Public Beta Launch of Congress.gov: The New THOMAS

Earlier today I followed from afar the US Library of Congress launch of the new Congress.gov, which is still in beta. As we watch the new site develop, we can also begin our good-byes to THOMAS, which, it was confirmed today, will be replaced. Andrew Weber of the Law Library of Congress posted the news – about the new Congress.gov and the eventual demise of THOMAS – at that institution’s blog, In Custodia Legis:

Today also marks the first public announcement of the eventual end of THOMAS. It isn’t going away today or tomorrow, but sometime in the next year. It won’t fade away to Monticello until we have migrated content from it to Congress.gov and officially retire the beta.

Earlier this summer at AALL12 I attended a session about the strategic process leading to the (then) forthcoming new site. Attendees were treated to a brief look at the beta and its new features. The highlights at this point hint toward increasing public usefulness: The new site has a fairly intuitive layout, faceted search features, mobile responsiveness, social sharing, multimedia instructional content, and other content additions such as Congress Member profiles.

I summarized details and some reaction to today’s launch in a storify.

Further updates from the Law Library of Congress will follow via In Custodia Legis, their Twitter feed, the THOMASdotgov feed (which carries on for now, at least, with that name) and generally via #congressdotgov.