SUBMIT CLEAR database(s) to search.

Click on submit button to initiate search.

Click on clear button to clear search box. and selected

fields.

Below is an example of the CBDNet Fielded Search page on GPO Access.

AND OR

U.S. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENTS

CONTRACTS AWARDS

SPECIAL NOTICES

SOURCES SOUGHT

SALE OF SURPLUS PROPERTY

FOREIGN GOVERNMENT STANDARDS

AND OR

SERVICES SUPPLIES, EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL

AND OR

Choose a boolean

operator by clicking

on the radio button.

Choose one or more part(s)

to search by clicking on one

or more check boxes.

Click and hold your mouse in the box to get

a pull-down menu or optional classification

codes to search.

FIELDS:

Full-Text of the CBD

Posted Date (Enter either a range of dates or a specific date in the format mmddyy):

Classification Code

Subpart

Date Range: From Date buttons allow you to limit

your search using date(s) or

date ranges.

To

On Before After
G P O Access Training Booklet

5-37

CBDNet Searching FAQ's

1. How can I search for all notices from a specific geographic area?

In the office address field you can search by zip code(s) or state(s) or a combination of

both. For example: 

17602 or 17603 or 17604

PA or NJ or MD

17602 or PA or MD

If using the simple search page, in the search terms box, type the field name followed

by the equals sign(=) followed by the zip code(s) or state(s) or a combination of both.

offadd=17602 OR 17603 OR 17604

offadd=PA OR NJ OR MD

offadd=17602 OR PA OR MD 

2. How do I search multiple classification codes? 

You can use the simple search feature and do the following: 

class=10 or 11 or 12 

You can also use the fielded search page and do separate searches by using the

classification code pull-down menu. 

3. How do I search by zip code using 9 digits? 

Enclose the 9 digit zip code in quotation marks in the zip field. 

Example: "17909-1234" 

If using the simple search page, in the search terms box, type the field name followed

by the equals sign (=) followed by the zip code surrounded in quotation marks. 

Example: zip= "17909-1234" 

4. How can I save my search and perform it on a daily basis? 

When searching via the Web you cannot save your search string. However, if you use

WAIS client software to perform your searches, you can save the search string. Contact

the GPO Access User Support Team for information on obtaining WAIS client

software. 

N

ote: If searching by zip codes only you can

also use the zip code field. 
5. How can I search by the date of the printed issue? 

You can't search by print date, but you can search by date. Posted date is the date the

notice was placed in the database. Notices usually appear in the printed copy two

business days after their posted date (as long as they were submitted prior to 4 pm EST).

To search by posted date, use the fielded search page or enter the following search string

in the search terms box (using the appropriate date): posted=2/12/98.

6. How do I find all notices pertaining to 8a set asides (opportunities for small and

minority businesses) 

In the description field enter the following search string: 8a AND "set aside" 

7. How do I search for a specific solicitation number? 

Enter the entire solicitation number (including hyphens), surrounded in quotation marks,

in the solicitation number field. 

Example: "N62472-97-R-3915" 

If using the simple search page, in the search terms box, type the field name followed by

the equals sign (=) followed by the solicitation number surrounded in quotation marks. 

Example: sol="N62472-97-R-3915" 

8. How do I search for my notice using my submission number? 

In the cite field enter the submission number with no spaces. 

Example: SN022578 

If using the simple search page, in the search terms box, type the field name followed by

the equals sign(=) followed by the submission number.

Example: cite=SN022578 

9. How do I limit my search to a single issue of CBD? 

You cannot download an entire issue of the CBD. However you can limit your search by

the posted date. The posted date is the day the notice was posted in the online database.

Notices typically appear in the print copy 2 business days following the posted date. To

search by posted date use the fielded search page or simply type the posted field name

followed by the equals (=) sign the following in the simple search terms box:

posted=2/12/98.

5-38
10. How do I limit my search to get just what is new today? 

You can not search by issue date, but you can search by posted date. The posted date is

the day the notice was posted in the online database. Notices typically appear in the

print copy 2 business days following the posted date. To search by posted date use the

field provided on the Fielded Search Page or simply type the field name followed by the

equals sign (=) in the simple search terms box. For example: posted=3/21/97

The Browse CBD Notices link allows you to view notices according to type and class

code and lists them in date order (from most recent to oldest). The posted date is listed

in the header.

11 How do I get a copy of the full solicitation after finding an interesting notice in CBD? 

To get a copy of the full solicitation contact the person or persons designated as the

point of contact in the notice. 

12. How do I access the archive database? 

Click on the radio button titled "archive". Notices are placed in the archive database

after 15 days. 

13. How often is CBDNet updated? Some of your pages list "LAST MODIFIED" dates

that are weeks or months old. Has updating of this service been discontinued? 

CBD notices are added to the database on a real time basis, approximately 2 minutes

after a contracting official submits a notice. Pages which show lists of CBD notices are

built "on the fly" each time you request them. The LAST MODIFIED date on these

pages shows the last time the HTML template which surrounds the list of notices was

updated. 

14. How do I search for an RFP? 

On the simple search page in the search terms box you can simply enter the entire RFP

number surrounded by quotation marks.

Example: "RFP-686-6-97" 

On the fielded search page you can enter the RFP number in the solicitation number

field surrounded in quotation marks. ( It may appear in multiple fields within a notice.) 

15. What is the cost for a subscription to the online database? 

The online CBD database is free. References to subscriptions are for paper copies and

subscriptions to the daily electronic data feed for private companies that wish to buy the

CBD data and resell it. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

5-39

G P O Access Training Booklet

6-1

C

H

A

P

T

E

R 6

World Wide Web 

Applications
Web Applications

There are several GPO Access components which use Web technology to help you locate

or obtain information online. Although access to most of these applications is available

through a variety of methods, their functionality is increased if you access them via the

Web. These applications are:

✮ Federal Locator Service

Government Information Locator Service (GILS)

Browse Topics

Browse Titles

Search the Web

Search MoCat

✮ The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB)

✮ The Sales Product Catalog (SPC)

The Web Interface is very useful when searching GILS and MoCat because selecting fields

is as easy as clicking a box. Customized search pages are then created based on the fields

selected. The following pages will detail how to use these applications via the World Wide

Web. 

6-2
G P O Access Training Booklet

The Government Information Locator Service (GILS) databases contain

records to identify public information resources throughout the Federal

government, describe information available in those sources, and provide

assistance in obtaining information on those sources. Pathway GILS

records are provided as a service for Federal Depository Libraries and the

public to identify, describe, and link to other government information,

emphasizing the subject content and publications of an agency. Pointer

GILS records describe records from agencies that have mounted all of

their records on a server other than GPO Access, and provide “hot links”

to those locations. The GILS database is updated irregularly. Each GILS

document is available as an ASCII text file, with some available as HTML

(hyper-text markup language) files. The fields in the GILS databases are: 

6-3

Content

Government Information

Locator Service (GILS)

Fields recordsource: Record Source

originator: Originator

thesaurus: Thesaurus

geographicname: Geographic Name

Sourcesofdata: Sources of data

methodology: Methodology

supplementalinformation: Supplemental 

Information

Schedulenumber: Schedule Number

timeperiodofcontent: Time Period of 

Content

title: Title 

localsubjectindex: Local Subject Index

abstract: Abstract

purpose: Purpose

availablelinkagetype: Available Linkage Type

agencyprogram: Agency Program

accessconstraints: Use Constraints

crossreference: Cross Reference

controlidentifier: Control Identifier

dateoflastmodification: Date of Last modification

pointofcontactforfurtherinformation: Point of Contact -further 

information

M

ore detailed information is available from the

“What is GILS” page located at

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/whatgils.html
What is GILS?

The Government Information Locator Service (GILS) is a new way to identify, locate, and

describe publicly available Federal information resources, including electronic information

resources. GILS records identify public information resources within the Federal

Government, describe the information available in these resources, and assist in obtaining the

information. GILS is a decentralized collection of agency-based information locators using

networked technology and international standards to direct users to relevant information

resources within the Federal Government. Because this collection is decentralized, the U.S.

Government Printing Office (GPO) is attempting to provide a single point of entry to access,

or link to, all U.S. Federal GILS databases. Not all agencies have mounted their GILS

records on the GPO Access server and, as a result, currently must be accessed separately.

Because not all agencies have provided information on the location of their GILS records at

this time, this cannot be considered a comprehensive application. In developing its GILS

application, GPO laid the groundwork for assisting other agencies in fulfilling their GILS

responsibilities. A large number of agencies have mounted their GILS records on the GPO

Access server. These agencies are listed individually in the scroll box located on the GILS

search page. GPO also created a series of GILS records describing the information of

cabinet-level and major independent Federal agencies, called Pathway Records, that are

designed to assist the depository libraries and their users in locating and accessing Federal

information. Agencies that have mounted their GILS records on a server other than GPO

Access have been asked to provide a GILS pointer record, describing their GILS holdings and

containing links to those holdings. 

A provision for Privacy Act Notices was included in the GILS mandate. The National

Archives and Records Administration (NARA) produced the 1995 Privacy Act Compilation

for all Federal agencies, fulfilling the initial requirement, and sponsored online access to this

compilation via GPO Access. There have been no updated compilations produced since

1995. Updates to the 1995 Compilation are made available through the Federal Register

database online via GPO Access.

6-4

N

ote: More recent Privacy Act

compilations will be placed online as

provided. A link to the Privacy Act

Searching Page is provided on the Main

GILS Searching Page. 
Government Information Locator Service (GILS) 

Online via GPO Access

Search the full text of GILS databases on GPO Access or perform a fielded search.

Make your selection(s):

Enter search term(s):

Maximum Records Returned: Default is Maximum is 350. 

G P O Access Training Booklet

6-5

If you click on the Search GILS Records link from the SuDocs page , you will connect to the

GILS Search Page. URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/gils.html

What is GILS? Privacy Act Notices

User Feedback

Helpful Hints

Browse Pointer GILS Records

Browse Pathway GILS Records Browse GILS Records by Agency

Provides introductory information

about the GILS database and its

components.

Connects you to the Privacy

Act Search Page.

Connects you to the Helpful Hints

for Searching GILSonline via GPO

Access.

Links to a list of

Pointer GILS Records.

Links to a list of

Pathway GILSRecords.

All Records on GPO Access GILS Site

Pathway GILS Records Created by GPO

Pointer Records to other GILS sites

Individual Agency GILS databases on GPO Access

.....Consumer Product Safety Commission

.....Department of Commerce

.....Department of State

Menu of Available GILS records.

Highlight the GILS records you want to

search.

SUBMIT CLEAR

40

Enter search terms here.

Click on SUBMITto submit your

search. Click on CLEARto clear

search criteria and selections.

Selections will be set back to the

default. 

Links to fielded search pages.

Links to an agency

listing.

Select no. of documents to be retrieved. Default=40; Max =350

Connects you the "GILS User

Feedback Page" where you can

comment on the service.

The default searches all GILS

records located on GPO Access as

well as other known WAIS-based

Federal GILS sites. 
Originator

Point of Contact for Further Information

Purpose

Record Source

Sources of Data

Spatial Reference

Schedule Number

Supplemental Information

Time Period of Contact

Title

Use of Constraints

Field links will define

each mandatory field.

Abstract

Access Method

Agency Program

Availability

Control Identifier

Controlled Vocabulary

Cross Reference

Date of Last Modification

Local Subject Index

Methodology

Original Control Identifier

6-6

Below is an example of the GILS Fielded Searching Page. This page allows you to select

boxes-limiting your search to a particular field(s). A customized search page is created based

on your selections. The URL is: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/gilsfld.html

All Records on GPO Access GILS Site

Pathway GILS Records Created by GPO

Pointer Records to other GILS sites

Individual Agency GILS databases on GPO Access

.....Consumer Product Safety Commission

.....Department of Commerce

.....Department of State

Menu of available GILS

records. Highlight the GILS

records you want to search.

SUBMIT CLEAR

Checkboxes allow you to limit

your search by element name.

Click on SUBMITto submit

your search. Click on

CLEARto clear all search

criteria and selected fields.

Make your selection(s).

Search GILS Records by Fields

Online via GPO Access

Select one or more of the following fields (mandatory GILS elements) to search.
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-7

When you "submit" your search from the fielded search page, a customized search page is

created using the fields you selected. For this example, Abstract, Point of Contact for Further

Information and Title were the fields selected. 

40 Select the number of documents to be

returned.

SUBMIT CLEAR Click on SUBMITto submit

your search. Click on CLEAR

to clear search criteria.

AND OR

AND OR

Choose boolean operators;

default is set at AND.

GPO Access

Search GILS Records by Relevant Term

Maximum Records Returned:

Default is 40. Maximum is 350.

Abstract:

Point of Contact for Further Information:

Title:
6-8

B rowse To p i c s is intended for individuals who are browsing for general or

broad subject areas. The approximately 160 topics listed are based upon terms

from GPO's Subject Bibliographies. Browse Topics points to the site or sub-site

level of information.

Locator Services

Content

Browse 

Topics

Pathway

Indexer

Browse

Titles

The Pathway Services online via GPO Access are intended to provide links

to Government information available not only on GPO Access, but also

other Government sites. The service is comprised of five components. 

The Browse Titles feature allows users to browse a list of Government

agencies and link to a list of titles that agency has available online. These

titles are hot links to the actual online document. 

The Pathway Indexer searches the Internet for keywords of selected

Federal Government Internet sites. The Indexer points to the file level and

looks much deeper than Browse topics. The Pathway Indexer is good for

detailed or specific searches.

Sales 

Product

Catalog

The Sales Product Catalog (SPC) Online via GPO Access is updated daily.

This database serves as a booklet to Government information products

currently offered for sale by the Superintendent of Documents. The SPC

also includes citations on forthcoming Government information products as

well as to titles which have recently been superseded, gone out of print or

are out of stock. 

Catalog 

of Gov’t 

Pubs 

All information available through the Federal Depository Library Program

is cataloged by GPO. These materials include books, reports, maps,

posters, and periodicals published in paper and microfiche, as well as

electronic products. The cataloging records are published in the Monthly

Catalog of United States Government Publications (MoCAT) and are made

available for online searching as part of the GPO Access Federal Locator

services. The online Catalog is updated daily.
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-9

Browse Topics

This path of GPO Pathway Services arranges government Internet sites by topic. The main list of topics

is based upon the current Booklet to U.S. Government Information, also known as The Subject

Bibliography Index (SuDoc number GP3.22/2:996/IND.) 

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE? 

Further information for anyone interested in contributing to Browse Topics.

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P R S T U V W

HOT TOPICS!

1998 Budget of the U.S. Government 

International Trade 

Taxes 

Internal Revenue Cumulative Bulletins 

Congressional Information 

Below is an example of what you would see if you clicked on the Browse Government Internet

Sites by Topic link on URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs /locate.html

A

Accounting and Auditing 

Aerospace 

Africa 

Aging 

Agriculture 

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

Air Force Manuals 

Air Pollution 

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms 

American Revolution 

Annual Reports 

Aquatic Life 

Armed Forces 

Arms Control 

B

Background Notes

I

Immigration 

Insurance 

Intergovernmental Relations 

Internal Revenue Cumulative Bulletins 

International Trade 

L

Labor-Management Relations 

Languages 

Libraries 

M

Maps and Atlases 

Marketing 

Mathematics 

Mental Health 

Middle East 

Links to a list of

Internet sites

relating to this

subject.

Pathway Services
6-10

Accounting and Auditing

FinanceNet

FinanceNet is the Internet's home for public financial management worldwide. It was

established by Vice President Gore's National Performance Review in Washington, D.C. in

1994 and is operated by the National Science Foundation under sponsorship of the U.S. Chief

Financial Officers Council. FinanceNet reaches across geopolitical boundaries to link financial

management administrators, educators and taxpayers worldwide to catalyze continuous

improvements in the productivity of government personnel and in the stewardship and

accountability for taxpayer resources. FinanceNet also includes home pages for the Federal

Financial Managers Council and Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board. 

General Accounting Office 

The General Accounting Office is the investigative arm of Congress. Charged with examining

matters relating to the receipt and disbursement of public funds, GAO performs audits and

evaluations of Government programs and activities, and produces a wide variety of reports,

testimony, decisions, opinions, and guidebooks. 

Office of Management and Budget 

OMB assists the President in overseeing the preparation of the Federal budget and to supervise

its administration in Executive Branch agencies. In helping to formulate the President's

spending plans, OMB evaluates the effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures,

assesses competing funding demands among agencies, and sets funding priorities. 

Department of the Treasury

The Financial Management Service (FMS) is the United States Government's financial

manager, central disburser, and collections agent, as well as its accountant and reporter of

financial information. 

Below is an example of what you would see if you clicked on the link for Accounting and

Auditing from URL: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/pathbrws.html

Links to this Internet site (most related to

Accounting and Auditing.
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-11

Below is an example of what you would see if you clicked on the Browse Electronic

Government Information Products by Title and then clicked on the Agency Index button. 

Browse Electronic Titles

Government Information Products Available via the Internet

This page contains links to electronic Government information products available at official

Federal agency electronic information services accessible via the Internet. 

Arrangement of this list of titles is first alphabetically by major agency, then alphabetically by

title within agency or subagency groupings. 

Titles can be expected to remain on this list for at least ninety days.

Select New Additions for a list of products available via the Internet that GPO has recently

made accessible through Pathway Services. In-depth searches can be conducted on the The

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications (MOCAT). 

Note: Many, if not most, of these titles are also issued in traditional formats to depository

libraries. Where applicable, if the electronic title lacks its own SuDocs number and item

number, the SuDocs number and item number for the traditional format of the products will be

indicated for information purposes. 

[A] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [R] [S]

[T] [V]

Admin. on Aging 

Admin. Office of the U.S. Courts 

Agricultural Research Svc. 

Agriculture Dept. 

Air Force Dept. 

Armed Forces Information Svc. 

Arms Control & Disarmament Agency 

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Joint Cmte. on Printing 

Joint Economic Cmte. 

Justice Dept. 

Justice Statistics Bureau 

Labor Dept. 

Labor Statistics Bureau 

Jumps to that letter

of the index.

Agency Index

Links to a list of

information electronically

available on the Internet

from that agency.

Pathway Services
6-12

All information available through the Federal Depository Library Program

is cataloged by GPO. These materials include books, reports, maps, posters,

and periodicals published in paper and microfiche, as well as electronic

products. The cataloging records are published in the Monthly Catalog of

United States Government Publications (MoCAT) and are made available

for online searching as part of the GPO Access Federal Locator services. 

The “Catalog of U.S. Government Publications” database contains

cataloging records published in MoCAT since January 1994 and is updated

daily with preliminary cataloging records that will be edited and published

in future issues of MoCAT.

To identify information available in Federal Depository Libraries, begin by

choosing the fields to be searched. You have the option of searching the full

text of the MoCAT records as well as using one or a combination of fields.

Once you have selected the fields, use the SUBMIT button to request a

customized search form. The available fields are: 

Full Text of MoCAT Record Title 

Publication Year SuDocs Class Number

Depository Item Number GPO Sales Stock Number

The Search Results List presents a summary record for each publication.

The summary record includes the title, format, date of publication, issuing

agency, SuDocs Class Number and Depository Item Number. If the

publication is for sale by GPO, a GPO Stock Number will also be provided.

Utilizing the web interface for searching MoCAT Records allows you to

locate depository libraries that receive a particular publication. The

following pages demonstrate how to search GPO Access for a MoCAT

record and find all libraries that carry that particular publication. 

Content

Catalog of U.S. 

Government Publications (MoCat)

Fields
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-13

Identify Information Available in Federal 

Depository Libraries 

Catalog of U. S. Government Publications

(MOCAT)

Search the full text of MOCAT records on GPO Access or perform a fielded search.

Enter search term(s):

Maximum Record Returned: Default is 40. Maximum is 350. 

Phrases must be in quotation marks (" "). The operators ADJ (adjacent), AND, OR and NOTcan

be used, but must be capital letters. For example: "foreign affairs" AND "cd-rom". Word roots

can be searched using an asterisk (*) following the word stem. For example: legislat* will

retrieve both legislation and legislative. 

If you click on the Search the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MoCAT) from the

SuDocs Home Page, you will connect to the page shown below. URL:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adpos400.html

About Mocat Helpful Hints

SUBMIT CLEAR

Enter search terms here.

Click on SUBMITto submit

your search. Click on CLEAR

to clear search criteria.

Click this button to find out

more about MOCAT. Click on this button to

connect to the Helpful Hints

for using MOCAT.

This button connects to the fielded search page.

General searching

instructions are provided. 

40

Designate the number of

documents to be retrieved.
6-14

Search MOCAT by Fields

Online via GPO Access

Select the fields to be searched. Select only fields that will be used. Selected fields cannot be

left blank. Once you have selected the fields, use the SUBMIT button to request a search form. 

Title 

Publication Year 

Superintendent of Documents Class Number 

Depository Item Number 

GPO Sales Stock Number

Go Back to Search the Full Text of the Monthly Catalog of Publications (MOCAT). 

If you click on the fielded search option of the General MOCAT Searching Page you will be

connected to the MOCAT page shown below. URL:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adposfld.html

SUBMIT CLEAR

Click on SUBMITto submit your

field selections. Click on CLEAR

to clear all boxes selected. 

Click on the field(s) you wish to

use for your search. 

Click on boxes to select. Clicking

on field name links you to a

definition of that field. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-15

GPO Access

Federal Locator Services

Identify Information Available in Federal Depository

Libraries

Enter search terms in the space below. Phrases must be in quotation marks (" "). The operators ADJ

(adjacent), AND, OR and NOT can be used, but must be capital letters. For example: "foreign affairs"

AND "cd-rom". Word roots can be searched using an asterisk (*) following the word stem. For example:

legislat* will retrieve both legislation and legislative. Additional instructions and examples.

Maximum Record Returned: 

Default is 40. Maximum is 350.

Title: 

Words and phrases entered above will be searched in the title fields only. For example, "Safer

Skies" AND Weather 

Year of Publication (YYYY) : TO

For example, to find publications issued in 1994, use 1994 to 1994 Note: Do not leave either date

field blank.

When you "submit" your search from the Fielded Search Page, a customized search page is

created using the fields you selected. For this example, the title and years of publication were

selected. 

40

Select the number of documents to be

returned.

SUBMIT CLEAR Click on SUBMITto submit

your search. Click on CLEAR

to clear all search criteria.

AND OR

1900 2100

Allows you to choose a boolean

operator; default is AND. 

Enter search terms here.

Allows you to choose the year

of publication. 
6-16

Catalog Search Results

The search was: ("statistical abstract") 

Records returned: 13 

To locate Federal depository libraries that are likely to have a publication, select [Locate

Libraries]. For the cataloging information for a publication, select [Full Record]. Publications

with a GPO Stock Number may be available for purchase. Contact the nearest GPO Bookstore to

determine if a publication is currently for sale from GPO. (Note the Title and Stock Number)

[ 1 ]

Statistical abstract of the United States. [computer file].. 1993-. 

Annual. United States. C 3.134/7:995. [[0150-B]]. 

Rank: 1000 [Locate Libraries] [TEXT] [HTML]

[ 2 ]

Statistical abstract of the United States /. 1879-. Annual. United 

States. C 3.134:994. GPO stock no.: 003-024-08756-1. [[0150]]. 

Rank: 915 [Locate Libraries] [TEXT] [HTML]

Below is an example of the MoCAT Search Results Page. This page gives you an opportunity

to look at a full cataloging record of an item and allows you to locate libraries who have this

particular item. The bottom portion of this page is an extract of a full cataloging record. 

Example of a full Cataloging Recor d

Statistical abstract of the United States. computer file!..

1993-. Annual. United States. C 3.134/7:993. [[0150-B]].

************************************************************

<001> ocm29631878 

<005> 19940210135852.0

<010a> sn 94027618

<040a> EEX

<040c> EEX

<040d> GPO

<042a> lcd

<043a> n-us---

<074a> 0150-B

<086a> C 3.134/7:

<099a> C 3.134/7:993

<049a> GPOO

<130a> Statistical abstract of the United States (Computer file)

<245a> Statistical abstract of the United States

<245h> computer file!.

<260a> Washington, DC :

<260b> U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics

Administration, Bureau of the Census, Data User Services Division

<260c> 1993-

Click on this to locate your nearest

GPObookstore.

Items are presented

with a short summary.

Click this link to connect to the Locate

Library Searching Page.

This is an extract of a full

cataloging record.
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-17

GPO Access Federal Locator Services

Locate Federal Depository Libraries by State or Area Code

The selected publication is:

Item Number: ONE OR MORE 2-letter state abbreviation(s) (within a single box) for

up to 5 states.

FOR EXAMPLE: 

Enter State Abbreviation(s):

For a more specific listing, enter ONE OR MORE 3-digit telephone area 

code(s) (within a single box) for up to 3 area codes.

FOR EXAMPLE:

Please contact the libraries to determine their hours of service and confirm the availability of the

specific publication. 

Browse the entire list of Federal depository libraries that have selected this publication by

selecting the ALL button below.

If you click on the Locate Libraries function you will connect to the page below. This page

allows you to locate libraries by state and/or area code. URL:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/dpos/adpos003.html

Statistical abstract of the United States /. 1879-. Annual. United

States. C 3.134:995. GPO stock no.: 003-024-08787-1. 

0150

MD VA

301 202

ALL SUBMIT CLEAR

ALL SUBMIT

SUBMIT

CLEAR

CLEAR

Click on SUBMITto submit your search. 

Click on CLEARto clear all search criteria. 

Click on ALL to search for all depository libraries

that have the item. 

Fill in one or more of the spaces provided

to locate a library by area code.

Fill in one or more of the spaces provided to

locate a library by state.

The source you selected is displayed here.
6-18

Federal Depository Libraries in

Selected Area Codes

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Requested Publication:

Statistical abstract of the United States /. 1879-. Annual. United 

States. C 3.134:995. GPO stock no.: 003-024-08787-1. 

Item No.: 150

AREA CODE 202 (DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA)

0096A AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

WASHINGTON COLLEGE OF LAW

LIBRARY

4400 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE NW

WASHINGTON, DC 20016

Phone: (202)885-2627

0094C BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE

SYSTEM - LAW LIBRARY

ROOM B-1066

20TH STREET AND CONSTITUTION AVENUE NW

WASHINGTON, DC 20551

Phone: (202)452-3283

0093B CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

JUDGE KATHRYN J. DUFOUR LAW

LIBRARY

3600 JOHN MCCORMACK ROAD NE

WASHINGTON, DC 20064

Phone: (202)319-5155

0101C COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY

LIBRARY

250 E STREET SW

WASHINGTON, DC 20219

Phone: (202)874-4720

Below is an example of the Search Results for the Locate Library function. Each library that

carries a particular item is listed, including the libraries' addresses and telephone numbers. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-19

T

he Web interface provides direct

links to our most popular files as

well as links to begin an FTP or

telnet session. 

The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) is a free electronic bulletin board service

of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office

(GPO). All file library documents can be downloaded for free. 

The FBB enables Federal agencies to provide to the public immediate, selfservice access to Federal information in electronic form. The FBB runs in

Web, FTP, and Telnet mode at Internet address: fedbbs.access.gpo.gov. The

FBB is a component of the GPO Access service and now provides utility

and support files for use with GPO Access online, searchable databases. 

Federal agencies use the FBB as a means to distribute electronic files to the

public. Users can access information from the White House and Executive

Branch agencies (includes independent agencies) such as the Department of

State and Treasury, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Federal

Labor Relations Authority. Supreme Court opinions and files from other

Judicial Branch agencies are also available. The Federal Depository Library

Program has information available on the FBB as well.

Content

The Federal Bulletin Board
6-20

The Federal Bulletin Board

Online via GPO Access -- About this system

NEW! Biennial Report to Congress on the Status of GPO Access

Below is an illustration of the Federal Bulletin Board ( F B B ) page. It provides buttons to the

most popular links as well as a link to the full listing of file libraries. The URL i s :

h t t p : / / f e d b b s . a c c e s s . g p o . g o v /

Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO Access User

Support Team by Internet e-mail at gpoaccess@gpo.gov; by telephone at 

1-202-512-1530 or toll free at 1-888-293-6498; by fax at 1-202-512-1262. 

White House Organizations

Federal Depository Library Information - (includes Shipping

Lists)

View Alphabetical List of All file Libraries

OR Download the User’s Manual

Federal Agency Files

Congressional and Legislative Information

U.S. Supreme Court Opinions (1992-1998 Terms)

GPO Access Information - Source and Help files

Commerce Business Daily - Templates and Help Files

Click on this link to view a full listing of all

file libraries available on the FBB. 

This chart contains links to the most

popular file libraries.
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-21

Below is an example of what you would connect to if you clicked on the link titled, White

House Organizations and U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. (Iran/Contra Report)

Office of U.S. Trade Representative-GATT (TRADE)

This library contains documents published by the Office of the U.S. Trade

Representative, including the U.S. Agreement to the Uraguay Round of GATT.

GATTREAD.ME 02/24/98 2666 bytes (184 hits)

Information about GATT_DOC and GATT_SCH files

This free ascii text files provides some

information about the GATT_DOC.EXE and

GATT_SCH.EXE files and tells how to

decompress them. 

ascii gatt schedule-xx uruguay trade

export-import duties tariffs customs

trade-representa 

GATT_ACT.EXE 02/24/98 192721 bytes (53 hits)

GATTAct as signed by President

This is a compressed, self-extracting

file of the ascii text of the GATT Act

passed by Congress and signed by the

The Federal Bulletin Board Online Via GPO Access

Click on

these links to

access files

within the

White House

file library.

White House Offices and Agencies

Libraries offered by the Federal Bulletin Board

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative of the Executive

Office of the President (GATT)

Floodplain Management: Executive Office of the President,

Council on Environmental Quality

White House Conference on Aging

White House Entitlement Commission

White House Reports and Materials

A description of the

file is provided.

The size of the file

and the number of

times the document

has been downloaded

is provided. 

Click on this link to

access this

document. (The date

the file was uploaded

to the FBB appears

to the right of the

filename.
6-22

Index of /

Name Last modified 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

103_bill/ 19-Jun-95 00:00 

class/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

committe/ 09-May-96 12:00 

congmisc/ 11-Apr-96 10:33 

crime/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

dll/ 30-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_aer/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_cons/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_elec/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_mer/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_ngas/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_seds/ 29-Nov-95 00:00 

doe_sepe/ 19-Nov-95 00:00 

Below are examples of what you would see if you clicked on the link to see theAlphabetical

Listing of Files from the Introductory Federal Bulletin Board Page. Also shown is what the

complete file listing looks like if you connect to the board via File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

This page lists all file libraries available on the Federal Bulletin Board.

File libraries are listed in

alphabetical order with the date

of the last modification. 

The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) is now a free electronic bulletin board service of the Superintendent

of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). All file library documents can be downloaded

for free. 

Welcome! The following links will take you into our file libraries. You can browse the file descriptions

and download the files to your system. Enjoy! 

1.100TH 100th Congress: SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 803 files]

2.101ST 101st Congress: SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 642 files]

3.102ND 102nd Congress SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 554 files]

4.103RD 103rd Congress SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 731 files]

5.104TH 104th Congress SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 922 files]

6.40_CFR Title 40, CFR (Incomplete) [ 624 files]

7.97TH 97th Congress: SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 972 files]

8.98TH 98th Congress: SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 677 files]

9.99TH 99th Congress: SENATE VOTING ANALYSES [ 744 files]

This is how the files will

appear in the complete list

The file library's name and

the number of files in the

library are provided.

If you connect via FTP, the file library listing will appear

in this manner.
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-23

The Sales Product Catalog Online via GPO Access is updated daily. This

database serves as a booklet to Government information products currently

offered for sale by the Superintendent of Documents and is arranged by

GPO Stock Numbers; International Standard Book Numbers;

Superintendent of Documents classification numbers and alphabetically by

subjects, titles, agency series and report numbers, key words and phrases,

and authors. The SPC also includes citations to forthcoming Government

information products as well as to titles which have recently been

superseded or have gone out of print. 

Content

Sales Product Catalog

N

ote: Upon finding the product that you

wish to purchase, you can either place

an order online, or print out an order form to

mail or fax to GPO for processing. 
Word roots (truncation) can be searched using an asterisk ( * ) following the word stem.

Example: legislat* will retrieve both legislation and legislative. 

Questions or comments regarding this service? Contact the GPO Access User Support Team by Internet

e-mail at gpoaccess@gpo.gov; by telephone at 1-202-512-1530 or toll free at

1-888-293-6498; or by fax at 1-202-512-1262. 

 Have questions or comments for improving the Sales Product Catalog?

Contact the GPO Sales Program Bibliographic Systems Branch by

Internet e-mail at bybsys@access.digex.net;

by telephone at 1-202-512-1705; or by fax at 1-202-512-1655.

6-24

When you click on the link called Search the Sales Product Catalog (SPC) The following is an

illustration of page: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/sale/prf/prf.html

Search the Sales Product Catalog

Formerly the Publications Reference File (PRF)

Search the full text of the Sales Product Catalog:

Maximum Records Returned: Default is 40. Maximum is 350.

Phrases must be in quotation marks (" "). The operators ADJ (adjacent), AND, OR and NOT can be

used, but must be in capital letters. Example: "environmental protection agency" AND superfund.

Stock numbers should be searched as phrases. Example: "000-000-00000-0".
G P O Access Training Booklet

6-25

Sales Product Catalog

Search Results

[1]

TITLE: GOVMANUAL United States Government Manual (Federal Bulletin Board File) 

Size: 1842 , Score: 1000 , TEXT

[2]

TITLE: United States Government Manual (Computer Diskette) 

Size: 1990 , Score: 763 , TEXT

[3]

TITLE: United States Government Manual (Online Data Base Through GPO Access)

Size: 2132 , Score: 750 , TEXT

[4]

TITLE: United States Government Manual, 1996/1997 

Size: 1986 , Score: 749 , TEXT ,

[5]

TITLE: United States Government Manual, 1995/1996 

Size: 2087 , Score: 747 , TEXT

[6]

TITLE: GPO Access Data Bases Available Through the World Wide Web 

Size: 1970 , Score: 222 , TEXT

Click on this box to order

the item. This box only

appears if the item is in

stock.

Click on this link to get information on this item

such as: stock no., availability, publisher, price, etc.

Search the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MoCat)

This page re p resents the Sales Product Catalog Search Results Page. The search performed

was for the Government Manual. As with all GPO Access Search Results pages, the results are

in relevance ranked ord e r. In Phase I, the online SPC shows all products and will have an

o rder button for those items in-stock that you can click on to go to the Superintendent of

Documents order form. Phase II will allow you to order items which are currently on back ord e r. 

N

ote: You can order several products at

one time. When you select to order a

title an order form appears, providing you

the options to select the number of copies

you want, to add another item from your

search results list, or to perform another

search. When you have made all of your

selections, you will go to the order form

shown on the next page.
Check method of payment:

Check payable to Superintendent of Documents (mail orders only)

GPO Deposit Account: credit card no: expires: (mm/yy)

VISA MasterCard Discover/Novus 

Thank you for your order!

6-26

Company or personal name:

Addl. address/attention line:

Street address:

City, State, Zip Code:

Daytime phone with area code: 

PUBLICATIONS

This page allows you to complete the order form and order publications online. The

publication(s) you select from the results page will automatically be placed in the order form.

You must fill out all information on the order form or your order will not be accepted.

Superintendent of Documents Order Form

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G P O Access Training Booklet

A-1

APPENDIX
A-2

Congressional Bills Database Abbreviations:

Abbreviations for the different types of documents in the Congressional Bills databases

include:

Sample Entry Document Type 

——————————————————————-

H.R. 1234 House Bill 

S. 1234 Senate Bill 

H.J.Res. 123 House Joint Resolution 

S.J.Res.123 Senate Joint Resolution 

H.Con.Res. House Concurrent Resolution

S.Con.Res. Senate Concurrent Resolution 

H. Res. House Simple Resolution

S. Res. Senate Simple Resolution

Abbreviations on the following page represent different versions of the same bill in the

Congressional Bills databases.

Code Document Status (Version) 

——————————————————————————————-

(ash) Additional Sponsors House 

(ath) Agreed to House

(ats) Agreed to Senate 

(cdh) Committee Discharged House

(cds) Committee Discharged Senate 

(cph) Considered and Passed House

(cps) Considered and Passed Senate 

(eah) Engrossed Amendment House

(eas) Engrossed Amendment Senate 

(eh) Engrossed in House

(ehr) Engrossed in House Reprint 

(eh_s) Engrossed in House (No.) Star Print
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-3

(enr) Enrolled bill 

(es) Engrossed in Senate

(esr) Engrossed in Senate—Reprint 

(es_s) Engrossed in Senate (No.) Star Print

(fah) Failed Amendment House 

(fps) Failed Passage Senate

(hdh) Held at Desk House 

(hds) Held at Desk Senate

(ih) Introduced in House 

(ihr) Introduced in House—Reprint

(ih_s) Introduced in House (No.) Star Print 

(iph) Indefinitely Postponed in House

(ips) Indefinitely Postponed in Senate 

(is) Introduced in Senate

(isr) Introduced in Senate—Reprint 

(is_s) Introduced in Senate (No.) Star Print

(lth) Laid on Table in House 

(lts) Laid on Table in Senate

(oph) Ordered to be Printed House 

(ops) Ordered to be Printed Senate

(pch) Placed on Calendar House 

(pcs) Placed on Calendar Senate

(pp) Public Print 

(rah) Referred w/Amendments House

(ras) Referred w/Amendments Senate 

(rch) Reference Change House

(rcs) Reference Change Senate 

(rdh) Received in the House

(rds) Received in the Senate 

(re) Reprint of an Amendment

(reah) Re-engrossed Amendment House 

(renr) Re-enrolled

(res) Re-engrossed Amendment Senate 

(rfh) Referred in House

(rfhr) Referred in House—Reprint 

(rfh_s) Referred in House (No.) Star Print

(rfs) Referred in Senate 

(rfsr) Referred in Senate—Reprint
A-4

(rfs_s) Referred in Senate (No.) Star Print 

(rh) Reported in House

(rhr) Reported in House—Reprint 

(rh_s) Reported in House (No.) Star Print

(rih) Referral Instructions House 

(ris) Referral Instructions Senate

(rs) Reported in Senate 

(rsr) Reported in Senate—Reprint

(rs_s) Reported in Senate (No.) Star Print 

(rth) Referred to Committee House

(rts) Referred to Committee Senate 

(sas) Additional Sponsors Senate

(sc) Sponsor Change House 

(s_p) Star (No.) Print of an Amendment

Congressional Bills Glossary

Definition of Document Types

BillsH.R. House Bill

S. Senate Bill

A legislative proposal before Congress. Bills from each house are assigned a number in the order

in which they are introduced, from the beginning of each Congress (first and second sessions).

“Public bills” deal with general questions and “private bills” deal with individual matters such as

claims against the Government. 

Joint ResolutionsH.J.Res. House Joint Resolution

S.J.Res. Senate Joint Resolution

A legislative proposal requiring the approval of both houses and the signature of the President,

just as a bill does. Resolutions from each house are assigned a number in the order in which it is

introduced, from the beginning of each two-year Congress (first and second sessions). There is no

real difference between a bill and a joint resolution. The latter is generally used in dealing with

limited matters, such as a single appropriation for a specific purpose. A joint resolution has the

force of law if approved. Joint resolutions also are used to propose amendments to the

Constitution. These do not require Presidential signature, but become a part of the Constitution

when three-fourths of the states have ratified them.
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-5

Concurrent ResolutionsH.Con.Res. House Concurrent Resolution

S.Con.Res. Senate Concurrent Resolution 

A legislative proposal that must be passed by both houses, but does not require the signature of

the President and does not have the force of law. These are generally used to make or amend rules

applicable to both houses or to express the sentiment of the two houses. (For example, a

concurrent resolution is used to fix the time of adjournment of a Congress. It could also be used

to convey the congratulations of Congress to another country on the anniversary of its

independence.)

Simple ResolutionsH. Res. House Simple Resolution

S. Res. Senate Simple Resolution

A legislative proposal that addresses matters entirely within the prerogatives of one house or the

other. It requires neither the passage of the other house nor the signature of the President and does

not have the force of law. Most resolutions deal with the rules of one house. They are also used

to express the sentiments of a single house. (For example, a simple resolution could be used as

condolences to the family of a deceased Member or to give “advice” on foreign policy or other

executive business.) 

ReportsH. Rpt. House Report

S. Rpt. Senate Report

A document setting forth a committee’s explanation of its action regarding legislation referred to

it. House and Senate reports are assigned a number which includes the number of the Congress

during which they are published, i.e., H. Rpt. 103-40 refers to a report created in the House during

the 103d Congress. Conference reports are numbered and designated in the same way as regular

House and Senate Reports. Most reports favor a bill’s passage although a bill can be reported

without recommendation. When a committee report is not unanimous, the dissenting committee

members may file a statement of their views, called Minority Views and referred to as a Minority

Report. A reported version of a bill will include language referencing the applicable report

number.
A-6

Definitions of Common Document Status Codes

(ath) Agreed to House

(ats) Agreed to Senate

This term is used to describe concurrent or simple resolutions. These types of bills are not

“passed” in the manner of a regular bill; they are “agreed to in the house.”

(cdh) Committee Discharge House

(cds) Committee Discharge Senate

A motion to discharge a committee from considering a bill. The motion or petition requires

signatures of 218 House Members or two-thirds of the Senate. 

(cph) Considered and Passed House

(cps) Considered and Passed Senate

After debate, a bill is voted on and passed by one of the two congressional chambers. 

(eah) Engrossed Amendment House

(eas) Engrossed Amendment Senate

The final copy of a bill as passed by one chamber with the text as amended by floor action and

certified to by the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate. 

(eh) Engrossed Bill - House

(es) Engrossed Bill - Senate

The final copy of a bill as passed by one chamber and certified to by the Clerk of the House or

the Secretary of the Senate. 

(enr) Enrolled Bill

The final copy of a bill which has been passed in identical form by both chambers. It is certified

to by an officer of the house of origin (House Clerk or Senate Secretary) and then sent on for

signatures of the House Speaker, the Senate President, and the U.S. President. An enrolled bill is

printed on parchment. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-7

(ih) Bill Introduced - House

(is) Bill Introduced - Senate

In the Senate, any number of Senators may join in introducing a single bill and in the House a

limit of 25 members can co-sponsor a bill. Many bills are actually committee bills and are

introduced under the name of the chairman of the committee or subcommittee as a formality.

(pch) Placed on Calendar - House

(pcs) Placed on Calendar - Senate

Pending legislation before committees of either chamber which is assigned a calendar number

determining when it will be considered before the chamber.

(rah) Referred w/Amendments - House

(ras) Referred w/Amendments - Senate

An engrossed bill is passed from one chamber to the other requesting concurrence.

(rch) Reference Change House

(rcs) Reference Change Senate 

Change in the referral of a bill which requires unanimous consent of the members of the house

in question.

(rdh) Received in House 

(rds) Received in Senate

Legislation accepted for consideration in one of the congressional chambers.

(rfh) Referred Bill - House

(rfs) Referred Bill - Senate

When introduced, a bill is directed to the committees which have jurisdiction over the subject

with which the bill is concerned. (Bills are referred by the Speaker in the House and the

Presiding Officer in the Senate.)
A-8

(rh) Reported Bill - House

(rs) Reported Bill - Senate

A committee presents a report of its findings and recommendations to the parent chamber after

examining a bill. The version of the bill as reported will include changes, if any, recommended

by the committee.
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-9

Methods of Access

and 

File Formats
A-10

Public Access Terminals

Federal Depository Gateways

Background

Methods of Access

Since the inception of GPO Access, GPO has been committed to providing

unlimited access to all databases via GPO Access to everyone, regardless of their

technological capabilities. Because users have such as wide range of technical

capabilities, GPO Access can be reached through several methods.

Initially, GPO Access was available through 1) the Internet via WAIS client

software; 2) a telnet session; 3) a modem. However as GPO Access matured,

access methods and programs were introduced and expanded, such as the

introduction of Public Access terminals, Federal Depository Library Gateways

and access via the Web.

Realizing that not everyone has access to a computer, the Library Programs

Service (LPS) and the Office of Electronic Information Dissemination Services

(EIDS) assisted Federal Depository Libraries in introducing public access

terminals. These access terminals are located in Federal Depository Libraries and

allow users without a computer to access GPO Access. (The number of

Depository Libraries offering this service is growing rapidly and soon will be

offered at all of the approximately 1,400 depository libraries located throughout

the United States.)

In October 1994, the first remote off-site public access to GPO Access was offered

as part of the Federal Depository Library Gateway initiative, bringing GPO

Access to a local level. Under this program, Federal Depository Libraries permit

off-site access through their own computer system or those of partner networks in

their area. Members of the public connect to the Depository Library Gateway host,

which in turn establishes a transparent connection to the GPO Access online

service. 

Currently, over 30 Federal Depository Libraries serve as Gateways and offer GPO

Access through the Web, WAIS, or SWAIS. Many more Gateways are in

development - with the goal of a Gateway library in each state. Each Gateway has

chosen a method of access which supports the majority of its patrons, as well as

its technological level. Information on Gateways can be obtained through the

Federal Bulletin Board, the GPO Web Site, or from the GPO Access User Support

Team. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-11

World Wide Web

On June 23, 1995 the Superintendent of Documents World Wide Web Site was

introduced, providing yet another method of access to GPO Access databases.

In addition, the GPO Access site provides access to information concerning

Federal Depository Libraries, the Catalog of Government Publications

(MoCAT), U.S. Government Bookstores, online, on-demand and locator

services, as well as sales products. The SuDoc's Web pages are constantly

being enhanced and improved to better meet your needs and to incorporate

new GPO products and services.

Currently, users with Internet access can reach databases online via GPO

Access through the Web, through a Federal Depository Gateway, or through a

WAIS client. In addition, users with telnet capability or a modem can access

the databases through SWAIS directly from the GPO or through a gateway.

Lastly, even users without a computer can access this information through a

public access terminal available at a Federal Depository Library in their area. 
N

ote: You must configure your Web

browser and/or your WAIS client with

the Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to utilize

PDF files.

A-12

World Wide Web

WAIS

Access Method Overview

EINet WinWAIS/MacWAIS is a registered copy of EINet’s WAIS client,

provided to GPO Access users by the GPO with the permission of the vendor.

A software license fee has been paid to the vendor by GPO on behalf of each

user. The client is available for $15 per workstation.

The WAIS client software provides access to full-text and graphics. It allows

you to save searches you perform repeatedly to speed up your daily searching.

This windows-based program is menu-driven, allowing you to select sources

and construct searches easily. It comes pre-configured with GPO Accesssource

files and sample searches which help you to quickly become accustomed to

searching techniques. Source file maintenance is required. Documents can be

viewed on screen, retrieved by saving them to a disk or sent to your printer for

printing. Field names are provided in the Helpful Hints, the User's Booklet, and

in the online Query Report. Helpful Hint files are available by searching for the

word hints. Lastly, you can set your preferences to tailor the client to your

needs (i.e., maximum documents to be retrieved, default source and questions,

etc).

You can reach GPO Access via the Internet and a Web browser. This access

method provides full text and graphics. The step-by-step “click and choose”

methodology allows you to proceed logically and move from one page/header

to the next. Bookmarks allow you to revisit commonly used pages with the

touch of a button. 

Additions and changes to databases are made online by GPO so no source file

maintenance is required. "Hot links" to other sites allow you to connect easily

to other Government Information sites. 

Advanced fielded search pages are provided, where applicable, so you can

easily create simple searches or advanced fielded searches. Help files are

available with the click of a button.
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-13

N

ote: Depository Libraries are entitled

to 10 free copies of the WinWAIS

client. 

SWAIS

If you connect via modem or a telnet session you will connect to Simple WAIS, otherwise

known as SWAIS. This text-based client is available on a GPO server

(swais.access.gpo.gov) and is provided for users who do not have a full Internet

connection. You access this client through a direct telephone connection, (202) 512-1661,

or Internet telnet connection to the GPO computer swais.access.gpo.gov, as well as

through Federal Depository Gateways.

Because this is a text-based interface you move through this program using key

commands. Documents can be retrieved by screen capture or by emailing the document to

yourself or someone else. SWAIS only offers access to ASCII text files; it does not allow

you to locate or download any graphics files. This interface is compatible with assistive

technologies. 

The following chart will help you compare the different access methods and determine

which access method or combination of access methods best fits your needs. 
A-14

Feature WWW

(via the Internet)

Access Method Cheat Sheet

Hardware Needed Full Internet Connection Full Internet Connection Modem or

telnet capability

Windows & Web

browser (configured)

Windows & WAIS client

software (configured)

Communications

software

Full Text & Graphics

Available Online by

clicking Helpful Hints

button or from the

Online User’s Booklet. 

User must search for

the word hints or use

the Online User's

Booklet

User must search for

the word hints or use

the Online User's

Booklet

Full text & Graphics Full text only

Software Needed

Format of Info. 

Access to 

Help Files

Ability to Save

Searches

Saved Sample

Questions

Fields & Field

Names

Source File

Maintenance

Nature of

Interface

Ability to E-mail

Docs. Directly

from Server

Method of Saving

Documents

Not Available

Not Available Available Not Available

Available Not Available

Not Required

Point and Click Graphically 

Menu-driven

Text-based

Menu-driven

Required Not Required

Fields listed on screen

& act as a template

Fields listed in Query

Report or in Helpful Hints

Fields listed in Query

Report or in Helpful

Hints

Not able to directly 

E-mail documents

Not able to directly E-mail Able to E-mail using

E-mail keystroke

Print or Save doc.

directly to disk

Print or Save doc.

directly to disk

Screen Capture or

Email doc.

WAIS Client

(via the Internet)

SWAIS

(via modem/ telnet)
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-15

N

ote: The formats provided will vary

with each database, as well as the

type of interface used. 

N

ote: Tables that are presented in

ASCII text will retain all tabs and

column breaks so that the data can be

easily read as ASCII or downloaded into

a database package. 

Data is available in a variety of formats from the GPO Access Service. All

documents retrieved are provided as ASCII text files; however, documents are

also provided as Adobe Acrobat Portable Document files, Summary files and

TIFF graphic files. 

File Formats

ASCII Text

ASCII text documents contain just the raw data with no formatting. As a

result, documents will not have any special graphics or font formats, such as

bolds, underlines, italics etc. This is the only format available to you if you

access the system via SWAIS. 

There are some "special characters" that cannot be represented in ASCII text,

such as superscripts, subscripts, greater-than or equal to, less than or equal to

etc. When the system encounters a "special character" it replaces the

character with an abbreviation. Abbreviations for the special characters are as

follows:

<greek a> alpha

<greek b> beta

<inf> subscript

<sup> superscript

<ls-thn-eq> less than or equal to

<gr-thn-eq> greater than or equal to

<deg. F> degree symbol (Fahrenheit)

<deg. C> degree symbol (Centigrade)
A-16

AText Image File Format TIFF (TIFF) is a graphics file. It differs from a PDF file in that

the data included in a TIFF file is not searchable using freely available software.

Documents containing graphics can have one or more associated TIFF files. There will

be a separate TIFF file for each image, and the files will be sequentially numbered as they

appear in the document (TIFF,TIF1, etc.). Within the text of the document, the location

of an image is indicated by reference to the TIFF file:

<GRAPHIC><TIFF><filename.000>

If there is no TIFF file associated with a particular graphic, the location of the image is

indicated by reference to the TIFF file, including the file name. For example:

[GRAPHIC][TIFF OMITTED] TR21FE96.002

To view a TIFF file, you must have a graphics viewer associated with your Web browser

and/or a WAIS client, or download a file and then view it with an external graphics

viewer. If you are using the GPO Access EINet WAIS client, selecting a TIFF file will

automatically invoke the graphics viewer and display the image. You can then save or

print the image. 

The GPO Access EINet WAIS client has already been customized for the multiple TIFF

file names. If you are using another WAIS client, you should customize it to recognize

TIF1, TIF2... TIF200 as equivalent to TIFF. The Macintosh client is capable of viewing

an infinite number of TIFF images; the Windows client will display a maximum of about

200. 

Portable Document Format (PDF)

TIFF

Summary

The Summary is an ASCII text file that repeats the initial heading information of the

document and approximately the first 25 to 100 lines of text. You can view the summary

before viewing or saving a large file to verify that you have the correct document. 

Documents in the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) present the data

preserving the document's original look and feel. The cosmetic value of this format is

enhanced with the efficient use of a page. Pages are complete with text, graphics, photos,

and color. This format also provides full-text search capabilities so you can search and

retrieve exactly what you need. This document format is independent of the computer

platform or distribution media and is available to all users who have the free Adobe

Acrobat Reader software.
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-17

N

ote: Both WinWAIS and MacWAIS screens are used

in this booklet to illustrate basic searching

procedures and options. As a result, not every Window

for a particular command will be provided for each

interface; however, complete directions for each

command are provided for both interfaces. 

This section teaches you how to use the WinWAIS/MacWAIS interfaces to take

full advantage of the GPO Access Service. Performing a search is quite simple. It

consists of the following four main steps:

✮ Selecting Sources

✮ Developing Search Criteria

✮ Initiating the Search

✮ Retrieving Search Results

Type your

query in this

free-form

text box. 

Search results

appear here.

Shows

status info.

Documents

incorporated

as Relevance

Feedback can

be placed here.

Clicking this

button initiates

the query.

Click this

button to

cancel a query.

Click this button

to display the

selected sources.

Click these buttons to VIEW or SAVE the selected document.

The Question Window is the main user interface for the GPO WinWAIS and

MacWAIS clients. This interface allows you to specify and direct queries and

view documents retrieved. The diagram below represents the WinWAIS client

interface which is almost identical to the MacWAIS interface.

GPO Access Client Software

Question Window
A-18

In MacWAIS:

✮ Click on Sources in the pull-down

menu.

✮ Highlight the Select Sources

option.

✮ Highlight the source(s) you wish to

search.

✮ Press the Select button.

✮ Click the Done button.

In WinWAIS:

✮ Press ALT-E or click on the Edit pull-down

menu.

✮ Select the Select Sources option.

✮ Highlight the database(s) to be searched.

✮ Click on the Select button.

✮ Click the OK button.

Selecting Sources 

You dictate which sources to search for each query. More than one database can be selected

at a time. If multiple sources are selected, the search results will be merged and ranked by

relevancy. To select sources, execute the following steps:
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-19

N

ote: Once you highlight a document the

view and save buttons will be enabled.

Remember that the size noted on the screen

is the size of the ASCII text document.

Once a search has been completed, the search results will appear in the Window.

The Search Results List consists of the score, size of the text document, the

identification code (if any) and the truncated title. At this point, you can save or

view a document. To save a document use your arrow keys to highlight a

candidate document, click the save button and designate the destination directory.

To view documents use your arrow keys to highlight the candidate document you

wish to view and hit Enter or double click the mouse button.

Saving/Viewing Documents

All documents on the WAIS server are available in simple ASCII text files;

however, there are some TIFF images and PDF files that the client software will

retrieve. When the Search Results List is displayed and you choose a document

for viewing, various options for retrieving documents may appear.

Pick the type of document you’d like to view, double-click on the type or select

OK. If you have the necessary additional software, and your client has been

configured correctly, the appropriate software will automatically launch (i.e. the

graphics viewer or Adobe Acrobat Reader) after a temporary file has been

transferred to your system. If you choose not to save the document, the temporary

file will be deleted from your system when you exit the WAIS client.

You will have to change the attribute back to its original setting to replace source

files or delete them from your drive. To do this, go back to the DOS prompt in the

einet\wais\sources directory and type attrib *.* -r. The files may now be deleted

or replaced if necessary.
A-20

N

ote: To determine where a graphics file is located in a

document, use the Find command and type in TIF and

the corresponding number. For example, if you want to

know where a graphics file is positioned, type TIF and the

system will search for TIFF, TIF1, TIF2, etc.

Once the search is complete and the candidate document you wish to view has

been retrieved, you can utilize the Find command to locate a particular term in a

large document. To utilize the Find command, execute the following steps:

In WinWAIS:

✮ Press ALT-S or click on

the Search pull-down

menu.

✮ Highlight the Find

function.

✮ Type in search terms.

✮ Hit Enter or click OK.

In MacWAIS

✮ Click on Edit in the pull-down

menu.

✮ Highlight the Find command.

✮ Type the word(s) to be searched.

✮ Hit Enter or click OK.

FIND Command

To find the next location of the word choose the Find Next or Find Again option

and press Enter. The quick key command for Find Again is F3.
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-21

After searching for a particular topic, you will be provided with a list of

candidate documents displayed from the most to least relevant. In order to

make your search more specific you can utilize the relevance feedback

function. The Relevance Feedback function allows you to select particular

documents resulting from a search and mark them as relevant. You will then

be able to run the search a second time. The server takes into account the

documents marked as relevant and searches for similar documents that share a

large number of common words. To operate the relevance feedback function

execute the following steps:

✮ Highlight a candidate document that meets the search criteria.

✮ Drag the highlighted document to the box labeled “Similar to" 

a suitcase will appear).

✮ Click on the Ask button or press Enter.

N

ote: MacWAIS sources may

NOT be deleted from within the

client, so these security measures

are not necessary within MacWAIS. 

CAUTION: IF YOU PLACE THIS BOOKLET BY A

PUBLIC ACCESS TERMINAL YOU MAY WANT

TO DELETE THIS SECTION

Protecting Source Files 

Relevance Ranking and Relevance Feedback

It is possible in the WinWAIS client software to delete source files from the

Source Selection Window. This may happen accidentally, particularly in a

public setting. To prevent this, exit Windows and go to the DOS prompt.

Navigate to the einet\wais\sources directory and type attrib *.* +r. This sets the

attribute for all files in that directory to read only, which prevents them from

being deleted. This will not allow anyone to delete source files from within the

client. If a source is accidentally removed from the Source Selection screen

after changing the file attributes, simply exit WinWAIS and restart the program.

The source files will reappear.
A-22

GPO Access WAIS client software allows you to save searches you execute repeatedly (such

as the Table of Contents in the Federal Register). To save and retrieve searches perform the

following steps:

✮ Press ALT-F or click on the File pulldown menu. 

✮ Highlight the Open Question command.

✮ Highlight the name of the search you

wish to retrieve. 

✮ Press OK.

To Retrieve Questions in WinWAIS:.

To Retrieve Questions in MACWAIS: 

✮ Select File from the pull-down menu.

✮ Highlight the Save command.

✮ Type in the name you want to use to save the

search. 

✮ Press OK.

To Save Questions in MACWAIS: 

✮ Select File from the pull-down menu.

✮ Highlight the Save command.

✮ Type in the name you want to use to save

the search. 

✮ Press OK.

To Save Questions in WinWAIS:

✮ Press ALT-F or click on the File

pull-down menu.

✮ Highlight the Save Question

command.

✮ Type in the name you want to use

to save the search.

✮ Press OK.

Maintaining a List of Common Searches 
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-23

When new databases are added to the GPO Access WAIS Server, you can

simply append the new database to your source file. This can be done in two

ways: 1) Connect to the FBB Web/FTP site and download the new source(s)

into your source directory (202-512-1387 or http/FTPto fedbbs.access.gpo.gov)

or 2) create a new source in the source file by typing in a few pieces of

information provided by GPO. When a new database is introduced, you will

be provided the host address, database name, and all pertinent information

needed to build a source file or download the information. This information

is provided in online messages which appear as the number one document

after every GPO Access search and is posted on many list-serves. 

To access new source files on the FBB, type User Booklet type /GO GPO_Access

at the Main Menu. On the ftp site, sources are located in the directories

d:\gpo\access\info\sources\mac or the d:\gpo\access\info\sources\windows.

There is no charge for downloading source files, but with experience you may

find it just as easy to type them in yourself. 

The following describes the task of creating a new source and provides

portions of the screens you will view when adding sources manually.

In WinWAIS:

✮ Highlight the Select Sources command.

✮ Highlight the New command.

✮ Type the Name (Name appears on the

Source Selection menu).

✮ Type the Host Name.

✮ Type the Database Name.

✮ Type a Database Description (optional).

✮ Click OK.

Source File Maintenance
A-24

In MacWAIS:

✮ Highlight the New command.

✮ Type in the Source Name (this appears on

the Source Selection menu).

✮ Type in the Database Name.

✮ Type in the Host Name.

✮ Type in a Database Description (optional).

✮ Click OK.

The Preferences command allows you to edit MacWAIS's or WinWAIS’s User

Preferences. The following examines some of the preference settings.

In WinWAIS:

✮ Press ALT-E or click on the Edit pull-down menu.

✮ Highlight the Preferences Command.

Select number of documents to be

retrieved after every search. 

(Recommended = 40; Max.= 200) 

Set a frequently

performed search to be

your default question. Use pull-down

menus to

select sources

& questions.

Specify where to

save documents

& questions on

your workstation.

User Preferences
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-25

Sets the Question Window that is

to be opened when the application

is started. 

Select number of documents

to be retrieved after every

search. **Unlimited number.

Choose the source you use

most often to be your

default source.

Set a frequently performed

search to be your default

question. 

In MacWAIS:

✮ Click on the File pull-down menu.

✮ Highlight the Preferences Command. 
A-26

Because SWAIS is text-based all commands must be initiated/executed using

key-strokes. A listing of available commands can be found at the bottom of

each screen. 

You access the SWAIS system via your preferred method, either telnet to

swais.access.gpo.gov, or use your modem to dial 202-512-1661. After

logging in as guest, the first screen to appear is a summary of the databases

offered. 

This is an illustration of the SWAIS Welcome Screen. 

N

ote: Some keystrokes referred to in this

booklet may not work on all systems,

depending on how your terminal emulation

interprets your keyboard map. For example, if you

do not have a highlight bar when moving up and

down on the menu, try typing the word ANSI at

the VT100 prompt after logging in. (The word ansi

must be lower case.)

Simple WAIS (SWAIS)

Connecting to SWAIS
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-27

You dictate which source(s) to search for each query. If multiple sources are

selected, the search results will be merged and ranked by relevancy.

To select a database, use the cursor keys (arrows) to move the highlight bar

up and down, or type the SWAIS database number for the source you’d like

to select and hit the Enter key. After highlighting the database or typing its

number, press the space bar to select the source. ( An asterisk * will appear

next to the database name on the screen.) To deselect, move your cursor to

the source you wish to deselect and hit the space bar. You may select one or

more databases for your search.

These are the commands that you can use while viewing the Source

Selection Screen. This list can be reviewed during a search by pressing the

? or h key.

j, down arrow, ^N Move down one item

k, up arrow, ^P Move up one item

J, ^V, ^D Move down one screen

K, <esc>,v, ^U Move up one screen

## Enter source numbers to highlight a

source for selection

/sss Search for source number sss

<space>, <period> Display current item

= Deselect all sources

v, <comma> View current item information

<return> Display current item

s Specify new sources or refresh source list

w Perform another search with new words

X, - Remove current source permanently

o Set and show SWAIS options

h, ? Show help display

H Display program history

q Exit this program

N

ote: Some telnet software may not highlight the

selected item, or the keys used in this example

may be different. Type the ? or a lower case h to

bring up a help screen that lists alternative

command keys.

Selecting Sources

Source Selection Commands
A-28

Suppose you are interested in finding information in the 1996 Federal

Register concerning Youth Programs and the homeless. At the bottom of the

screen, you will see a prompt that says: <space> selects, w for keywords,

arrows move, <return> searches, q quits, or ?. Once you have selected your

sources, press w to enter the key words for your search. (At this point a

blinking cursor will appear at the keyword prompt in the bottom left-hand

corner of the screen.) Once the system prompts you, type “youth programs”

AND homeless and press the Enter key to initiate the search.

After a few moments, the system will redraw the screen with the Search

Results List. The documents found are displayed in order from the most

relevant to the least relevant. The document at the top of the list, with the

score of 1000, is the most relevant, or the one the system thinks will most

likely satisfy your search requirements. SWAIS, by default, retrieves 40

documents at a time. You can change this setting, and other default options,

by typing a lower case o at the Source Selection Screen.

Listing of key

commands.

A l l databases

available online via

GPOAccess are

listed on the

SWAISSource

Selection Screens.

You can select a source by typing the

database number.

Executing a Search

This Figure is an example of the SWAIS Source Selection Menu.

Source Selection Screen
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-29

N

ote: To change the maximum

number of documents retrieved or

other user preferences, type the letter o

(lowercase) to access the User

Preferences screen. 

The key commands listed below will help you move through the Result

Screen, perform additional searches, set search preferences, etc. This list can

be reviewed by pressing the h key or ? key when viewing your search results. 

j, down arrow, ^N Move down one item

k, up arrow, ^P Move down one screen

J Move down one screen

K Move up one screen

R Show relevant documents to a term

m Mail current item to an Internet e-mail

address

## Position to item number 

/sss Position to item beginning sss

<space> Display current item

<return> Display current item

| Pipe current item into a unix command

v View current item information

s Specify new sources to search

w Make new search with new keywords

o Set and show WAIS options (preferences) 

h or ? Show help display

H Display program history

q Exit SWAIS

Search Result Screen Commands
A-30

N

ote: The words you searched for will

not be highlighted, so you’ll have to

look for them in the text of the first line. 

N

ote: You may want to check the size

of the document if your Internet e-mail

provider limits the size of messages you

may receive or if you are pressed for

storage space on your computer.

Viewing Documents

Find Command

After performing this search, the document “fr15ap96N Runaway and Homeless

Youth Program,” was ranked among the most relevant. Browse through the list

using the arrow keys to highlight this document, or type the item number and hit

enter. Type a lower case v at this point, and SWAIS will display details about the

highlighted document, including the file size, which is the "# of Chars item". Each

character is a byte, so the file we have selected is approximately 188,000 bytes, or

188K. To view the document on screen simply hit the space bar.

When viewing a document, the letters stdin will be highlighted at the bottom of the

screen. When you see this prompt, the system is telling you that there is more text

to follow and the system is "standing by". You can scroll through a document to

read what it is about by hitting the space bar at the stdin prompt to move down a

full screen of text in the document. To skip down more or less than one screen, type

a number at the stdin prompt. Type 100, for example, and 100 lines will scroll past. 

The forward slash is used to search inside a document for key terms. You'll find it

particularly useful when dealing with large documents. To search for a specific

term in the text, type / (a forward slash) followed by the words you would like to

search for and hit Enter. This is case-sensitive, so be sure to type it exactly as you

think it will appear in the text. The system will scroll through the document and

when it stops the word(s) you searched for will appear on the top line. 

To search for the next occurrence of the same word or phrase, type a lower case n.

When you are done looking at the document, use q to quit viewing and return to

the Search Results screen.
G P O Access Training Booklet

A-31

The following are additional commands you can utilize while viewing a

document. Most commands can be (optionally) preceded by integer argument k to

indicate how many times the operation should be carried out. For example, 3b is

the command to go back 3 pages. Defaults are indicated in brackets. 

<space> Display next k screenfuls of tex

b or ctrl-B Skip backwards k screenfuls of text [1]

f Skip forward k screenfuls of text [1]

/(word to be searched) Search for regular expression (Case sensitive)

n Find next occurrence of expression

<return> Display next line

d or ctrl-D Scroll k lines [Default scroll size is 11]

s Skip forward k lines of text [1]

m Place a mark at a place in a document

‘ Go to a marked portion of document

= Display current line number

:f Display current file name and line no.

ctrl-L Redraw screen

q or Q Return to search results screen 

## Continuously scroll through number of lines

specified

Viewing Commands 

Special Characters

There are some "special characters" that cannot be represented in ASCII text, such

as superscripts, subscripts, greater-than or equal to, less than or equal to, etc.

When the system encounters a "special character" it replaces the character with an

abbreviation. Abbreviations for the special characters are as follows:

<greek a> alpha

<greek b> beta

<inf> subscript

<sup> superscript

<ls-thn-eq> less than or equal to

<gr-thn-eq> greater than or equal to

<deg. F> degree symbol (Fahrenheit)

<deg. C> degree symbol (Centigrade)
A-32

N

ote: To avoid having stdin appear

in the captured file, type a large

number (such as 1000000) and hit

enter at the first stdin prompt to have

text scroll by continuously. (See below

for other search techniques.) 

Exit SWAIS by pressing the q key at either the Search Results Screen or the

Source Selection screen. It is very important that you exit completely out. In other

words, do not simply shut off your machine or exit from your communications

program unless you have no alternative.

Retrieving Documents

Exiting the System

With an Internet E-mail Address

Without an Internet E-mail Address

If you decide that you want a copy of the document, type m (lowercase) at the

Search Results screen to mail the currently selected document to your own or any

other Internet e-mail address. The system will prompt you to enter your address,

and then hit enter to mail the document directly from the GPO WAIS server.

If you do not have an Internet e-mail address, perform a print capture to have the

document print directly to your printer as it scrolls by, or perform a file capture,

which will save the document as ASCII text to a directory or folder you have

designated through your software. Most communications programs support this

type of capture, and some common terms or phrases which may be in your manual

or in an on-screen menu are save to a file, capture log, print log, print capture,

screen capture, screen to file/printer, or something similar. Look for these terms in

the index of the manual, or consult a technician at your location for assistance.

Microsoft Windows users who are using Windows telnet or other communications

software (and Mac users) can copy small portions of a document to the clipboard

and paste them into a word processor.

Turn on the capture before pressing the space bar to view a document, and turn it

off before typing q to return to the Search Results screen.
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-1

Glossary of Terms
G-2

access privileges: The privileges to open and make changes to folders and their contents; they

are given to or withheld from users. 

access time: The time it takes for a computer to get data from a disk 

activate: To make a nonactive window active by clicking anywhere inside it. 

active hub: A multiported device that amplifies LAN transmission signals. 

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP): A standard Internet protocol for resolving hardware

addresses from Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF): The native file format for Adobe Systems’

Acrobat. PDF is the file format for representing documents in their original

format in a manner that is independent of the original application software,

hardware, and operating system used to create those documents. A PDF

file can describe documents containing any combination of text, graphics,

and images in a device-independent and resolution independent format.

These documents can be one page or thousands of pages, very simple or

extremely complex with a rich use of fonts, graphics, color and images. 

alert box: A dialog box that appears on the screen to notify the user that a virus or

suspicious activity has been detected. 

alias: A representative object that points to an original object (file, folder or

disk). Aliases provide quick access to applications, files, folders, and disks

without having to seek out originals. 

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII): A standard that represents

text, punctuation, and other characters numerically.

animated GIF: A graphic image on a Web page that moves—for example, a twirling icon

or a banner with a hand that moves or letters that become larger and

smaller.

The following "Glossary of Terms" contains commonly used words by the U.S. Government

Printing Office when dealing with electronic information. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-3

ANSI Z39.50: Information Retrieval Service Definition and Protocol Specification for

Library Applications, officially known as ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1992, and

ANSI/NISO Z39.50-1995. This standard, used by WAIS, specifies an OSI

application layer service to allow an application on one computer to query

a database on another.

AppleShare: An extension that allows users to access shared files on other networked

Macintosh computers or Appleshare file servers. 

application: A computer program written for a specific purpose, such as word

processing or creating a spreadsheet. Also called program or application

program. 

application window: The window containing the work area and menu bar application

archive file: A single file or group of files that have been compressed into one file. 

asynchronous: Refers to operations that do not require the clocks of communicating

devices to be coordinated. Instead, the devices send signals to each other

indicating readiness to receive or send.

attached document: In electronic mail (e-mail), a binary file (such as a program or a

compressed word processing document) that has been attached to an e-mail

message. The contents of the file do not appear within the e-mail message

itself.

bandwidth: The capacity that a telecommunications medium has for carrying data. 

batch file: A text file containing MS-DOS commands that can be executed to run the

commands it contains, as if they were typed in at the keyboard. 

baud: The speed at which data is transferred from one site to another.

binary file: A non-ASCII file, such as a database or executable program, that contains

data that is not text and therefore cannot be printed. 

bit-mapped graphic: A type of graphics file in which one or more bits are used to describe the

color of each tiny square that makes up an image. 
G-4

bookmark: In general, a code inserted in a particular place in a document so that place

can easily be found later.

boolean search: A query with multiple words separated by commands such as AND, OR,

and NOT.

bounce: The return of a piece of e-mail due to an error in its delivery.

browse: To use a dialog or list box to look for a document or directory.

browser: A client program that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources.

bulletin board service (BBS): A computer that can be reached directly by phone (and, in some

cases, by Telnet) for the purpose of sharing or exchanging messages or

other files. 

cache: A storage area in a computer that keeps frequently accessed data or

program instructions readily available.

carrier: The background signal on a communication channel that is modified to

carry information. 

chooser: A Macintosh desk accessory that allows users to configure a computer

system to print on any printer when a printing resource is available on the

current startup disk. 

client: In a client/server architecture, the client is the program which requests

services. With WAIS, clients are user interface programs which request

services from remote or local services, using the WAIS protocol. 

client/server: A common form of distributed system in which software is split between

server tasks and client tasks. A client sends requests to a server, according

to some protocol, asking for information or action, and the server responds.

Common Gateway Interface (CGI): A standard that describes how HTTPD-compatible World

Wide Web (WWW) servers should access external programs, so that this

data is returned to the user in the form of an automatically generated Web

page.
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-5

Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM): One of a set of competing standards that

make use of the large data density of optical disks. A form of data

storage that uses laser optics rather than magnetic means for reading

data.

compression: (1)Areduction in the number of bits required to represent information in

data transmission or storage, thereby conserving bandwidth and/or

memory. (2)The coding of data to save storage space or transmission

time. 

cookie: A piece of information sent by a Web server to a Web browser that the

browser software is expected to save and to send back to the server

whenever the browser makes additional requests from the server.

compressed file: A file converted by a file compression utility to a special format that

minimizes the disk storage space required.

configure: To change software or hardware actions by changing settings.

Configurations can be set or reset in software or by manipulating

hardware jumpers, switches or other elements. 

Consultative Committee for International Telegraphy and Telephony (CCITT): Group

within the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) that defines

data communications standards. 

data: Information represented in digital form, including voice, text, facsimile

and video. 

database: A collection of data that is organized so that its contents can be easily

accessed, managed, and updated. 

data integrity: A measure of accuracy based on error detection. 

debugging: The process of locating and correcting errors in a program.

desktop: The working environment on the computer.
G-6

device: (1) A hardware component of a computer system, such as a monitor, disk

drive, or printer. Also called a peripheral device, because such equipment

is often physically separate from, but attached to, the computer. (2) A part

of the computer, or a piece of external equipment, that can transfer

information. (3) Any piece of equipment that can be attached to a

network—a computer, a printer, a file server, a print server, or any other

peripheral device.

dialog box: A window that appears on a user's screen, containing a button, checkboxes,

etc. 

dial-up: To use communications software and a modem to connect to another

computer for a limited-time session, using the telephone system. 

directory: The PC name for a folder.

document file: A file that is created by or associated with an application and contains no

executable code. Examples include word processing documents,

databases, and spreadsheets. 

domain: A group of computers whose names share the same suffix or “domain

name” e.g. “.com” (commercial), “.org” (organization), “.gov”

(government), “.mil” (military), “.edu” (educational institution), “.net”

(network operations). There are also two letter domain names for

individual countries, such as “.us” (United States), and “.uk” (United

Kingdom). 

Domain Name Service (DNS): A TCP/IP protocol for discovering and maintaining network

resource information distributed among different servers. 

download: To copy a file from a storage device (especially another computer) into

your computer, or to send something from a computer to a printer.

electronic mail (e-mail): The use of a network to send and receive messages.

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) file: A high-resolution graphic image stored in the PostScript

page description language.

encryption: The scrambling of data so that it can only be read by the intended person.

ethernet: A high-speed local area network that consists of a cable technology and a

series of communication protocols.
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-7

extranet: A private corporate network using Web technology to link a company with

its customers. 

fax modem: A modem able to send or receive faxes without the need to convert the

document in the computer to paper.

Federal Depository Gateways: Public or private institutions offering remote, off-site public

access to the GPO Access system.

file: A document or other collection of information stored on a disk and

identified as a unique name.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP): The TCP/IP protocol that enables a user to copy files from one

machine to another on the Internet. In asynchronous communications, a

standard that ensures the error-free transmission of program and data files

through the telephone system. 

firewall: A network security system that helps prevent unauthorized access and also

prevents legitimate users accessing the Internet from the local network. A

firewall usually consists of a single machine that’s connected to the

Internet and all Internet traffic must pass through that machine. 

floppy disk: A 3.5” or 5.25” removable magnetic medium used for storing programs

and other files.

folder: A grouping of files and/or folders that is represented by a folder-shaped

icon on the desktop. Folders can contain documents, applications, and

other folders. A folder is sometimes referred to as a directory or

subdirectory.

format: A process which prepares a disk (floppy or hard) to hold data.

full-duplex: A four-wire communication circuit or protocol that allows two-way data

transmission between two points at the same time. 

gateway: A means by which users of one computer service or network may access

certain kinds of information on a different service or network. 
G-8

Government electronic information service: The system or method by which a component of

the Government or its authorized agent disseminates Government

information products to the public via a telecommunications network or

successor technology.

Government information: Information, regardless of form or format, which is created or

compiled by employees of a component of the Government, or at

Government expense, or as required by law.

Government Information Locator Service (GILS):A decentralized collection of agency-based

information locators using network technology and international standards to

direct users to relevant information resources within the Federal Government. 

Government information product: A Government publication or other discrete set of

Government information, either conveyed in a tangible physical format

including electronic media, or disseminated via a Government electronic

information service.

Graphical User Interface (GUI): Software design that allows users to operate the software by

selecting and moving icons and pictographs instead of typing commands. 

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF): A standard used for compressing and processing images

as computer files.

handshaking: A method for controlling the flow of serial communication between two

devices so that one device transmits data only when the other device is ready.

hardcopy: Output printed on paper.

hard disk: A disk drive which has larger capacity and is faster than floppy disks.

hit: A single file request in the log of a Web server.

home page: Usually the main/top level page (default) accessed by a World Wide Web user

who goes to a Web site. In any hypertext system, including the World Wide

Web (WWW), a document intended to serve as an initial point of entry to a

web of related documents. 

host: In the Internet, any computer that can function as the beginning and end point

of data transfers. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-9

hypertext: A collection of documents containing links to one another that allow a user

to easily jump between documents. 

HyperText Markup Language (HTML): The computer language used to create linked text and

image files that are used by World Wide Web browsers.

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP): The protocol used by the World Wide Web.

HyperText Transfer Protocol Daemon (HTTPD): A program on a Web server that waits for

requests and forwards them to other processes.con: In a Graphical User

Interface (GUI), an on-screen symbol that represents a program, data file, or

some other computer entity or function.

install: To load software or hardware into a computer system.

interface: The connection between two hardware devices, between two applications, or

between a user and an application that facilitates the exchange of data. 

Internet: A large network of computers connected to a backbone network. The Internet

spans a variety of protocols and many different physical networks around the

world. 

Internet Protocol (IP): In TCP/IP, the standard that describes how an Internet-connected

computer should break data down into packets for transmission across the

network, and how those packets should be addressed so that they arrive at

their destination. 

intranet: A network within an organization which provides similar services to the

Internet but is not necessarily connected to it. 

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG): A standard used for compressing and processing

either full color or gray scale images of natural, real-world scenes as image

files. 

Kermit: A communication protocol, used mainly for file transfers by modem.

latency: The amount of time between when a device requests access to a network and

when it is granted permission to transmit
G-10

launch: To start or run an application. 

link: A connection between two or more pieces of equipment. 

listserv: An Internet application that automatically “serves” mailing lists by sending

electronic newsletters to a stored database of Internet user addresses. 

local area network (LAN): A data communications network which is geographically limited

(typically to a 1 km radius) allowing easy interconnection of terminals,

microprocessors and computers within adjacent buildings.

macro: A series of commands and procedures that are carried out in response to a

single command or keystroke, or identified by a single name. 

MacTCP: Software from Apple Computer that allows Macintoshes to talk with other

computers via TCP/IP.

MacWAIS: An application that allows users to find, retrieve, and intelligently process

information via the WAIS protocol. MacWAIS is intended to run on all

Macintosh platforms. 

mailbox: In electronic mail, the storage space that has been set aside to store an

individual’s electronic mail messages.

methods of access: The manner in which you reach an information service; methods of access

include the Internet, the Web, a WAIS client, a Telnet session, or a modem

connection. 

migration: (1) The periodic refreshing or transfer of information from one medium to

another in order to minimize loss of information due to physical deterioration

of storage media.(2) The reformatting of information to avoid technological

obsolescence due to software or platform dependence.

modem: A device which converts digital computer data to a modulated analog signal

for transmission over public or private switched telephone networks. This can

also receive modulated analog signals via telephone networks and convert it

back to its original digital state. 

motherboard: The physical arrangement in a computer that contains the computer’s basic

circuitry and components. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-11

multimedia: Combining static media (such as text and pictures) with dynamic media (such

as sound, video, and animation) on the same system. 

multitasking: The ability of a computer, operating system, or application to perform more

than one task or operation at the same time.

network: A system of software and hardware connected in a manner to support data

transmission. 

node: (1) A device that is attached to a network and communicates by means of the

network. (2) Any network device that has an address on the network. 

node number: A number that distinguishes one node from all others on the network. 

offline: Not currently connected to or under the control of the computer.

online: Directly connected with and accessible to a computer.

optical character recognition (OCR): Machine recognition of printed or typed text.

optical disk: A large-capacity data storage medium for computers on which information is

stored at extremely high density.

packet: A unit of information that has been formatted for transmission on a network.

A packet contains not only data, but also its destination and source. 

Packet Internet Groper (PING): A diagnostic utility program that is commonly used to

determine whether a computer is properly connected to the Internet.

packet switching: When a network sends packets between stations by routes that may vary 

depending on which route is the best available at the time. 

page description language (PDL): A programming language that describes printer output in 

device-independent commands. 
G-12

partition: A portion of a disk that functions as a separate disk. 

password: A security tool used to identify authorized users of a program or network and

to define their privileges. 

peer: A network device that communicates on the same level as another device on

the network.

permanent public access: As used within the context of the Federal Depository Library Program

(FDLP), this means Government information products within the scope the 

Federal Depository Library Program remain available for current and future,

no fee public access through the Federal Depository Library Program. 

Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP): An Internet standard method for transmitting IP packets over

serial point-to-point links. 

port: (1) A socket on the back panel of a computer where a user plugs in a cable for

connection to a network or a peripheral device. (2) A connection between the

central processor unit and main memory or a device (such as a terminal) for

transferring data. (3) A unique number that identifies a particular Internet

service. 

PostScript: A page description language (PDL) used for high-quality printing on laser

printers and other high-resolution printing devices.

private key: A privately known key that may be used to encrypt data. 

program: A list of instructions, written in a programming language, that a computer can

execute so that the machine acts in a predetermined way.

prompt: A symbol or phrase that appears on-screen to inform you that the computer is

ready to accept input.

protocol: A set of procedural rules that permit the orderly exchange of information

within and across a network. These rules govern the content, format, timing,

sequencing and error control of the messages being exchanged on a network.
G P O Access Training Booklet

G-13

pull-down menu: An on-screen menu of command options that appears after you select the

command name on the menu bar.

queue: An ordered list of items waiting to be processed. 

query: A question, usually used in connection with a database language, to find a

particular record or set of records in a database.

radio button: A round button shown on dialog boxes and windows that enables users to select

one option from a set of mutually exclusive options.

Random-access Memory (RAM): The temporary memory area used to load program

instructions and store files currently in use. 

README file: A text file, often included on the installation disk of application programs, that

contains last-minute information not contained in the program’s documentation.

removable media: Disks that can be removed, as opposed to hard disks that are stationary. Some

examples of removable media are floppy disks, disk cartridges, etc. 

robot: A program that automatically explores the World Wide Web by retrieving a

document and recursively retrieving some or all the documents that are referenced

in it. 

save: To store data on a floppy or hard disk so it will not be lost when the power is off. 

script: A set of procedures a user specifies to automate a routine task of repetitive

operations. 

scroll: To move through a window horizontally or vertically so its position in a document

or worksheet changes.

search engine: A program on a remote machine that allows keyword searches. 

Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP): Software allowing the Internet Protocol (IP), normally 

used on Ethernet, to be used over a serial line. 
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session: A related set of communications transactions between two or more network

devices.

server: A computer that provides shared resources, such as files and printers, to the

network. 

signature file: An ASCII text file, maintained within e-mail programs, that contains a few lines

of text for a signature. 

Simple Wide Area Information System (SWAIS): Provides users the ability to search ASCII

text files through an Internet Telnet session or by using a modem to dial-in directly.

source file: The file from which data or program instructions are copied.

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML): An enabling technology used in 

applications such as HTML. SGMLis a language for document representation that

formalizes markup and frees it of system and processing dependencies. 

suite: A group of applications programs that are designed to work together.

synchronous: Refers to protocols that require the clocks of the communicating machines to be

coordinated. 

tag: In HyperText Markup Language (HTML), a code that identifies an element (a

certain part of a document, such as a heading or list) so that a Web browser can tell

how to display it.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF): A standard for saving pictures and other images as

computer files. Represented by the .tif filename extension.

tangible Government information pro d u c t : As used within the context of the Federal

Depository Library Program (FDLP), this means any Government information

product that can be distributed in a physical format.

Telnet: A TCP/IP terminal emulation protocol that enables users to logon to a remote

computer and use its applications as if the user were directly connected. 
G P O Access Training Booklet

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Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP): A protocol suite developed by

Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). The set of standards

(protocols) for data transmission and error correction that allows the transfer

of data from one Internet-linked computer to another.

The Federal Bulletin Board/FTP S e r v e r : A GPO electronic information dissemination

service providing immediate self-service access to Government information,

including thousands of agency files. 

The Federal Locator Service: Provides a pathway/directory to Government information,

including Government Information Locator Service (GILS) applications, via

the World Wide Web.

uudecode: A UNIX utility program that decodes a uuencoded ASCII file, restoring the

original binary file (such as a program or graphic).

uuencode: A UNIX utility program that transforms a binary file, such as a program or

graphic, into coded ASCII text.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL): A standardized naming, or “addressing,” system for

locating a site on the Internet. 

web browser: A program that provides an interface to the World Wide Web.

webmaster: A person responsible for the development and maintenance of the World

Wide Web server and web pages at a web site. 

What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG): A program design in which formatting

commands directly affect the text on-screen, so the screen shows the

appearance of the printed text. 

Wide Area Information Server (WAIS): A distributed information service which offers

simple natural language input, indexed searching for fast retrieval, and a

“relevance feedback” mechanism which allows the results of initial searches

to influence future searches. The user interfaces (clients) talk to the servers

using an extension to a standard protocol Z39.50. 
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wide area network (WAN): A network capable of transmissions over large geographic areas

that uses transmission lines provided by a common-carrier.

World Wide Web (WWW, Web, W3): A method of communicating between computers on the

Internet that uses HTTP to allow users to receive HTML or SGML encoded

documents which in turn allows users to obtain information by selecting

displayed icons or pictographs.