Examines the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Highlights include the standards process; voluntary standards; Open Systems Interconnection problems; Internet Protocol Suite; consortia; government's role; and network security. (16 references) (LRW)

Reports on a conference sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that addressed issues surrounding public access to government information, particularly in electronic format. Case studies of successful public access programs are described, and the National Research and Education Network (NREN) and other networks are discussed. (two…

Describes the development of the Supreme Court Opinion Network (SCON) which evolved from the need for the Electronic Dissemination of Opinions (EDO). The roles of the Court, vendors, and publishers are explained; funding is discussed; and the computer system that ultimately emerged, Project Hermes, is described. (Contains 16 references.) (LRW)

This issue includes six articles that discuss access to information provided by computerized databases and communications networks for legislators. Highlights include state legislative systems; information systems in the Senate; online services in the House of Representatives; information technology in the Congressional Research Service; the…

The provision of public Internet access and related networked services by public libraries is affected by a number of information policy issues. This article analyzes the policy dimensions of Internet connectivity in public libraries in light of the data and findings from a national survey of public libraries conducted by the authors of this…

Discusses the need for proposing and implementing an information technology standards policy for the federal government. Topics addressed include the National Information Infrastructure (NII); voluntary standards among federal agencies; private sector organizations; coordinating the use of standards; enforcing compliance; policy goals; a framework…

Provides a brief overview of primary computer network structures serving the academic research community and discusses plans for the transformation of Internet into a National Research and Education Network (NREN). The scope of resources likely to be available to users through the NREN are described, the concept of national collaboratives is…

Discusses how open computer network architecture, along with the browsing capabilities of the World Wide Web, facilitates the dissemination of public information. Competitive markets will be created as those from the private sector package electronic information with value added. Copyright law and information pricing policies are outlined, and…

Describes services offered by the Center for Electronic Records of the National Archives and Records Administration and discusses electronic communication tools used in its reference services program, including electronic mailing lists, electronic mail, and online descriptive materials and finding aids. Provides an overview of constituency groups…

Discusses the growing trend of federal agencies permitting online public access to their computers. Highlights include examples of public access programs, differences in agencies' stands on dissemination of information, agency computer networks and databases that are the basis for the National Research and Education Network, and security…

Discusses the development of strategies for providing access to and services for U.S. federal government information in higher education using the global information infrastructure, from the perspective of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). Discusses the preservation of electronic information and networked information discovery and…

Examines the standards process used for developing the Escrowed Encryption Standard (EES) and its possible impact on national communication and information policies. Discusses the balance between national security and law enforcement concerns versus privacy rights and economic competitiveness in the area of foreign trade and export controls. (67…

Argues that making agricultural information produced by the federal government in electronic formats available through private vendors may lead to inequitable access for its users and challenges the federal government's role in the dissemination of agricultural information. An information public for agricultural information is defined, and…

Describes computer-based software and network systems for application to serials and government publications. General and specific functional requirements (hardware, software, file structure) are discussed, and descriptive information about commercially available serials control systems and a list of distributors are provided. (CLB)

Discussion of the role of county government regarding the management of information technology focuses on a national study of the centralized management of information technology that was conducted to identify practices; assess benefits, costs, and constraints; enumerate critical success factors; and identify future challenges. (Contains 12…