Legal Research

GovPulse.us is a fantastic new app that puts "the Federal Register at your fingertips". The front page gives you lists (with links) of comments closing and opened in the last 7 days, followed by rules taking effect and proposed within that time period. Also on the front page is a map of your area with links to other FR entries mentioning cities/towns within a 50-mile radius of your location. You can change the location to check any municipality or zip code in the U.S. A "Departmental Pulse" section lets you see "sparklines" of  departmental activity by week, month and/or quarter. If you already know what you're looking for, there's a search box right on the front page too. Despite the wealth of resources on this page, the layout is clear and easy to read.

Additional tabs take you to search pages organized by agency, topic, location and date published. There's also a 'search' tab, which links to an advanced search screen that provides browse and well as known-item searching.

The developers - Andrew, Dave and Bob - constructed this site using open-source software. You can read their story on the 'About' page. It certainly strengthened my faith in our democracy!

Thanks to Carol Spector at the University of San Francisco's Gleeson Library for spreading the word about this wonderful new resource.