Choose an executive department, independent agency or government corportation,
a board, commission or committee or quasi-official agency from this list.
http://firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Executive.shtml

By Sept 21, Please email me your choice. mike_vanfossen@unc.edu

Agencies Taken, as of 21 Sept., 4pm.

1. 9/11 Commission
2. Census Bureau
3. Federal Communications Commission
4. Federal Emergency Management Agency
5. Government Printing Office
6. Legal Services Corporation
7. Minority Business Development Agency
8. National Endowment for the Humanities
9. National Institutes of Health
10. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
11. National Park Service
12. National Resource Conservation Service
13. National Science Foundation
14. Office of Elementary and Secondary Educationj
15. Office of Refugee Resettlement
16. Patent and Trademark Office
17. Peace Corps
18. Railroad Retirement Board
19. Securities and Exchange Commission
20. Smithsonian Institute
21. U.S. Coast Guard
22. U.S. Geological Survey
23. U.S. Institute of Peace
24. White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives

Sections of the Talk

1. Introduction
   The introduction should include a short historical overview; why was the department started in the first place? what is the mission of the department? If there's a copy of the annual report on the website, look at the latest and list some some of the current issues the department is dealing with.

2. Site Contents
   In this class, we are particularly interested in full-text publications, searchable databases or collections of statistics that are included on the web. This is a ten minute report--you won't have time to talk about everything that's available so choose some items you think would be exciting, interesting or useful, and discuss them.
   Some common elements of websites include:
   • Background information: history and mission.
   • Directories of personnel
   • Sub-departments or bureaus of the organization
   • Employment opportunities
   • List of contact people
   • List of vacancies within the organization
   • Publications catalog
   • A site index
   • Speeches of prominent members, directors, etc.
   • FAQ's
   • Free searchable databases or subscription searchable databases
   • Links to other related sites
   • Opportunities to subscribe to email update lists.
   • Audio-visual material, webcasts, etc.
   • Some sites may have information in Spanish.

3. Evaluation
   Lastly, state briefly, how would you evaluate this site? Helpful? Easy to navigate? Practical information available? Links work? Or any other criteria you use to evaluate a web site. Cornell University Library has a good selection of evaluation links at:
   http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html
   

Resources
These are print guides to government Internet sites.

• Maxymuk, John.
  Government online : one-click access to 3,400 federal and state Websites. New York,
  Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2001. Davis Reference and SILS Library ZA5075 .M38 2001.
• Andriot, Laurie.
  Internet blue pages : the guide to federal government web sites.
  Medford, NJ : CyberAge Books, 2000. Davis Reference and Law Reference ZA5075 .A53 2000.
• Hernon, Peter.
  U.S. government on the Web : getting the information you need. 3rd edition. Englewood, Colo.,
  Libraries Unlimited, 2003. Davis Reference, Law Reference Desk ZA5075 .H47 2003.
• Garvin, Peggy, Ed.
  Government Information on the Internet. 6th ed. Lanham, MD: Bernan, 2003.
  Davis Reference, ZA5075.N69 2003.