ADMINISTRATIVE NOTES NEWSLETTER OF THE FEDERAL DEPOSITORY LIBRARY PROGRAM VOL. 19, NO. 08 GP 3.16/3-2:19/08 JUNE 15, 1998 GPO ACCESS SELECTED AS ONE OF THE "'BEST FEDS ON THE WEB" AWARD DRAWS PRAISE FROM VICE PRESIDENT GORE GPO Access, the Government Printing Office's acclaimed Web site, has been named one of the Best Feds on the Web by Government Executive magazine. The awards are posted on Government Executive's Web site at . GPO Access, at , is one of just 15 Federal Web sites to be selected for this award. In 1997, the General Accounting Office identified 4,300 Web sites in the Federal Government (GAO, "Internet and Electronic Dial-Up Bulletin Boards: Information Reported by Federal Organizations," GAO/GGD-97-86, 6/16/97). GPO Access is the only Web site in the legislative branch to be selected. In making its selections, Government Executive said it picked "the sites we thought went above and beyond the typical 'home page'... Some of the better known and flashier Federal sites didn't make the list because we felt they didn't go the extra mile to serve their customers." To be designated one of the "Best Feds on the Web," Government Executive said that each site must: * "Provide excellent customer service to the public by having a well-designed site that includes a large amount of useful information; * Use the Web to improve business practices in their agencies or across Government; and * Make use of new technologies that other Federal sites should consider emulating." Government Executive said GPO Access "provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information published by the Government. The site offers Government information databases for on-line use, individual Federal agency files available for downloading, and tools to assist in finding Federal information and user support. Through just this one site, you can access the Federal Register, the Congressional Record, the Commerce Business Daily, and many more publications. It doesn't get more convenient than that." In a May 15, 1998, letter to Public Printer Michael DiMario, Vice President Al Gore congratulated GPO "for the excellent customer service you are providing through your Web site." The Vice President said, "your organization continues to serve as an excellent model for other Federal agencies on how to provide an interesting and easy-to-use Web site, providing consumers hassle-free access to Government services. Your innovative Website encourages consumers to contact your agency and to take advantage of the many services which you provide." In response, Public Printer DiMario stated, "We are very pleased to have GPO Access recognized for the high quality of the services it provides for the public." GPO Access is one of the few Government Web sites authorized by law and has been in operation since June 1994. It is virtually the only Government Web site that provides access to information from all three branches of the Federal Government. Overall, nearly 141.9 million documents have been retrieved by the public from GPO Access in the past 4 years, and monthly document retrievals today average more than 12 million. This latest award is one of many that have been won by GPO Access. Others include a 1994 Technology Leadership Award and the 1995 James Madison Award. In 1997, GPO Access and the Commerce Department jointly earned a Hammer Award from Vice President Gore's National Performance Review for creating the new electronic Commerce Business Daily, known as CBDNet. In a recent review of GPO Access, Federal Computer Week said, "in a Web environment overrun by sites that are the equivalent of a Hollywood movie set, where style takes precedence over substance, the GPO site stands out as an unassuming, information-rich offering." And in a recent management audit of the GPO, Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc., called GPO Access "one of the Federal Government's largest and most active Web sites" and said that the site "has been highly successful in making Government information easily available to the public."