Site Policies

Privacy

Legal Information

The concept of online privacy includes the right to decide what personal information you choose to submit online, and how that information will be used, if at all. To protect user privacy, the Government Publishing Office, also referred to as "GPO", follows Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recommendations and other suggestions regarding Internet privacy policy for Federal Government websites. In doing so, we strive to make users aware of the kinds of information we collect from them, explaining why we collect that information, how we use it, and whether it will be shared with others.

Information Collected Automatically when Users Surf the GPO Website

GPO collects the following data for statistical purposes only:

  • the IP address from which users access our website;
  • the date and time of their visits;
  • the URLs of the pages that they view;
  • WAIS searches and retrievals, including search terms.

We use these statistics to make improvements to GPO.gov, not to identify individual users or their searches. We do not enable cookies to monitor usage or to gather users' personal information.

Information Collected via Correspondence with GPO

Personal information submitted by a user in comments or questions via phone, fax, or e-mail is not distributed to parties outside of GPO. Identifying information, such as name, e-mail address, and phone or fax number, is used only for responding to users' comments or questions, and is not made available for other purposes.

Information Collected via the U.S. Government Online Bookstore

Personal information supplied by a user when submitting an order via our U.S. Government Online Bookstore website, or FDSys.gov, phone, fax, or e-mail is used for fulfilling that order. This information may be used to notify customers of new products that may be of interest to them. GPO provides names and addresses, upon request, only to the publishing agency of the specific product purchased.

GPO is pleased to participate on open, un-moderated forums offered by commercial social network sites in order to increase government transparency, promote public participation, and encourage collaboration. We currently maintain official GPO accounts on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.  

We also send out opt-in email newsletters through our New Titles by Topic email sign-up located on our online bookstore website, and we allow comments to be posted to our GovBookTalk blog.  Please note that GPO does not control or endorse the comments or opinions provided by visitors to these sites or to our blog.

Your order Information is encrypted

Information submitted through an order placed on the U.S. Government Online Bookstore is protected by the use of robust commercial encryption software. By using this software to create a secure environment for online information exchange, GPO ensures that only authorized personnel can view personal information, such as credit card numbers.

Disclaimer for GPO Information

All information provided by GPO on this US Government Bookstore site is made available to provide immediate access for the convenience of interested persons. While GPO believes the information to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility. Therefore, GPO does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of the information. Neither GPO, nor any of the sources of the information, shall be responsible for any error or omission, or for the use of, or the results obtained from the use of, this information. 

The material available for purchase from the US Government Bookstore is produced by the three branches of the Federal Government and trade names, trademarks,  agency seals, logos, and other symbols or insignia should be accepted as official Federal Government content and are often protected by their agency regulations.  An end user will need to request permission to use these symbols. 

Most content produced by the Federal Government is in the public domain.  If specific content has any copyrighted material within its content, it shall be noted within the document and applicable Federal laws apply. Citation to the appropriate source of the originating information is appreciated, as appropriate for public domain content.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

Reference herein to any specific commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. government.

Definitions

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information that Web servers or pages store on a user's hard drive. There are two types of cookies: session cookies and persistent cookies. Both types of cookies allow Internet servers to "remember" specific information about a user. Websites use them primarily to personalize their sites for individual users, to keep track of orders when users purchase products, and to target advertising toward users based on the information that they access. However, session cookies will "remember" that information for only as long as you explore a website during one "session", or visit to the website. Session cookies will not "remember" information about you when you return to the site for subsequent visits. However, persistent cookies will "remember" this information for more than one session. OMB has decided that persistent cookies should not be allowed on Government websites, except in "the most unusual of circumstances." GPO currently follows this recommendation.

Encryption

Encryption technology ensures the protection of personal information via private, secure transactions. View encryption information for the U.S. Government Online Bookstore.

Security

Site security is the concept of monitoring network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on GPO's servers.

In the case that suspicious activity of this sort arises, a user's personal information may be tracked to identify a possible threat. This is the only reason that GPO will ever collect personal information and/or monitor user activity without asking permission or giving prior notice.

Note: To assist users in finding official Government information, we provide links to other websites. Once users have left gpo.gov and entered another site, they are subject to the policies and legal notices on that site.

Disclaimer for Hypertext Links

Neither GPO nor its contributors are responsible for the content of any off-site pages that are referenced by or that reference to GPO’s Government Bookstore site. The user specifically acknowledges that neither the GPO nor its contributors are responsible for any defamatory, offensive, misleading, or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third parties and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the user. Links from the GPO Government Bookstore on the World Wide Web to other sites or from other sites to the GPO Government Bookstore do not constitute an endorsement by GPO. These links are for convenience only and often point to where Federal Content is available for sale or to the authoring Federal agency. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other sites. You are subject to that site's privacy policy when you leave our site. We are not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private websites.

Copyright Status Notice

Unless specifically stated otherwise, all information on the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) website is in the public domain, and may be reproduced, published or otherwise used without GPO's permission.
Some photographs in major banners and navigation headings are commercially licensed and cannot be reproduced, published or otherwise used.

Security

Security on this Site

Site security is the concept of monitoring network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on GPO's servers.

In the case that suspicious activity of this sort arises, a user's personal information may be tracked to identify a possible threat. This is the only reason that GPO will ever collect personal information and/or monitor user activity without asking permission or giving prior notice.

Note: To assist users in finding official Government information, we provide links to other Web sites. Once users have left GPO Access and entered another site, they are subject to the policies and legal notices on that site.

Pay.gov Secure Federal Payment Portal

Pay.gov is the Federal Government's own secure payment processing system for ecommerce that provides extra levels of protection for online shopping.

It is a web-based application allowing you to fill out and submit forms online as well as make online payments to government agencies by credit card or by debit from your checking or savings account.

How will it work on this site? If you choose to major credit card as your payment method on our online bookstore website, after reviewing the order, you will be automatically taken to the Pay.gov site to complete the transaction. There you will provide your address and credit card data for processing. 

Accessibility

Permanent Public Access

Title 44 of the United States Code (44 U.S.C. Section 1911) stipulates that public access to official Government information products disseminated through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) must be maintained permanently in regional depository libraries and by depository libraries not served by a regional library. Since online products are not physically distributed to depository libraries for retention, GPO has assumed responsibility for the provision of permanent access to Government information products residing on GPO Access servers.

GPO's permanent public access commitment is also met by bringing agency-disseminated Internet resources under the purview of GPO and incorporating them into a digital archive. GPO captures copies of agency electronic information products, and creates PURLs so that users will be automatically redirected to the archived products if the information is no longer accessible on the agency Web site. Please refer to the report Managing the FDLP Electronic Collection: A Policy and Planning Document for more information.

Section 508 / Accessibility

In 1998, President Clinton signed the Workforce Investment Act into law. This Act amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to include accessibility requirements for electronic and information technology. Section 508 now requires that electronic and information technology used by the Federal Government, including their Web sites, be made as accessible for people with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. The U.S. Access Board has outlined specific accessibility standards for implementing Section 508, especially as it applies to Web pages.

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has always had a commitment to accessibility. In the past, we have taken time to ensure that GPO Access complied with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other accessibility concerns, whenever feasible.

Currently, GPO is working to ensure that existing pages on GPO Access are Section 508-compliant, and that future pages will be created specifically with these accessibility standards in mind.

Feel free to contact us for any reason, especially if you encounter barriers to accessibility on any of our Web pages. With your help, we can work together to ensure that GPO Access remains as accessible as possible. Please direct questions, comments, or recommendations regarding the accessibility of GPO Access to the GPO Contact Center.

More information about Section 508 can be found on: http://www.section508.gov.

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