[We are cross-posting this announcement to multiple lists; please pardon
the duplication.]
User Driven Enhancements to THOMAS Launched on its Fifteenth
Anniversary
In response to user feedback and in celebration of its fifteenth
anniversary, THOMAS has been updated for the second session of the 111th
Congress. The new items include a bookmarking and sharing toolbar, top
five bills of the week, a new RSS feed, highlighting how to contact
Members of Congress, a tip of the week, enhanced visibility of bill
PDFs, and an increased timeout interval.
The bookmarking and sharing toolbar, found near the top of most THOMAS
pages, allows users to save or share a permanent link via bookmarks,
email, or social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. The
toolbar also includes quick links to subscribe to THOMAS RSS feeds and
to print.
The five most-searched-for bills from the past week will be listed in
the center box on the right side of the homepage. Hovering the mouse
over the bill number will display the title of the bill.
The new Bills Presented to the President RSS feed and email update
lists bills that have passed both the House and Senate and have been
sent to the White House for the President's signature.
It's now easier to contact your Members of Congress. A link to this
page of tips about how to contact your Representative or Senator is
included on the homepage.
Each week, a new tip about using THOMAS will be displayed on the
right-hand side of the THOMAS homepage, below the “Top Five” list.
Based on user feedback, links to the bill PDF are more visible and
accessible. Clicking on a PDF link will bring you to the Government
Printing Office (GPO) PDF for a specific version of a bill.
Search results within THOMAS are displayed on temporary pages. The
timeout interval has been increased from 5 minutes to 20 minutes.
THOMAS, the legislative information system of the Library of Congress,
was launched fifteen years ago on January 5, 1995. THOMAS can be
accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest
federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and
creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing
access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and
exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed
through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a
personalized Web site at myLOC.gov.
Founded in 1832, the Law Library makes its resources available to
members of Congress, the Supreme Court, other branches of the U.S.
Government and the global legal community, and sustains and preserves a
universal collection of law for future generations. With more than 2.6
million volumes, the Law Library contains the world’s largest
collection of law books and other resources from all countries and
provides online databases and guides to legal information worldwide
through its website at www.loc/gov/law/.
Emily Carr
Public Services Division
Law Library of Congress
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