New GPO Style Manual 2016

January 13, 2017

021-000-00218-6Published since 1894, the GPO Style Manual is issued under the authority of section 1105 of title 44 of the U.S. Code by the Director of the GPO. The Manual is prepared by the GPO Style Board as a guide to the style and form of Federal Government publishing. The GPO Style Manual has become a major reference source for professionals involved in the field of Federal printing and publishing. Designed to achieve uniform word and type treatment and economy of word use in the form and style of Government printing, the Manual has become to be widely recognized by writers and editors within and outside the Federal Government as one of the most useful resources in the editorial arsenal.

Writers and editors accustomed to utilizing style differences from those found in the GPO Style Manual will appreciate the difficulty of establishing a single standard. Users of the Manual should consider it as a general guide, for the printed word assumes many shapes and variations in final presentation.

In addition to a comprehensive revision the new Style Manual features:

  • GPO’s most recent digital initiatives
  • Updates to foreign nation information
  • Updates to State demonyms
  • Treatment of words related to native entities recognized by the Federal Government
  • Clarification of punctuation rules
  • Updates to capitalization, abbreviations, and computer terms
  • Inclusion of many suggestions from users

You can order the Style Manual 2016 in paperback and hardback versions.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THE GPO STYLE MANUAL 2016?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office.

 

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Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Hey, Junior Rangers, Public Lands Belong to You!

January 9, 2017

The Bureau of Land Management is the Federal government agency that manages more than 245 million acres of public, multi-use land. That’s about the size of California and Texas put together. Much of that protected acreage lies in 10 Western states.

Among the sagebrush and ranchland, wild horse and burro populations thrive. All 38,000 of them receive Federal protection through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro program. Caring for wild horses is big part of BLM’s land and resource management mission. It’s also the subject the agency’s Junior Explorer Wild Horses and Burros Activity Book, available through GPO.

024-011-00200-6_junior-explorer-wild-horses028This children’s activity workbook “focuses on where wild horses and burros live, what they eat, and how they communicate.” It features fun facts, a word search, and even a quick blurb about “Wild Horse Annie,” a Nevadan who advocated for the humane treatment of wild horses in the 1950s.

Junior explorers can learn about freeze mark identification for adoptive animals, horse and burro physiology, and tips for interacting with animals in their natural habitat.

At the end of the activity book, BLM Junior Explorers receive a certification if they promise to:

  • Do all I can to help preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources on our public lands,
  • Be aware of how my actions can affect other living things and the evidence of our past,
  • Keep learning about the importance of nature and our heritage, and
  • Share what I have learned with others!

The Junior Explorer Wild Horses and Burros Activity Book shows kids that while public lands do belong to them, they can make the choice to be good stewards to animals and appreciate the land where they roam.

How do I obtain this publication?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

 

Leave a Comment » | Children, Department of the Interior, Parenting, Teachers and teaching | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Two NASA Publications You Need to Discover

January 3, 2017

A lot of stuff goes on at NASA besides pioneering the next steps in space exploration and taking humanity to the next achievable frontier. There’s simply no end to the research and technology that world’s biggest space agency puts forth.

GPO makes available two publications that are great examples of such space-related science.

033-000-01378-7_tour-of-the-electromagnetic-spectrumTour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Radiation is everywhere, at all times. Radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, gamma rays, x-rays, and ultraviolet rays are types of radiation. Physicists call them electromagnetic waves. Together, these electromagnetic waves constitute the electromagnetic spectrum. Each wave type carries a distinct level of photon energy.

This publication breaks down the anatomy, behaviors, and categories of waves. And it shows how scientists visualize wave using NASA science examples.

033-000-01328-1_the-sun-the-earth-and-near-earth-space-a-guide-to-the-sun-earth-750The Sun, the Earth, and the Near-Earth Space: A Guide to the Sun-Earth System

Our space environment is complex system of electric currents, magnetic fields, and radiation. All of those forces affect near-Earth and Sun-Earth energy relationships.

This publication uses tables, graphs, and illustrations to detail space-weather and sun climate phenomena. It’s a valuable reference for understanding that big, close star’s effect on our planet.

Author John A. Eddy writes in his introduction (making a great conclusion to this blog post), “In a world of warmth and light and living things we soon forget that we are surrounded by a vast universe that is cold and dark and deadly dangerous, just beyond our door.”

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE PUBLICATIONS?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | NASA, Science & Technology | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

The U.S. Government’s Santa-Tracking Mission

December 19, 2016

‘Twas Christmas eve 1955 when a misprinted Sears Roebuck & Co. newspaper ad directed kids to a Soviet alert hotline instead of Santa’s direct dial. The top secret hotline that was used only in national emergencies to alert the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) if the USSR attacked. Wrong red phone!

Old Norad Tracks Santa posterOn the receiving end, U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, CONAD’s director of operations, grabbed the red emergency phone and braced for an imminent attack. Instead, a little 6 year-old boy’s voice trembled over the phone, “Are you really Santa Claus?” Shoup, thinking it was a prank, barked, “Would you repeat that?” The little voice started to cry, then hesitantly asked, “Is this one of Santa’s elves, then?”

Soon the phone began ringing off the hook with kids wanting to gab with Santa. Col. Shoup played along. He even turned his team of Cold War-era radar operators into North Pole elves—they scanned monitors for indications of Santa on the move. And that’s how the U.S. Government got into the business of Santa tracking.

Today, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD, CONAD’s successor) is a bi-national U.S. and Canadian organization tasked with aerospace warning and control. As a frontline in homeland defense, its slogan is “Deter, Detect, Defend.” But its most famous and favorite mission is watching the winter skies for the “big red one,” much as it has done since Col. Shoup answered the phone over 60 years ago.

NORAD Celebrating 50 Years book“Guarding What You Value Most: North American Aerospace Defense Command Celebrating 50 Years,” available thru GPO, touches upon how NORAD triangulates Kris Kringle’s course. The publication proudly states that “using the same technology used to perform their day-to-day mission— satellites, high-powered radars and jet fighters— NORAD tracks Santa Claus as he makes his Yuletide journey around the world.”

NORAD’s sleigh of different high-tech systems is used to read Rudolph’s infrared nose signature, capture high-speed video around the globe, and provide Santa and his reindeer with a NORAD fighter pilot escort. Fun fact to impress people at your holiday party: satellites and radar once clocked Santa’s flying delivery cart at 100 times faster than the Japanese bullet train.

santa-sleighSanta positioning updates were originally delivered over the radio and through the Santa Tracking hotline. In 1997, the operation leapt onto the internet. A few years ago, NORAD teamed up with tech companies to release a set of free apps. If you download the tracking app, you can receive notifications of the Santa’s globetrotting whereabouts.

Want to track jolly St. Nick and his sleigh-pullers on Christmas Eve? Visit NORAD’s multilingual Santa site. It’s soundtracked with some pretty groovy holiday music, too. And while clicking around, do visit GPO’s Online Bookstore and check out that NORAD history publication there waiting for you. Unlike Santa, it requires no high-tech tracking.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS PUBLICATION?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Department of Defense, Family, NORAD, U.S. Air Force | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Bill of Rights at 225: A Guarantee for the People

December 14, 2016

9780160514234295It has been said that the Declaration of Independence was the promise; the Constitution was the fulfillment. Then you might say that the Bill of Rights was the affirmation. On December 15, 2016 those enduring first ten amendments to the Constitution turn 225 years old.

GPO makes available a pocket copy of The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence that includes the celebrated Bill of Rights.

Since they were ratified in 1791, that compact collection of amendments have become some of the most talked about text in history. Before their guarantees were plainly enumerated in the Constitution, there was a rumbling fear of the tyrannical actions of government. The concern grew loud enough to stall the Constitution’s ratification.

It all centered on the contentious tug between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The Federalists believed an official declaration of individual rights was unnecessary. The Anti-Federalists had little confidence in strong centralized government to safeguard liberties of the governed. They simply would not ratify the Constitution without a “bill of rights.”

In response, James Madison presented a list of amendments that would follow Article VII of the Constitution. His list placed prohibitions on government power and enshrined as inalienable rights the self-evident truths invoked in preceding documents.

bill-of-rightsThe amendments required approval from the House, Senate, and all state legislatures. Virginia was the last to ratify. Finally, on December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights became part of the Constitution. Without the Bill of Rights, the Constitution might never have been ratified.

Although the phrase itself does not appear explicitly in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights is a foundational document that has lived long and large. Because of it, fundamental freedoms such as religion, speech, and due process of law are formally protected within the supreme law of the land.

Together, the Bill of Rights and Constitution are the slow-burning coals of a quiet revolution, a steady progression to improve the quality of American life. They secure individual liberties and the spirit of popular sovereignty extolled in the phrase “we the people.” Bill of Rights Day is as good a time as any for “we the people” to re-read them.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS RESOURCE?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | U.S. Constitution, U.S. History | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Celebrate the Life of a Global Space Pioneer and American Legend – John Glenn

December 9, 2016

BringingTheFutureWithinReach_033-000-01377-9Few Americans have made a greater personal contribution to America than the recently departed John Glenn. His life path defines what it is to place your country first and to do it with grace and style. He put his own life in harm’s way to move the nation to the forefront of space exploration at a time we needed it most.

He traveled to outer space and through the halls of the U.S. Senate as Senator of Ohio. He also was an activist for keeping America safer by introducing legislation to curb worldwide nuclear proliferation.

Now, you can bring home publications that honor Glenn’s contribution to our space effort. Bringing the Future Within Reach: Celebrating 75 Years of the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center, 1941-2016 provides in-depth descriptions of the many research specialties NASA embarked upon that helped the U.S. win the race to the moon; and that championed electric propulsion, considered key to future space flight.

033-000-01375-2_spinoff-2016Another publication, Spinoff, 2016 features dozens of commercial products derived from NASA technology that are improving everything from medical care and software tools to agricultural production and vehicle efficiency.

To find other publications related to John Glenn, visit the Government Publishing Office’s online bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov  and type “John Glenn” into the search box. You will be directed to publications that honor his life and the contributions he’s made to our space program and to exciting technologies that lie just ahead in the near future.

For that young girl or boy in your life, here’s a true role model depicting how one person can make such a significant difference by following his or her dream, and by living an exemplary life that shows anything is possible.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE PUBLICATIONS?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office.

Leave a Comment » | Aviation, NASA, Science & Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Pearl Harbor at 75 & Three Pacific Battles That Shaped WWII

December 6, 2016
uss-arizona-burning1

Battleship USS Arizona on fire and sinking (Image source: archives.gov)

Moments before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the United States was ‘suddenly and deliberately attacked.’ Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes and bombers launched a surprise assault on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The swift, devastating volley on the U.S. naval base killed 2,403 Americans. With President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous “a date which will live in infamy” proclamation, America had finally joined WWII.

008-046-00301-7That momentous week of loss and defiance took place seventy-five years ago. After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. fought Imperial Japanese forces for a superior hold in Pacific waters. On the list of the 10 greatest battles of that front, you will find Midway, Coral Sea, and the Philippine Sea. GPO makes available a U.S. Naval War College study, Major-Fleet Versus-Fleet Operations in the Pacific War, 1941-1945, that takes a look at those three major naval operations.

Japanese planning in the Pacific War, according to author and naval historian Dr. Milan Vego, was unnecessarily complicated and focused too closely on offensive maneuvers. Nonetheless, Japan was hell-bent on defeating the U.S. Pacific fleet.

425px-sinking_of_carrier_shoho_during_battle_of_coral_sea_1942

Sinking of Japanese carrier Shoho during Battle of Coral Sea, 1942

American military intelligence, and eventually the entire fleet, prevailed. The book’s primary-source archival material points to the timely concentration of U.S. forces at the appropriate place and at the appropriate time. The U.S. dominated the resultant Coral Sea, Midway/Aleutians, and the Philippine Sea battles—victories that presented a big sea change in the Pacific theater.

The author provides a detailed, well-supported sketch of three major battle areas that decisively shaped WWII. Maps, strategic context, and action analysis provide an authoritative, insightful resource for naval professionals. Major-Fleet Versus-Fleet Operations in the Pacific War identifies universal, tactical lessons of interest for today’s U.S. Navy and, of course, military history buffs.

HOW DO I OBTAIN THIS RESOURCE?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at http://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

About the author: Blogger contributor Chelsea Milko is a Public Relations Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations Office.

Leave a Comment » | Department of Defense, Military History, Naval War College, U.S. Navy, World War II | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

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