; and (4) to encourage the Government Publishing Office to make all of its publications available on the Internet in the formats most useful to the public, after having considered the formats identified by the Public Online Information Advisory Committee. 5. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The Federal Government holds a vast repository of public information. Throughout the Nation’s history, the Government has attempted to make that information available to the public, whether through the United States Postal Service, the Federal Depository Library Program, the Presidential Library System, Agency Reading Rooms, under the Freedom of Information Act, or by other means. Providing this information to the general public is a public good: Informed citizens are informed voters. However, even with these efforts, Government information is too often hard to find, difficult to understand, expensive to obtain in useful formats, and available in only a few locations. (2) The advent of the Internet presents the opportunity for the Government to make information readily available to many more Americans. The Internet is ubiquitous, turning every computer into a portal to the world’s largest library. The Government has made some efforts to take advantage of this new medium. As the public moves online, the Government must do so as well. (3) In addition to the traditional means of disseminating public information, the Federal Government should make all of its public information available on the Internet. It should do so in ways that take advantage of modern technology, that anticipate the public’s needs, and that provide access to the greatest number of people. The Government should strive to make its information available on the Internet in real-time and in machine processable formats. (4) The creation of this vast new information library will empower citizens to gain a better understanding of how their Government functions and what it does in their name. It will also give innovators new tools to build on this