A column by Karen Tumulty in the Washington Post yesterday pointed out a tiny but significant item in the more than 2,000 pages of the recent federal spending bill.

The bill lifted a 64-year-old ban that prevented the highly respected, nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which is the legislative branch’s in-house think tank, from sharing its massive store of knowledge with the public. The service, which is part of the Library of Congress, cranks out more than 3,000 reports every year examining policy proposals, how well government agencies are working, and background material on judicial and other nominees. Its work represents some of the most thorough and unbiased analysis around.

Apparently there was a bar on general public availability of CSR reports dating back to the 1950s, when the cost of printing and distributing was considered prohibitive. Of course, in the digital age, distribution costs are minimal.

Some groups, like the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), created their own workaround.

The Congressional Research Service, a component of the Library of Congress, conducts research and analysis for Congress on a broad range of national policy issues. While many CRS memoranda are generated in response to individual Member or staff inquiries and are confidential, most CRS reports are available to anyone who has access to a congressional intranet.

Yet at the direction of Congress, CRS does not make even its non-confidential publications directly available to the public online. In order to help overcome this unnecessary barrier, the Federation of American Scientists endeavors to provide current, regularly updated public access to as many non-confidential CRS reports as possible. These reports are provided without congressional or CRS authorization as a public service.

When I looked this morning, there isn’t yet any link on the CRS website to access its reports. But, presumably, it’s coming.