Access to Kelley Center for Government Information at Fondren Library will require a valid Rice ID

In light of heightened health and safety concerns of Coronavirus, as of Thursday, March 12th, physical access to Fondren Library will be restricted to valid Rice ID holders only. Visitor access will be suspended until further notice.  Please see library website for information on remote access and any questions you may have.

 
You can access off-campus Library Services here.

Access to online Government information is available as usual.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and we will provide full access again as soon as possible. In the meantime, you may contact the REGIONAL depository libraries or NEARBY SELECTIVES depository libraries for help with Government information.

Contact information for nearby Federal Depository Libraries can be found here.

GPO Director Names General Counsel

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) Director Hugh Halpern names Kerry Miller as GPO General Counsel. Miller has 40 years of experience handling legal issues for the Federal Government. As General Counsel, Miller will continue to serve as chief legal officer for the agency. He will provide legal opinions and advice to GPO’s Director, and represent GPO in all legal matters involving Government and non-Government organizations. In addition, the Office of the General Counsel represents GPO before all Federal administrative forums, including the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Government Accountability Office.

“Kerry’s counsel has been invaluable as I have begun my tenure as Director of GPO,” said GPO Director Hugh Halpern. “His institutional knowledge of GPO and Federal government legal issues is an asset to the agency. I congratulate Kerry on his promotion and look forward to working with him in this permanent capacity.”

Miller began his career at GPO in 1980. During his time at GPO, Miller primarily served as GPO’s senior procurement law attorney. He also served as a Board of Contract Appeals judge and was GPO’s first Chief Acquisition Officer. Miller left the agency in 2006 to serve as Assistant Chief Counsel for the Federal Transit Administration. He returned to GPO in 2012 as Deputy General Counsel. He was named Acting General Counsel in 2017.

Miller earned his law degree from Catholic University and his undergraduate degree from George Mason University.

GPO Digitizes Historical Editions of U.S. Government Manual

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has digitized historical editions of the U.S. Government Manual (the Manual), the Government’s official handbook of agency organization for all three branches of Government. Years 1935–1994 of the Manual are now freely accessible and available on govinfo, the one-stop site for authentic, published Government information. Listings include the legislative authority, programs, activities, and a brief history of each agency; officials heading the major units of operation; and agency contact information. Recent editions of the Manual (1995–Present) are already available; the new historic editions complete the digitization of the collection.
Years 1935–2019 of the Manual can be accessed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/GOVMAN
“The Government Manual was one of the first resources I learned to use as a young congressional staffer,” said GPO Director Hugh Halpern. “The completion of this digitization represents GPO’s ongoing commitment to provide the public with free access to Government information.”
The Manual includes organizational charts for various agencies, boards, commissions, and committees. Readers can discover how and when both large agencies and smaller offices were first established, how they changed, and whether they were assimilated into other agencies in the Government, or became obsolete. Some examples of information members of the public can expect to find in the Manual:

• The Sugar Division of the Department of Agriculture required the Secretary of Agriculture to determine annually “the sugar requirements of consumers in the continental United States and to fix marketing or import quotas for the various sugar-producing areas, domestic and foreign, supplying this market.” (1939 edition)
• There was no Vice President of the United States from November 1963 until January 1965. The 1964–1965 edition lists the position as vacant. When President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the Presidency after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, there was no provision for appointing a new Vice President. The 25th Amendment, passed in 1967, addressed the issue of succession. (1964–1965 edition)
• The vital statistics functions performed by the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce, were transferred to the U.S. Public Health Service, which was once a division of the Federal Security Agency. (1953 edition)

This is one of a series of recent projects in which GPO has worked to expand free public access to congressional information in digital formats. Previously the agency digitized the Congressional Record back to 1873, the Federal Register back to 1936, and the Public Papers of the Presidents back to 1929. In collaboration with the Law Library of Congress, GPO has begun a large multi-year effort to digitize and make accessible volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set back to the first volume, which was published in 1817. GPO is also currently working to digitize a collection of nearly 15,000 congressional hearings.

Donald E. Pray Law Library, College of Law at the University of Oklahoma Partners with GPO to Provide Access to Native American and Alaskan Native Documents

The Donald E. Pray Law Library, College of Law at the University of Oklahoma is now a Digital Access Partner for their digitized versions of Native American and Alaskan Native documents contained in volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set from 1817-1899. These documents contain contemporaneous documentation of political, military, and governmental activities related to indigenous peoples of the continental United States and Alaskan territory during the 19th century.
Digital Access Partners make a commitment to make publicly accessible digital resources within scope of the FDLP at no fee. GPO directs users to these resources via bibliographic records in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) and PURLs.

• Title: American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1899
• SuDoc: Y. 1.2:IN 2/25
• CGP System Number: 001111314
• PURL

GPO thanks the Donald E. Pray Law Library for sharing this digitized content with the Federal depository library community and the public.
Learn more about partnering with GPO, and contact our Partnership Team with questions or to propose a partnership.

Senate Committee Votes Favorably On GPO Director Nomination

The U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee has voted to report the GPO Director nomination of Hugh Halpern out of committee to the full Senate for consideration. President Donald Trump nominated Halpern on October 17th, and he testified before the committee confirmation hearing on November 14th.
Halpern previously served as the Director of Floor Operations in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives before retiring in January 2019 after more than 30 years of service. During his career, he also served as staff director of the House Rules Committee and in various roles on other House committees, including Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, and Public Works and Transportation. He was the recipient of the McCormack Award of Excellence for Congressional Employees and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from American University and a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.

Scheduled Maintenance for GPO Websites

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) is performing scheduled network maintenance on Saturday, November 16, 2019, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST). During this time the following websites may experience intermittent service disruptions:

• FDLP.gov
• govinfo.gov
• U.S. Government Bookstore
• Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government
• GPO.gov

Thank you for your cooperation, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

GPO Completes Digitization of 1,300 Congressional Hearings

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has digitized more than 1,300 historical Congressional Hearings dating back to 1958 and made them available on govinfo, GPO’s one-stop site to authentic, published Government information. Through these digitization efforts, the public can access records of Congressional Hearings for free. These include the transcripts from meetings or sessions of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, in which elected officials obtained information and opinions on proposed legislation, conducted an investigation, or evaluated the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law.
This project is part of a multi-year effort to digitize a collection of nearly 15,000 Congressional Hearings from Kansas State University Libraries, which serves the Nation as a Federal Depository Library. The digitized documents include many historical sessions. As part of this project, GPO plans to digitize nearly six million pages, of which approximately 230,000 pages have been completed.
Some interesting information the public can expect to find in the Congressional Hearings includes:

• Portions of the Watergate Hearings
• Hearings on how three paintings, including a Rembrandt, were stolen from Germany in 1922 and ended up in Ohio
• A 1961 Hearing on bills to prohibit shipment of goods to the U.S. from Cuba and to prohibit the shipment of goods to Cuba from the U.S.

“This project is another example of how GPO is embracing digital technology to provide the public easy access to Congressional documents,” said GPO Acting Deputy Director John Crawford. “GPO is proud to have brought these important moments in our Nation’s history to people on their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers.”
This is one of a series of recent projects in which GPO has worked to expand free public access to Congressional information in digital formats. Previously the agency digitized the Congressional Record back to 1873, the Federal Register back to 1936, and the Public Papers of the Presidents back to 1929. In collaboration with the Law Library of Congress, GPO has begun a large multi-year effort to digitize and make accessible volumes of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set back to the first volume, which was published in 1817.
The Congressional Hearings are available on govinfo at https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/CHRG.