A home page on the World Wide Web allows the user, through a WWW browser such as Netscape of Mosaic, to get a quick overview of the information offered. Major areas are underscored, and if the user clicks on the underscored part, he will obtain information about that subject. In some instances, he will be linked to another server on the Internet.
For instance, users of the Copyright Office's WWW home page can go into folders that contain general copyright information, which in turn have folders containing more specific information. The Office's most frequently asked questions, and recent Federal Register announcements are available, as are the COPICS files.
The same copyright information is available through a number of other ways via the internet -- that is by gopher and by telnetting to LC Marvel -- but many users prefer the WWW. Not only is it so easy to use, but graphics, sounds, and motion pictures may be viewed and downloaded. In addition, the gopher menu does not permit linking to other home pages.
The Copyright Office's home page is linked to several other related home pages. These include the copyright law at the House of Representatives, copyright information at Stanford University and the University of Virginia Library, BMI, the Copyright Clearance Center, CNI-Copyright Mailing List Archives, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the Software Publishers Association.
Copyright Information Specialist Ed rogers, who designed the Office's home page and who manages its operation, is working on adding the application forms to the home page, possibly by the time this article appears in print. Users will be able to download the forms to their home computers. In addition, he plans an interactive application form. In that case, the user clicks on a part of the form, for example, line 1, and the instructions for line 1 will appear on the screen. That form will not be downloaded, but will be used to assist someone who has a paper copy in front of him or her.
Visual Information Specialist Darlene Chang has assisted Rogers in the design of the header and various other aspects of the home page.