For those of you who didn’t have the chance to use Uncle Sam I will explain why it will be greatly missed. When searching for government documents it can be overwhelming if the searcher does not know who published the information or where exactly to look. Uncle Sam was a search engine operated by Google only for Government documents (those published by the United States Government) and other government information.
When Uncle Sam was in service civilians, military personnel, and those actually working for the state and federal government, would use the search engine to quickly find information. This is extremely important when the users are not sure if the information can be found at .state, .gov, .org, .edu, and in some cases .com. I even learned of Uncle Sam in class while attending LSU for my library and information science masters.
Without warning, over night the search engine was terminated. Those users who tried to use Uncle Sam in June of this year were shown the following announcement:
“The Google Uncle Sam U.S. government search engine [www.google.com/unclesam] is not functioning as of June 2, 2011.”
A user asked for some support from the Google Support Forum on 06/03/2011 but it was not until 06/06/11 that a clear explanation was given (or the fact that Google had terminated Uncle Sam).
Google’s Explanation of removing Uncle Sam:
“Hello Everyone,
I personally apologize for our poor communication regarding the termination of Uncle Sam search. We should have done a better job communicating this in advance, and I apologize for that. In the future, I'll make sure we find a way to do better.
As for Uncle Sam search, our analysis showed that moving searchers over to regular web search would help most people find what they're looking for faster. Take for instance, the example mentioned above relating to www.dat.state.md.us. A search for [maryland new business tax forms] on Google.com ranks results from business.marylandtaxes.com (the website of the official Comptroller of MD) as well as www.dat.state.md.us. Note that in Uncle Sam search, marylandtaxes.com would not have been included, which would have been incomplete.
If there are specific queries that you think regular Google search is not as helpful as Uncle Sam search was, please let me know.
Best regards,
Rishi
Search Product Manager”
For those who would like more information about this please visit the following link, which is from a Google Support Forum which talks about Uncle Sam. (Google support/help forums by topic can be found here). Although several people mention how Uncle Sam was important to them, others users mention how a special search engine can be created. One such user created his own search engine at unclesamsearch.com. His explanation on the Google Support Forum is located below:
“I compiled a list of 400 government websites and created a custom google search engine. I've uploaded it to http://www.unclesamsearch.com/” by user Eric303.
For your research and information gathering pleasure, I have provided some government links below. Some will be familiar but hopefully I have provided other links that can be wonderful new resources to use.
Government Links:
As of today (October 15, 2011) this “Page Last Reviewed or Updated: October 07, 2011.”
Ben states, “I have been chosen to represent GPO Access since I was involved in setting up the first public library in America and my work during the early days of government printing has led some people to give me the honorary title of "first public printer" of the United States.” (About Ben). [A service of the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.]
“The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.”
For kids who want information about the CIA, have them look at the Kids’ Page.
“The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.
As a priority Open Government Initiative for President Obama's administration, Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov.
Changes made to Data.gov are available in the Release Notes section.”
- “The directory lists current/active/existing U. S. Federal Government agencies as represented in the United States Government Manual. Indentations will inform the reader of the institution's place in the hierarchy.
- Not every level of organization will be indexed here. Some organizations (such as the Navy) have numerous sub-organizations and provide excellent indexes from their home pages. If an institution is not represented here, try the parent organization.
- No annotation will be provided. This index is for people who know where they want to go, but don't know the URL.
- The index is searchable by agency keyword (e.g., Veteran's Bureau) NOT subject. See, FAQs for links to search engines and other resources.” (About Scope Note).
GovSpeak- A Guide to Government Acronyms & Abbreviations “This guide lists acronyms and abbreviations commonly used by the United States federal government. Each acronym is defined and links to the home page (or best alternative) of the identified department, agency, office, program or publication.
While Appendix A of the U.S. Government Manual provided the foundation of GovSpeak, this expanded list includes hundreds of acronyms not included in that publication; most have been discovered by manual reviews of department websites. Links are checked and updated monthly.
This website has been a labor of love for more than 10 years. I originally conceived of and created this guide for the IUPUI University Library in April 2000, and am grateful to that institution for allowing me to take ownership of the site when my employment there ended.
Provides various links in sections such as: Government Jobs, Election 2012, Must See Sites, Shortcuts, Lists, Government Reports, Issues, Related Spots, Previous Articles, You Asked For It, In The Spotlight, and Do You Know?.
GPO.gov (U.S. Government Printing Office- Celebrating 150 this year, 2011) “The core mission of Keeping America Informed, dated to 1813 when Congress determined to make information regarding the work of the three branches of Government available to all Americans. The U.S Government Printing Office (GPO) provides publishing and dissemination services for the official and authentic government publications to Congress, Federal agencies, Federal depository libraries, and the American public.” (About GPO)
“Federal Resources Organized by Topic
GPO Access' resources have been organized into the following categories based on the various feedback received for the site. If you have a suggestion for a topic, please contact the U.S. Government Printing Office.”
The Library's mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people.” (About LOC).
“The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.
Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family’s history, need to prove a veteran’s military service, or are researching an historical topic that interests you. Learn more here.”
“The National Technical Information Service serves as the largest central resource for government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information available today. For more than 60 years NTIS has assured businesses, universities, and the public timely access to approximately 3 million publications covering over 350 subject areas.
Our mission supports the Department of Commerce mission to promote the nation's economic growth by providing access to information that stimulates innovation and discovery.
Public Law 102-245, Section 108 American Technology Preeminence Act of 1991” (About NTIS).
SBA.gov- U.S. Small Business Administration “Since its founding on July 30, 1953, the U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered millions of loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses. SBA provides assistances primarily through its four programmatic functions.” (About SBA).
THOMAS
In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson, legislative information from the Library of Congress. “THOMAS was launched in January of 1995, at the inception of the 104th Congress. The leadership of the 104th Congress directed the Library of Congress to make federal legislative information freely available to the public. Since that time THOMAS has expanded the scope of its offerings to include the features and content listed here:
Bills, Resolutions, Activity in Congress, Congressional Record, Schedules, Calendars, Committee Information, Presidential Nominations, Treaties, Government Resources, and For Teachers.” (About Thomas).
“What Data We Collect & When
For more information, read the About Us page.
“USA.gov was legislatively mandated through Section 204 of the E-Government Act of 2002. As the U.S. government's official web portal, USA.gov makes it easy for the public to get U.S. government information and services on the web. USA.gov also serves as the catalyst for a growing electronic government. Social Media: We believe in delivering information and services in ways that are convenient for you. Check us out at Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.” (About USA.gov).
Includes the following topics for U. S. Federal Resources on WashLaw:
