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FDsys : The Source for Free Online Government Information

Starting today, March 16, 2012, FDsys is the site for online official  and authentic federal government information.  FDsys is replacing the former GPO Access site which is has been archived and is no longer online.

Today the Budget for Fiscal Year 2013 is featured on the home page.  However, you can find information from all branches of the federal government including the Code of Federal Regulations, the United States Code, Congressional Reports,  and U.S. Court Opinions.  To get a good picture of all that can be found here, it is a good idea to use the “Browse Collections” feature.

An important feature as mentioned above is that you can find authenticated information.  For example, if you look at a section (Sec. 502.5 of  Title 12) of the CFR you will see a certificate of authenticity stating that what you are seeing is “Authenticated U.S. Government Information.”  Authenticated information lets the reader know that they are looking at the real thing.  This important feature is not found on many other government websites.  Hopefully other government entities will follow this example for online government information.

By Joan Bellistri

Law Library Director for the Anne Arundel County Public Law Library

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