Computer information retrieval is a "revolution squared," Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) told a group of librarians recently.
Rep. Ehlers spoke March 22 at the annual forum of the Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC).
He told the government librarians about his daughter's recent library science degree and how the House got "wired" for online capability.
Rep. Ehlers described the work of his daughter, Marla, who graduated last year with a master's degree in library science from the University of Pittsburgh. In school, she spent 20 to 30 hours a week online doing research, writing, submitting homework and communicating with professors. When she started work at a library in Grand Rapids, Mich., it came as a shock that online communication was not as widely used in the real world, Rep. Ehlers said.
Even some members of the House are opposed to going online, according to Rep. Ehlers.
"I get e-mail from people's constituents who say, 'My representative isn't online yet, and I wondered if you could give him a message,'" Rep. Ehlers said.
Rep. Ehlers helped lay the groundwork for the new THOMAS system administered by the Library to provide information about bills and the full text of the Congressional Record for the 103rd and 104th Congresses, committee and House e- mail addresses and links to the House, Senate, C-SPAN and Library of Congress gophers (Worldwide Web address: //www.loc.gov; or telnet to thomas.loc.gov and login as thomas).
"We are working to improve the amount and presentation of information to the public," Rep. Ehlers said.
Last year, 15 members of the House were online through commercial services, according to Rep. Ehlers. Now 100 members are online through a House server, and Rep. Ehlers promised that 300 offices, including committees, would be wired by July 1.
