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BLM's most popular web site, http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ has a new look and feel.The Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States is premiering a new version of one of the most popular web sites in the Department of the Interior. The General Land Office Records site is in a beta testing mode through October 15th, and plans to go live on October 18th."Users will soon have the capability of map-based searching, have sortable results lists, and be able to bookmark their lists," said Pat Tyler, Chief of the GLO Project at the Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States (BLM-ES). "The new site will also have an integrated document search, meaning users will be able to view patents, survey plats, and land status records based on a single query," she said.The first version of the web site was launched in 1998. Since then it has received over 500 million hits from 13 million visitors. “I'm really excited for our users, because the question we are always asked, 'Where is this land today?' can now be answered with the map based searching features on the new site," said Tyler.The new GLO site will also have land description mapping, PDF image downloads for all document types, and a new reference center with additional content and modernized technology and architecture.“This very popular site receives visits particularly from genealogists and land title researchers who are looking for information on the initial transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals,"said Tony Herrell, Acting BLM-ES Director. “In addition to verifying title transfer, this information allows the researcher to associate an individual with a specific location and time. With our on-line shopping cart, users may even request certified copies of land patents electronically or through the mail at a very reasonable cost," he said.BLM-ES, located in Springfield, VA, has been protecting and automating the historic land patent documents for the Secretary of the Interior since 1989. As the successor agency to the original General Land Office (GLO), BLM-ES maintains more than nine million historic land documents, survey plats and field notes, homestead patents, military warrants, and railroad grants. These historic documents were among the very first land records to result from the Land Ordinance of 1785, which authorized the transfer of public lands to private individuals from the Federal government. Even today, these records are valuable resources for natural resource agencies, historians, title companies and genealogists.