The following is a guide to Internet sources of government information created for the students and community of Temple University. If you would prefer a paper copy, nicely typeset using Pagemaker, send me your address. Feel free to use this, but please don't steal it outright or reproduce it without proper credit. Contact me with questions, corrections or additions. Blake Gumprecht, Documents Librarian, Paley Library (017-00), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, (215) 204-3187, gumpbw@vm.temple.edu, gumpbw@templevm __________________________________________________________ INTERNET SOURCES OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION Compiled by Blake Gumprecht Documents Librarian, Temple University Temple University computer users can now access dozens of sources of current government information -- Census data, Supreme Court decisions, weather forecasts, the Federal Register, daily White House press briefings, Bureau of Commerce economic reports and much more -- free from their homes and offices 24 hours a day or at Paley Library. Though the U.S. government has been criticized for not making more information available online to the public, enterprising computer users nationwide are taking advantage of the fact that works produced by the U.S. government are not eligible for copyright protection and have themselves made a wealth of information available via the Internet. More and more government agencies too are beginning to establish systems that can be accessed remotely by anyone with a computer and access to the network. In many cases, there are significant advantages to the sources than can be accessed online over what can be found in the library or via other means. Internet resources are often more up-to-date than their paper counterparts. Frequently, they can be searched by keyword. Sometimes they provide information that is simply not available in more traditional formats. A word of warning is necessary, though. Internet resources are constantly changing. What is available one minute may not be available the next. Source and file names are often changed without notice. This is the first in what is hoped to be a continuing series of guides to Internet sources of government information. To access most of the sources listed using the information supplied, you must have an IBM mainframe or Astro account, or some other method for accessing the Internet. Contact Temple Computer Services at 204-5555 to apply for an IBM or Astro account, or to learn more about the Internet. A few of the sources listed can be accessed without an account by using the Gopher or Telnet services available through the Scholars Information Center at Paley Library. The sources in this guide are intended to provide the simplest and clearest route known to the information provided. The preferred source is often a Gopher source because of the ease of using the Gopher software. Often, however, there are several sources for the same information. Some may allow more sophisticated file manipulation. Frequently files can be transferred to your personal computer using a feature known as file transfer protocol (ftp). Many files accessible via Gopher, moreover, are also available using a Telnet command. The "source" listed is the "address" of the remote computer where the information described can be found, along with the "path" that a user must take to locate the particular directory or file that contains the information. When more than one source for the same information is known, a second source may be listed. Slashes in the source separate commands, steps, or levels in a menu hierarchy. The first part of any source listing is a command statement that must be executed to access the remote source of the information. Type the first part of the source listing, up to any slashes, and press the Enter key. If there are no slashes, type the entire phrase. If you have questions about this guide or other sources of government information, contact Blake Gumprecht, Paley Library Documents Librarian, at 204-3187, or visit the Government Documents reference desk on the third floor of Paley Library. -------- AIDS Related Information: National Institutes of Health database provides AIDS statistics, daily summaries of articles on AIDS in major newspapers, full text of AIDS Treatment News, reports from the National Commission on AIDS, pamphlets about AIDS and more. Source: gopher odie.niaid.nih.gov / aids related information Americans With Disabilities Act: Full text of the 1990 act. Source: gopher scilibx.ucsc.edu / the library / electronic books Americans With Disabilities Act Documents: Collection of documents about the ADA, including the Department of Justice technical manual. Source: gopher info.umd.edu / educational resources / united states / government / adaregulation AskERIC: Archive of education information compiled by AskERIC, an Internet question-answering service for teachers and educators at Syracuse University. Source: gopher ericir.syr.edu Budget of the United States Government: Full text of the federal budget for the 1993 and 1994 fiscal years; the 1994 budget can be searched by keyword. Source: gopher sunsite.unc.edu / sunsite archives / politics / sunsite political science archives Bureau of Justice Statistics Documents: Full text of select U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics publications. Source: gopher uacsc2.albany.edu / united nations justice network Campaign '92 and Election Results: Full text of key position papers, speeches, press releases and other documents from major candidates in the 1992 presidential election. Source: gopher tamuts.tamu.edu / browse information by subject / political science Canadian Documents: Full text of the Canadian Constitution Act, Meech Lake Accord, Charlottetown Constitutional Agreement and other historic Canadian government documents. Source: gopher wiretap.spies.com. / government docs CancerNet: Full text of National Cancer Institute fact sheets, publications about cancer, patient diagnosis statements and more. Source: gopher helix.nih.gov / health and clinical information / cancernet information Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: Provides information about more than 1,000 U.S. government assistance programs, administered by more than 50 federal agencies. Can be searched by keyword. Source: gopher marvel.loc.gov / federal government information / federal information resources / information by agency / general information resources Census of Population and Housing: 1990 Census data available in text and Lotus 1-2-3 formats for U.S. cities, counties, metropolitan areas, states and the nation, with comparisons from 1980. For an archive of historical Pennsylvania census data, see the entree for the Economic Development Information Network. Source: gopher bigcat.missouri.edu / reference center Census of Population and Housing (Pennsylvania): Detailed 1990 Census data for Philadelphia, suburban counties and the state. Source: gopher gopher.upenn.edu / penninfo / penninfo / libraries / electronic reference desk / u.s. census and statistical data Chemical Substance Fact Sheets: Full text of Environmental Protection Agency fact sheets about hundreds of chemicals; can be browsed or searched by keyword. Source: gopher ecosys.drdr.virginia.edu / education / environmental fact sheets Citizens Guide to Using the Freedom of Information Act: Full text of a popular government guide to obtaining information using the Freedom of Information Act. Source: gopher wiretap.spies.com / government docs / citizens guide to using the FOIA Code of Federal Regulations: Experimental system provided by a commercial vendor allows users to browse the code or search it by keyword. Access to the complete CFR is not yet available. The system places limits on the amount of information non-subscribers can retrieve. Source: gopher gopher.netsys.com / counterpoint publishing Congressional Committee Assignments: Provides current Congressional committee rosters; can be browsed or searched by keyword. Source: gopher.lib.umich.edu / social sciences resources / government and politics / u.s. government resources: legislative branch Congressional Directories: Library of Congress system provides access to a variety of Congressional directories; some can be searched by keyword. Source: gopher marvel.loc.gov / u.s. congress / congressional directories Congressional Firsts: List of firsts for the 103rd Congress. Source: gopher info.umd.edu / educational resources / united states / government / congress / 103rd-firsts Congressional Information: Provides access to Congressional directories, committee rosters, North American Free Trade Agreement documents, Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. budget and more. Source: gopher gopher.lib.umich.edu / social sciences resources / government and politics / u.s. government resources: legislative branch Congressional Information: Provides access to Congressional and agency directories, biographies, lists of Congressional firsts, information about women in Congress and more. Source: gopher info.umd.edu / educational resources / united states / government / congress Congressional Legislation: Library of Congress system allows users to search files that describe and track legislation introduced in the U.S. Congress from 1973 to present. Updated daily. Source: telnet locis.loc.gov / federal legislation Cooperative Extension System: U.S. Department of Agriculture system provides access to extension service directories, fact sheets, calendars, nutritional data, information on national initiatives related to agriculture, flood information and more. Source: gopher cyfer.esusda.gov Copyright Information: Library of Congress system allows users to search a database of information about works registered in the U.S. Copyright Office since 1978. Also includes files that provide general information about copyright. Source: telnet locis.loc.gov Criminal Justice Country Profiles: Full text of a series of United Nations reports on crime and criminal justice in 123 countries. Most include statistics. Source: gopher uacsc2.albany.edu / united nations justice network / u.n. criminal justice country profiles Earth Science Data Directory: U.S. Geological Survey system provides keyword access to sources of earth science data worldwide. Source: gopher scilibx.ucsc.edu / the researcher / science and engineering / earth and marine sciences Earth System Data Directory: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) system provides descriptions and location information for earth and space science data sets. Source: telnet esdim1.nodc.noaa.gov / login:noaadir Earthquake Information: Frequently updated data about recent earthquakes worldwide. Source: gopher gopher.stolaf.edu / internet resources / weather and geography Economic Bulletin Board: Department of Commerce system provides access to thousands of data files, more than 700 of them updated daily. Includes information about current economic conditions, economic indicators, employment, foreign trade, monetary matters and more in 20 general subject areas. Source: gopher / off-campus services / points of interest. Source: gopher gopher.lib.umich.edu / social sciences research / economics. Source: telnet ebb.stat-usa.gov / password:test Economic Development Information Network (EDIN): Pennsylvania State Data Center system provides access to current and historical U.S. Census data for Pennsylvania and the nation, procurement leads, PSDC bulletins and press releases, a variety of business-oriented directories and more. Source: telnet psuvm.psu.edu / press