Cool Tool: Libraries Offer Online Help With Government Info

Reporters looking for help in penetrating the labyrinth of federal information have a new ally: librarians.

"Government Information Online" (GIO) is a new electronic service that may be of special help to reporters who do not work near a Federal Depository Library - or those seeking documents in a depository library remote from them.

From a simple Web portal, information-seekers can either e-mail or chat live with a government information librarian at any of some 20 libraries. Most of the libraries are large university libraries. The program is run in partnership with the Government Printing Office's Federal Depository Library Program.