The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) releases a new photo history of the agency. Picturing the Big Shop is a collection of 200 photos, including many that have never before been published, comprising the historical record of everyday life at GPO from 1900 to 1980. This GPO “family album” provides, in black and white and sepia, a revealing look at the equipment, the buildings, and the working lives of the men and women of GPO over the years who helped carry out the agency’s mission of Keeping America Informed. Keeping America Informed: The U.S. Government Publishing Office, A Legacy of Service to the Nation, 1861-2016 can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/021-000-00217-8

The Plum Book is published by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Committee on Oversight and Reform alternately after each Presidential election. The Plum Book is used to identify Presidential appointed and other positions within the Federal Government. The publication lists over 9,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment. The duties of many such positions may involve advocacy of Administration policies and programs and the incumbents usually have a close and confidential working relationship with the agency head or other key officials. The Plum Book was first published in 1952 during the Eisenhower administration. When President Eisenhower took office, the Republican Party requested a list of government positions that President Eisenhower could fill. The next edition of the Plum Book appeared in 1960 and has since been published every four years, just after the Presidential election.

Plastics, discusses plastic as a material, the different manufacturing and processing techniques, historical uses, current uses, an explanation of the harmful effects on the environment, and how to reuse and recycle plastics. Additionally, this title features a table of contents, glossary, index, color photographs, diagrams, recycling sidebars, statistics, and recommended websites for further exploration.

Excerpt from History of the Government Printing Office, (at Washington, D. C.): With a Brief Record of the Public Printing for a Century, 1789 1881 The original design of this book was Simply to furnish something which would answer as a guide to the many visitors who yearly inspect the different departments of the Government Printing Office. It was not intended to elaborate it with any allusion to the early printing for the Government 3 to embody in it the laws relating to the subject of public printing; to supply any data of the former business of the office nor to illustrate it as it now appears. It was intended only to recapitulate, in as brief a manner as possible, the present dimensions and capacity of the office, with a reference to the machinery in use, the number of hands engaged, the style of work produced, the manner of its execution, etc. But it has grown greatly beyond its first concep tion, and my own intention and expectation and whether the present design be good or bad, I have no apology to make, as I believe the many historical and other incidents contained in its pages will prove of some value and interest, although possibly not presented in the most attractive form. But few persons outside of a printing Office, or those having daily business with printers, have any idea of the numerous processes through which written matter must pass before it becomes a finished, printed book. Printing is a Slow and tedious business at best, notwithstanding the many and diversified improvements which have been invented to facilitate the rapid production of printed matter. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.