The Federal Register used the occasion of it’s 75th anniversary to launch a new Web 2.0 beta site this week. The new website is designed to make the information in the Federal Register more easily accessible to the public. The site is organized in 6 major categories: money, world, business and industry, environment, science and technology, and health and public welfare.
Visitors to the new Federal Register site should be aware that it is not the official legal edition of the Federal Register. However, each document posted on the new website includes a link to the corresponding official Federal Register PDF file on FDsys.gov. The new Federal Register’s Legal Status and Disclaimer page contains the following explanation:
This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official electronic version on GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys.gov).The articles posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the corresponding official PDF file on FDsys.gov. This prototype edition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR) issues a regulation granting it official legal status. For complete information about, and access to, our official publications and services, go to the OFR.gov website.The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned publication in the future. While every effort has been made to ensure that the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with the official SGML-based PDF version on FDsys.gov, those relying on it for legal research should verify their results against an official edition of the Federal Register. Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML rendition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov does not provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts