Federal Legislative Site Gets New Look

Thomas, home to a wealth of U.S. legislative information hosted by the Library of Congress, has been given a face lift. The new look is more compact and is easy to navigate. There is more information available on the front page than before, although some might argue the smaller font means that it's harder to find the link to the Public Laws search. The current Congress' information can be searched quickly from the front page, using keywords, bill number, or sponsor's name. Some of the other search features - like combining multiple Congresses in a single search - are nice improvements, if not in functionality than in interface. The universal left side menu means that you can keep moving forward in your navigation to a new location, rather than having to return to the top of the site. Links to the Congressional Record and Treaties follow you around the site. The site's About Thomas page succinctly explains scope of databases and links to the search queries for bill text since 1989, bill summaries and status since 1973, and the multi-Congress search.