Is the full-text of the Federal Register available on-line?

Summary:

It is. But read this for even better deals!

Answer:

As the text below explains, it is possible to research the last few years of the Federal Register using online services provided by the Government Printing Office and cooperating libraries.

Key items from each day's FR are immediately available, though, through a service of The Grantsmanship Center. Center staff cull through the entire daily issue as soon as it is available online and post anything that might be useful for organizations seeking federal funding to their website as a direct link. To check out this service, visit http://www.tgci.com/. This is a free service offered by TGC through the internet. The Center also conducts grantwriting and other training classes nationwide, offers various kinds of insurance for nonprofits, and publishes a magazine; details of these other services are at their website as well. (April 22, 1998)

New Browse Feature for the Federal Register Online Via GPO Access

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html

As of May 19, 1998, a new browse feature is available for the US Government Printing Office's Federal Register database. The "Browse the Table of Contents of the current issue" function is offered in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format. Each document is available in text and .pdf format. In addition, users may browse all issues of the Register dating from January 2, 1998 forward. From "The Scout Report" for May 22, 1998 -- http://www.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/

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Sarah Nesbeitt provided this explanation of the Superintendent of
Documents' online service on June 11, 1996:
A Web version of the Federal Register, which permits you to search
issues from 1995 to the present, is available at the following URL:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html

If you're used to browsing the FR in paper format, here are a few hints
on searching for funding opportunities in the electronic version.

First, check off the "Contents" box (indicating you want to look at the
table of contents for a particular issue). Scroll down, and under the
section labeled "Issue Date," select "On:" and type in today's (or any
day's) date in the form mm/dd/yy, e.g. 6/11/96. Then choose "Submit."

This should return several files, one of which will be titled
"CONTENTS."

There will be three formats in which you can view the files:

TEXT -- (plain old text, suitable for those viewing the FR with Lynx)

PDF -- (an exact duplicate of the paper version. This will only be
available for people using graphical Web browsers such as Netscape and
Mosaic; text-only browsers such as Lynx won't be able to use this. You
will need a free program called Adobe Acrobat to view these files;
Acrobat can be downloaded from the Web site: http://www.adobe.com. This
site also has directions on how to make Acrobat work with your Web
browser.)

SUMMARY -- (a brief summary of the document)

Choose your desired format to view the Contents file. If you see mention
of a funding opportunity that interests you, make note of some of the
keywords used in the Contents file to describe it (e.g. literacy,
grants).

At this point, return to the page which describes your search options.
Remove the "contents" selection from the "Federal Register Sections," so
that from now on you'll be searching all of the Federal Register.

Down under "Search Terms," type in the keywords you found from the
Contents page. If you're searching for a phrase, use quotes around it;
if you're doing a Boolean search, capitalize the words AND, OR, NOT.

Example: literacy AND grants

Then select "Submit" again. With luck, the search will be performed and
will retrieve files containing the part of the FR you selected.

NOTE: Selecting the PDF format of the file (which means obtaining Adobe
Acrobat to view it) is highly recommended for anyone with a graphical
Web browser, as it will let you view and print an exact duplicate of the
FR document. This is especially handy if grant applications are
reproduced in the FR, and the agency requires you to hand in the
application as it was printed there.

The 1994 Federal Register is also available online, but advanced
searching (such as above) is not available. It, along with numerous
other Federal Government databases such as the 1997 US budget,
Congressional Record, and the Unified Agenda, is available at:

http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

Sarah Nesbeitt

Reference Librarian

The Clement C. Maxwell Library

Bridgewater State College

Bridgewater, Massachusetts  02325

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Reposted with modifications May 24, 1998 -- PB