PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 1919 M St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 March 14, 1997 RECORD IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM AVAILABLE FOR USE ON MARCH 17, 1997 The Records Image Processing System (RIPS) will be available for use to researchers on Monday, March 17, 1997. RIPS experienced a series of computer hardware failures beginning on February 7, 1997. The process of restoring the system was complicated by the fact that the computer and jukebox hardware are approximately six years old. During the time that RIPS was down, the Commission received more than 23,000 pages of comments in docketed proceedings. It will take approximately two weeks to scan this backlog of filings into RIPS. The FCC will, therefore, continue to provide the duplicate copies of docket filings from behind the counter in the FCC Reference Center, Room 239 and comply with the other interim procedures used during the time RIPS was not working. If you have any questions or comments concerning RIPS, please call Bill Cline at (202) 418-0267. -FCC-