[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59177-59179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28588]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Docket No. R-1049]


Publication Activities Review

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Request for comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Federal Reserve Board (Board) is conducting a review of 
its publication activities. As part of this effort, the Board is asking 
the public to comment on how the Board's publications are individually 
and collectively meeting their information needs and to offer 
suggestions for improving or possibly eliminating some publications or 
adding new ones.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 17, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments, which should refer to Docket No. R-1049, may be 
mailed to Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, 
Washington, DC 20551. Comments addressed to Ms. Johnson may also be 
delivered to the Board's mailroom between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. and 
to the security control room at all other times. Both the mailroom and 
the security control room are accessible from the courtyard entrance on 
20th Street between Constitution Ave. and C Street, NW. Comments may be 
inspected in Room MP-500 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., except as provided 
in Sec. 261.12 of the Board's Rules Regarding Availability of 
Information, 12 CFR 261.12 and 261.14.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Zacharias (202/973-5016). For the 
hearing impaired only, contact Diane Jenkins, Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD), (202/452-3544).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description of the Board's Publications Program

    The Board's publications program supports the various missions of 
the Board by making information about the Federal Reserve System 
accessible to other parts of the U.S. Government,

[[Page 59178]]

regulated entities, the legal and business communities, libraries and 
research institutions, economists and other scholars, consumers, and 
the public at large. The publications program has the following six 
objectives:
     To provide to a large and diverse audience, the facts 
essential to an understanding of the functions and operations of the 
Federal Reserve System.
     To inform the public of official actions, interpretations, 
and policies of the Board of Governors.
     To present analyses and discussions of developments 
relating to public policy in banking, finance, and monetary matters and 
the general economy.
     To disseminate to the public certain statistics and survey 
information that the Board collects in the course of its formulation 
and conduct of monetary and regulatory policies.
     To present the results of developmental research in the 
areas of finance, economics, and statistics.
     To educate members of the public about, and to inform them 
of their rights in, financial transactions governed by regulations that 
the Board administers.
    The Board publishes information in both print and electronic forms. 
Its over eighty published products include books, journals, brochures, 
press releases, testimony, speeches, legal notices, statistical 
releases, manuals, reports, staff studies, and research papers. Some 
products, such as statistical releases, are issued on a weekly, 
monthly, or quarterly schedule. Others, such as consumer education 
brochures, are issued when appropriate and are often a joint effort of 
the Board and other financial regulatory agencies or industry groups. 
Certain products are available in audio, video, or digital form, and 
nearly all products are now available on the Board's public Internet 
web site [http://www.federalreserve.gov/]. The Board currently serves 
more than 31,000 regular subscribers and annually responds to several 
thousand phone, walk-in, and mail requests for individual publications. 
In addition, the Board's Internet web site, which has been operational 
since March 1996, now contains about 14,000 current and historical 
documents and averages over 450,000 visits each week.
    A Publications Committee (committee), composed of senior officials 
from several Board divisions and offices, oversees the program. The 
committee, assisted by the Board's Office of Inspector General, is 
currently reviewing the Board's publishing processes and products to 
assess customer service, operational efficiency, and how well the 
program's objectives are being met.

Issues for Public Comment

    User feedback is a key component of the committee's review. The 
Board is asking the public to comment on the quality of its 
publications and to offer suggestions for improving or possibly 
eliminating some publications or adding new ones. The public should 
feel free to provide comments on any or all of the publications or 
processes with which they are familiar, regardless of whether access is 
obtained in printed form or through the Internet. In evaluating these 
publications, the public is asked to consider the following:
    Content: Usefulness, relevance, and reliability of information; 
quality of information and analysis; appropriateness of level of 
detail; clarity and effectiveness of writing.
    Format/appearance: Logic of organization; ease of locating 
information; attractiveness and appropriateness of design, including 
type, color, paper, illustrations, and format; readability of charts, 
graphs, and text boxes.
    Timeliness: Appropriate frequency of issuance; promptness of 
release of data, public statements, and regulatory material; and speed 
of delivery relative to the publication date.
    Comments of a more general nature are also welcome, including, for 
example, suggestions on alternative methods for delivering published 
information, improving subscriber services, or informing the public 
about the availability of publications.
    Presented below is a listing of the Board's publications to 
facilitate comments on particular documents.

Federal Reserve Board Publications

A. Manuals
    1. Federal Reserve Regulatory Service (FRRS)
    a. Consumer And Community Affairs Handbook
    b. Monetary Policy and Reserve Requirements Handbook
    c. Securities Credit Transactions Handbook
    d. Payment Systems Handbook
    2. Bank Holding Company Examination
    3. Commercial Bank Examination
    4. U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banking Organizations 
Examinations
    5. Bank Secrecy Act Examinations
    6. Trading and Capital Markets Activity
    7. Trust Examination
    8. Examination of Edge Corporations
    9. Transfer Agent Examination
    10. Textual Changes to Federal Reserve Act
    11. Merchant and Investment Bank Examinations
    12. Consumer Compliance Examinations
    13. FFIEC Information Systems Examination
B. Regular Periodic Statistical Releases
    1. Aggregate Summaries of Annual Surveys of Securities Credit 
Extensions C.2
    2. Survey of Terms of Bank Lending E.2
    3. List of OTC Foreign Margin Stocks E.7
    4. Geographical Distribution of Assets and Liabilities of Major 
Foreign Branches of US Banks E.11
    5. Agricultural Finance Data Book E.15
    6. Country Exposure Lending Survey E.16
    7. Foreign Exchange Rates G.5
    8. Selected Interest Rates G.13
    9. Research Library Recent Acquisitions G.15
    10. Industrial Production and Capital Utilization G.17
    11. Consumer Installment Credit G.19
    12. Finance Companies G.20
    13. Actions of the Board: Applications and Reports H.2
    14. Aggregate Reserves of Depository Institutions and Monetary Base 
H.3
    15. Factors Affecting Reserve Balances and Condition Statement of 
FR Banks H.4.1
    16. Money Stock and Debt Measures H.6
    17. Assets and Liabilities of Commercial Banks H.8
    18. Foreign Exchange Rates H.10
    19. Selected Interest and Exchange Rates H.13
    20. Selected Interest Rates H.15
    21. Flow of Funds Accounts Z.1
C. Other Regular Periodic Publications
    1. Federal Reserve Bulletin
    2. Annual Report
    3. Annual Report: Budget Review
    4. Annual Reports to Congress on Specific Topics (e.g., Freedom of 
Information Act requests, depository institution credit card 
profitability, and fees and services of depository institutions)
    5. Monetary Policy Report (Humphrey Hawkins)
    6. Annual Percentage Rate Tables vols 1 and 2
    7. Statistical Digest and Concordance (5 Years)
    8. Summary of Official Holidays to be Observed by FR Offices. K.8
    9. Summary of Commentary On Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve 
District (Beige Book)

[[Page 59179]]

    10. FOMC Minutes
    11. FOMC Transcripts (5-Year Lag)
D. One-time or Occasional Publications
    1. Purposes and Functions
    2. FR Act and Related Statutes (Red Book)
    3. Individual Regulations of the Board of Governors (about 30 
documents)
    4. Preparedness Program for Emergencies in Banking
    5. Guide to Flow of Funds Accounts (1993)
    6. U.S. Economy in an Interdependent World: A Multicountry Model 
(5/84)
    7. Industrial Production 1986 Edition (12/86)
    8. Financial Futures and Options in the US Economy (12/86)
    9. Financial Sectors in Open Economies: Empirical Analysis and 
Policy Issues (8/90)
    10. Risk Measurement and Systemic Risk: Proceedings of a 1996 Joint 
Central Bank Research Conference
    11. Public Policy and Capital Formation
    12. Research Staff Studies
    13. Finance and Economic Discussion Papers
    14. International Finance Discussion Papers
    15. Speeches and Testimony
    16. Press Releases
    17. Board Telephone and Public Information Directory
    18. Processing Applications through the Federal Reserve
E. Brochures and Booklets
    1. Consumer Handbook on Adjustable Rate Mortgages
    2. Consumer Handbook on Credit Protection Laws
    3. A Guide to Business Credit for Women, Minorities, and Small 
Business
    4. Series Structure of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System
    5. The Federal Open Market Committee
    6. Federal Reserve Bank Board of Directors
    7. Federal Reserve Banks
    8. Keys to Vehicle Leasing
    9. A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Lock-Ins
    10. A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Settlement Costs
    11. A Consumer's Guide to Mortgage Refinancing
    12. Home Mortgages: Understanding the Process and Your Right to 
Fair Lending
    13. How to File a Consumer Complaint about a Bank
    14. Making Sense of Savings
    15. Shop: The Card You Pick Can Save You Money
    16. Welcome to the Federal Reserve
    17. When Your Home Is on the Line: What You Should Know about Home 
Equity Lines of Credit
    18. Looking for the Best Mortgage
    19. Government in the Sunshine
    20. Guide to Federal Reserve Regulations

    By Order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, October 27, 1999.
Robert deV. Frierson,
Associate Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 99-28588 Filed 11-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P