BLUE BOOK GOES HIGH TECH

If you're looking for Missouri's Blue Book, turn to cyberspace.

In a savvy move, the Missouri secretary of state's office has produced the state's official manual electronically and will make it accessible on the Internet. Some of the sections have already been posted, and the rest will be accessible by year's end.

The Blue Book, which gets its name from the color of its print-version cover, was first published in 1878. It has been published every other year since 1889.

The state plans to release the manual on CD-ROM in the near future and to publish it in book form as well. But surely its electronic release will reduce the demand for book copies, thus saving printing costs.

The book includes a wealth of state information, including a listing of all of Missouri's elected and appointed officials and state employees and their salaries. The Southeast Missourian's own Fred Lynch has an award-winning photograph of a state flag in the book along with other local photographers.

The electronic format should allow the state to update the information in a more timely matter. Hats off to Secretary of State Bekki Cook and her office for the Web manual. It should extend the readership of Blue Book to more Missourians, the nation and the world.