THANKS to Jane E. Prudhomme,

Sometimes when I read about "services" and "other resources" ont his list, I
(and I presume others) wonder which ones are really FREE, and which are the
value-added subscription services/products.

FREE FEDERAL INFORMATION ONE-STOP SHOPPING:

Because:
Most federal info is for free, but cumbersome to use -- and not in a single
place.

And, Because:
Value-Added subscription services present a cost barrier to easily accessed
government-wide information

Therefore:
Federal agencies are establishing their own Value-Added service (YES, for
FREE -- your tax dollars coming through for you!!!!).

The free one-stop federal service is provided via an independent computer
firm which submitted a proposal to participate with the feds by managing the
information and keeping the system completely upgraded, checking for
 validity, and handling millions of "customers"...

YEs, the feds are still working to span this effort across all of the
governemtn agencies....   The push is even greater as research
administrators become aware of the system and its uses.

One great thing:  FEDIX (Federal Information Exchange) ----- the name of the
d-base --- is free to access, free to call for info, free to receive a
training guide, and free to accept comments and suggestions...

I suppose this tangent is due to the incredible demand for this service (as
proven by the intermitent pop-ups of supposedly "free for a fee" private
services).

IF you have an interest:  e-mail  ---   xxxxxx@fedix.fie.com

Best of luck!  Just think -- one day -- all governemtn info, everywhere will
be free !  Let's hope!

Lisa F. Richman *
Director
Research Administration Services

*no financial stake in FEDIX or the US government --- well, maybe in our
gov't : )