- Email: [email protected]
CIS Federal Register Index
328
Book reviews
quite likely to have access to GPO records through Dialog, OCLC, etc., and must certainly weigh carefully the costs and benefits of online searching versus GDCS. For libraries planning to include documents in a local online catalog, GDCS should prove useful as an interim product. Once the online catalog replaces the card catalog, however, it will inevitably replace the GDCS as well. JEANNE E. BOYLE Alexander Library Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 U.S.A.
CIS Federal Register Index. Bethesda, Maryland:
$595/year plus handling.
Congressional
Information
Service, Inc., 1984-
ISSN 0741-2878.
For those who have faced the frustration of locating information in the Federal Register, the latest entry in the Congressional Information Service’s stable of indexes will be most welcome. The lack of an adequate and timely index to the Federal Register, one of the most important informational tools of the federal government, has long concerned those who have an interest in governmental programs and regulatory activities. The CIS Federal Register Index is a weekly index with cumulative issues planned ever 5, 15, and 26 weeks. It consists of three sections: an “Index of Subjects and Names,” an “Index to CFR Section Numbers,” and an “Index by Agency Docket Numbers.” The “Index by Subject and Names” is the heart of the publication. In the CIS tradition, it is thorough and contains a large number of cross references for ease of use. This index allows the user to search by a wide number of access points including subject, corporate or personal name, geographical location, government agency, and common names of laws. Notices of meetings are not currently indexed. Each entry not only provides the Federal Register date and page number, it also indicates whether the item is a rule, proposed rule, presidential document, etc. The advantages to the variety of access points are many. The user is quickly able, for instance, to ascertain what actions have been taken that affect a particular company, state, or governmental agency. For the person who is accustomed to reviewing the “Contents” listing of each issue of the Federal Register, this index will locate geographical and other headings which are buried in the individual entries and might otherwise be missed. Despite the inherent time delay, the Index should prove useful as a “current awareness” tool. For the user who needs to locate an item without knowing a date, the varied access points will be even more inviting. The “Index by CFR Section Numbers” is similar to what already appears in the back of each issue of the Federal Register. With cumulative issues, this section should be more valuable as it will eliminate the need for the user to trace back for several months and/or use the List of CFR Sections Affected. The “Index by Agency Docket Numbers” is a potentially useful addition when the user has reference to a docket number such as a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission docket item or a “Treasury Decision.” The CIS Federal Register Index is an extensive improvement over the Federal Register Index produced by the Office of the Federal Register and recieved as part of the subscription to the Federal Register. The latter is cumulated monthly and is slow to be distributed. Much of the material in the Federal Register is of a timely nature which makes indexing speed an important plus for the CIS product. Most important in any comparison, however, is the exasperating difficulty in accessing Federal Register items through its own index. Each agency is indexed separately with no opportunity to search for items by geographical location or company name without searching each individual agency’s listing. For the frequent user of the Federal Register, the traditional index is difficult; for the occasional user, it is almost impossible. The CIS product is an expensive improvement over the government’s effort. At a cost of over $600 per year, the infrequent user of the Federal Register and the financially strapped library may be forced to tough it out with the long, arduous search methods used for so long. For the rest, the CIS Federal Register Index should be a most welcome addition. ROBERT A. Government Documents Pittsburg State Pittsburg,
WALTER Librarian University KS 66762 U.S.A.
Book reviews
quite likely to have access to GPO records through Dialog, OCLC, etc., and must certainly weigh carefully the costs and benefits of online searching versus GDCS. For libraries planning to include documents in a local online catalog, GDCS should prove useful as an interim product. Once the online catalog replaces the card catalog, however, it will inevitably replace the GDCS as well. JEANNE E. BOYLE Alexander Library Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 U.S.A.
CIS Federal Register Index. Bethesda, Maryland:
$595/year plus handling.
Congressional
Information
Service, Inc., 1984-
ISSN 0741-2878.
For those who have faced the frustration of locating information in the Federal Register, the latest entry in the Congressional Information Service’s stable of indexes will be most welcome. The lack of an adequate and timely index to the Federal Register, one of the most important informational tools of the federal government, has long concerned those who have an interest in governmental programs and regulatory activities. The CIS Federal Register Index is a weekly index with cumulative issues planned ever 5, 15, and 26 weeks. It consists of three sections: an “Index of Subjects and Names,” an “Index to CFR Section Numbers,” and an “Index by Agency Docket Numbers.” The “Index by Subject and Names” is the heart of the publication. In the CIS tradition, it is thorough and contains a large number of cross references for ease of use. This index allows the user to search by a wide number of access points including subject, corporate or personal name, geographical location, government agency, and common names of laws. Notices of meetings are not currently indexed. Each entry not only provides the Federal Register date and page number, it also indicates whether the item is a rule, proposed rule, presidential document, etc. The advantages to the variety of access points are many. The user is quickly able, for instance, to ascertain what actions have been taken that affect a particular company, state, or governmental agency. For the person who is accustomed to reviewing the “Contents” listing of each issue of the Federal Register, this index will locate geographical and other headings which are buried in the individual entries and might otherwise be missed. Despite the inherent time delay, the Index should prove useful as a “current awareness” tool. For the user who needs to locate an item without knowing a date, the varied access points will be even more inviting. The “Index by CFR Section Numbers” is similar to what already appears in the back of each issue of the Federal Register. With cumulative issues, this section should be more valuable as it will eliminate the need for the user to trace back for several months and/or use the List of CFR Sections Affected. The “Index by Agency Docket Numbers” is a potentially useful addition when the user has reference to a docket number such as a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission docket item or a “Treasury Decision.” The CIS Federal Register Index is an extensive improvement over the Federal Register Index produced by the Office of the Federal Register and recieved as part of the subscription to the Federal Register. The latter is cumulated monthly and is slow to be distributed. Much of the material in the Federal Register is of a timely nature which makes indexing speed an important plus for the CIS product. Most important in any comparison, however, is the exasperating difficulty in accessing Federal Register items through its own index. Each agency is indexed separately with no opportunity to search for items by geographical location or company name without searching each individual agency’s listing. For the frequent user of the Federal Register, the traditional index is difficult; for the occasional user, it is almost impossible. The CIS product is an expensive improvement over the government’s effort. At a cost of over $600 per year, the infrequent user of the Federal Register and the financially strapped library may be forced to tough it out with the long, arduous search methods used for so long. For the rest, the CIS Federal Register Index should be a most welcome addition. ROBERT A. Government Documents Pittsburg State Pittsburg,
WALTER Librarian University KS 66762 U.S.A.