February 2013 News & Features

IN THE NEWS: BP in Hot Water over Deepwater

February 25, 2013 -- The National Commission on the BP Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling produced two landmark and controversial reports about the causes of and recommended actions resulting from the deadly BP Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig explosion on April 10, 2010, and the blowout of the Macondo well. With the Federal civil trial starting this week against BP and its Deepwater Horizon subcontractors, GPO's Government BookTalk blog reviews the two BP Oil Spill Commission Reports that present the fundamentals of the Federal case against BP: 1) Macondo: The Gulf Oil Disaster. Chief Counsel’s Report 2011, and 2) Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling, Report to the President, January 2011.

NEW & IMPROVED! GPO Launches its New Online Bookstore Website

February 22, 2013 -- Today, GPO completed its beta testing and launched our New and Improved online bookstore website at http://bookstore.gpo.gov. This replaces our previous website launched in 2004.

• Improved search capabilities and usability, including printer-friendly pages and footer with quick links.
• Secure user account and login allows users to see order history.
• Also over 100 additional New Titles by Topics email alert categories to which to subscribe.
• Enhanced product detail page that includes a product image, suggested related items, as well as editorial reviews, author information and links to other available formats if applicable.
• Option to sort products alphabetically, by date of publication, popularity, or price.
• New eBooks section with over 150 eBook titles, with more added weekly.
• Over 100 new categories on the site, including the option to browse for products by topic or by Government agency.

Click on the dark blue Browse All Topics button on the site to see and browse by a list of all the topical categories.

FIND A CAREER: Occupational Outlook Publications Help You Choose the Best Career

February 14, 2013 -- What are the fastest-growing careers for the next 10 years? Which job fields have the best benefits?  Read our detailed review of two great career-exploring publications from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): The Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Occupational Outlook Quarterly magazine on our Government Book Talk blog post “Occupational Outlook Publications Help You Choose the Best Career”

CELEBRATE: February is Black History Month

February 1, 2013 -- Today starts Black History Month in the United States, celebrated every February.  It is a time for all of us to reflect on the many contributions African-Americans have made to the American way of life. In recognition of National Black History Month, the U.S. Government Printing Office offers for sale the following publications focusing on some of the important events involving African-Americans.