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OMB Policy 5: Search Public
Websites

Policy:

1. You are already required under OMB Circular A-130 to assist the public in locating government information.
2. You must now ensure your agency's principal public website and any major entry point include a search function. However, agencies may determine in limited circumstances (e.g., for small websites) site maps or subject indexes are more effective than a typical search function.
3. By December 31, 2005, this search function should, to the extent practicable and necessary to achieve intended purposes, permit searching of all files intended for public use on the website, display search results in order of relevancy to search criteria, and provide response times appropriately equivalent to industry best practices.
4. By December 31, 2005, agency public websites should to the extent practicable and necessary to achieve intended purposes, provide all data in an open, industry standard format permitting users to aggregate, disaggregate, or otherwise manipulate and analyze the data to meet their needs.
5. Agencies should note the Interagency Committee on Government Information has provided to OMB recommendations for organizing, categorizing, and searching for government information. By December 17, 2005, OMB will issue any necessary additional policies in this area.

From OMB Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites
(PDF, 55 KB, Dec 2004, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Implementation Guidance

• Have a search engine and search standards
• Use standard metadata
• Provide appropriate access to data
• Inform audiences of website changes

Supporting Documents

• OMB A-130 (section 8)
• OMB Memorandum: Improving Public Access to and Dissemination of Government Information and Using the Federal Enterprise Architecture Data Reference Model
  (PDF, 66 KB, Dec 2005, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

 

Page Updated or Reviewed: December 14, 2005