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A Federal Depository Library
Contents
Government Publications by Type
• Government Search Engines and
Finding Tools
• Federal Government: Legislative
• Federal Government: Executive
• Federal Government: Judicial
• New Hampshire
• Other U.S. States
• Other Countries
• International Organizations
• Statistical Resources:
United States
• Statistical Resources:
International
Government Publications by Subject
• Agriculture
• Crime
• Economics
• Education and Children
• Energy and the Environment
• Health
• Labor
• Social Welfare and Development
Government Publications in
the Library
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Governmental publications can serve as excellent source material for research papers and projects. To take the most obvious example, primary documents such as Senate committee reports, Supreme Court decisions, and transcripts of Congressional debates can provide important perspectives on hot policy debates. But the numerous agencies of the U.S. federal government (such as the EPA, Census Bureau, and FBI) also produce reports and statistics touching on all aspects of American life, including the economy, health, environment, and social issues. State governments such as New Hampshire's publish documents with a more local concentration, ranging from new legislation to statistical studies of crime and education trends. Finally, organizations like the United Nations, European Union, and the World Bank issue publications on international concerns such as poverty, global security, and women's rights. All of these resources provide authoritative and timely information that can enhance your research.
This page is designed as a guide for locating government publications, both in the Geisel Library collection and on the Internet.
Increasingly, many of the most significant government publications are being made available on the Internet for free. The list below suggests the best print and online sources for information produced by federal, state, and foreign governments as well as international organizations. For assistance in locating government information on your specific research topics, please ask at the Reference Desk or submit your question to our Ask a Librarian form.
Government Search Engines and Finding Tools
Google U.S. Government Search: A Google-powered engine that limits the search to U.S. federal, state, and local government websites.
USA.gov: The official US government search engine for government information. The search results screen allows you to narrow your results by topic or government agency.
GovSpot: A well-organized information portal with links to the best governmental information by topic.
Documents Center: The University of Michigan's collection of links to state, federal, foreign, and international government websites.
Frequently Used Sites Related to US Government Information: A thorough collection of links to government-related websites and online publications, organized by numerous topics that include hot-button issues like global warming and terrorism.
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Federal Government: Legislative
Bills and Legislation
- Thomas: Search and retrieve full text of legislation from 1989 through the present, along with info on sponsors, committee activities, and floor votes
- United States Statutes at Large (Ref KF50 .U55, 1963–present)
Budget of the United States Government
- GPO Access: Search or browse the federal budget from 1997–present
- Print version: Ref HJ2051 .B8
Code of Federal Regulations: All current federal regulations, organized by subject
Committee Reports (Thomas): Search or browse online back through 1995
Congressional Record: Official transcript of the House and Senate
- Thomas: Search or browse online back through 1989
- Print version: Lower Level X1.1, for selected years from 1876–2001
Congressional Research Service Reports: Issue analysis reports geared toward legislators
- OpenCRS Network: The most comprehensive searchable database of CRS reports
- CRS Reports: Another large database with helpful organization by subject
United States Code: The current law of the land
- GPO Access: Search or browse the current US Code
- Print version: Ref KF62 .A2, 2000 ed. with current supplements
US Congressional Documents and Debate, 1774–1875: A browseable and searchable archive compiled by the Library of Congress that includes the Journals of the Continental Congress, the House and Senate Journals, Bills and Resolutions, and the American State Papers.
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Federal Government: Executive
White House: The official White House website, containing transcripts of speeches, press releases, issue papers, and other documents expressing the president's perspective.
American Presidency Project: This website contains executive orders, state of the union addresses, and a searchable archive of the Public Papers of the President
(1923–present).
Public Papers of the Presidents: Official versions of presidential speeches and writings
- GPO Access: Search or browse the Public Papers back through 1991
- Print version: General Collection J82, for 1929–present
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: Search or browse presidential statements, messages, and remarks since 1993.
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Federal Government: Judicial
Supreme Court of the US: Search here for text of recent opinions and orders of the Supreme Court, along with general information about the court.
Cornell Supreme Court Collection: An archive of decisions from 1990 through the present, which can be either searched by keyword or browsed by topic.
FedWorld Supreme Court Decision Archive: Another archive, covering decisions between 1937 and 1975.
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New Hampshire
New Hampshire General Court (Legislature): The official homepage of the New Hampshire state legislature. It includes tools for searching legislation, browsing or searching state laws (the Revised Statutes Online), and checking out recent activity in the New Hampshire House and Senate.
New Hampshire Judicial Branch: Read recent opinions and orders from the various levels of the court system in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Data Center Library: Collection of data about New Hampshire drawn from the Census Bureau and various NH agencies.
New Hampshire State Agencies: Alphabetical listing of all the agencies and departments in the New Hampshire government.
Laws of the State of New Hampshire: Bills passed during legislative sessions, for 1901–present
Ref KFN 1225 .N4
New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated: Current NH law, organized by subject
Ref KFN 1231 .N4
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Other U.S. States
American Law Sources On-Line: Provides state-by-state access to recent court decisions, legislative bills, laws and statutes, and other law-related resources.
Google Government State Search: Search for publications issued by a particular state, using the Google search engine.
GovEngine: A metalink site to state and local online resources for the states, including individual government agencies and legislatures.
National Conference of State Legislatures: Visit their issues page for fact sheets and reports organized by numerous policy topics. Also has a websites database (under the Legislatures menu) that links to bills, issue reports, constitutions, and other documents for every state.
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Other Countries
Background Notes (State Department): Up-to-date summary information on the world's countries.
Country Studies (Library of Congress): More detailed overviews of countries, covering their history, economy, geography, political system, and society.
Foreign Governments (Northwestern): Links to official foreign government websites, including the pages of important agencies and offices.
Portals to the World (Library of Congress): A handpicked selection of websites, organized by topic within each country of the world.
The World Factbook (CIA): An authoritative reference handbook on individual countries, with extensive summary information, basic statistics, and maps.
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International Organizations
Documents Center (University of Michigan): A metaindex with links to the websites of non-governmental and international organizations, organized alphabetically.
European Union: Use the Activities tab to view EU links and documents organized by subject, or the Documents tab to locate EU law and legislation.
Source OECD: The OECD's online library of publications and statistics. Access to some publications requires a subscription, but useful resources like the Factbook and Index of Statistical Variables are available for free.
United Nations: The international organization's official website, containing publications, key documents from the Security Council and General Assembly, and issue pages. Visit Official Website Locator for the U.N. System of Organizations to find websites of organizations under the UN umbrella, such as the ILO, UNESCO, UNICEF, and WTO.
United Nations Official Document System: Search this database for official UN documents dating back through 1993, and for resolutions from 1946 to the present.
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Statistical Resources: United States
County and City Data Books: Compendia of demographic, economic, and government data at the county and city level.
Ref HA202 .A36 (print version)
Fedstats: The federal government's official portal to government-produced statistics. Use the Topic Links to find the best reports and statistics by subject, the Agency tools to find the relevant government agencies for your subject, or try the Search engine.
Statistical Abstract of the United States: The online edition of the annual Census publication that contains statistics on nearly every topic imaginable, as produced by various government agencies.
Ref HA202 .U5 (print version)
US Census Bureau: Demographics, housing, poverty, and economic indicators. Use the American FactFinder to view or generate tables based on the most recent Census or Current Population Survey.
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Statistical Resources: International
Countries and Regions (World Bank): Choose countries or regions of interest, then click on Data and Statistics to gain access to statistics on health, education, poverty, and other factors.
Eurostat (European Union): Freely-available statistics on the countries of the EU, organized in directories by subject.
OFFSTATS (Official Statistics on the Web): An easy-to-use database of links to websites with up-to-date statistics, organized by country, region, and topic.
Statistical Agency Listing (Census Bureau): A directory of links to the official statistical bureaus of foreign countries.
Statistics Portal (OECD): Statistics for OECD countries on subjects such as agriculture, energy, health, and social welfare.
United Nations Statistical Databases: Many of these databases are available for free access, including the Demographic Yearbook, Social Indicators, and several population databases.
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This section highlights some of the major governmental and intergovernmental sources of information for commonly-researched subject areas.
Agriculture
Economic Research Service: Research reports and publications on issues like conservation, farm productivity, and biotechnology, along with agricultural data sets.
Foreign Agricultural Service: Reports and data about agricultural trade, foreign markets, and export-oriented commodities.
National Agricultural Statistics Service: A comprehensive source of agricultural statistics organized by subject and state.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): This organization under the UN umbrella produces reports about worldwide agriculture, plus statistics on its FAOSTAT website.
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Crime
Bureau of Justice Statistics: Statistics organized by topic on crime, corrections, and the courts.
Federal Bureau of Investigation: A variety of useful reports and publications on topics like white-collar crime and terrorism, plus annual crime statistics in the Uniform Crime Reports.
National Institute of Justice: The research-oriented branch of the US Department of Justice, with publications on topics like corrections, drugs, and law enforcement.
International Court of Justice: Full text of decisions, documents, and other materials produced by the World Court.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: Publications on international crime topics like corruption, human trafficking, and organized crime, plus the World Drug Report on worldwide trends in drug production and use.
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Economics
Bureau of Economic Analysis: This government agency produces reports and statistics related to GDP, foreign investment, income, and other variables. You can also access the Survey of Current Business.
Congressional Budget Office: The CBO's website includes the economic forecasts used by Congress to assess the impact of legislation. Click on "Economic Projections" to access the latest Budget and Economic Outlook, along with spreadsheets of the underlying data.
Economic Report of the President: Written by the Council of Economic Advisors, this report presents the President's overview and outlook of the US economy, including extensive tables of statistics. Reports available for 1995 through the present.
Market Research Library (at Export.gov): Includes the Country Commercial Guides (CCG), Industry Sector Reports, and many other reports offering the US government's perspective on overseas industries and markets.
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau: This agency gathers socioeconomic data and produces publications that summarize its findings. Click on the Reports/Publications link to access documents such as the annual "Vital Signs" report, which reviews economic trends in the state.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: The OECD website contains a variety of publications and statistics, including free access to the Factbook and Economic Outlook. For in-depth assessments of the economies of specific countries, use Business Source Premier to access the OECD Economic Surveys.
World Bank: A variety of reports are available on health, education, infrastructure, and the economy in developing countries.
World Trade Organization (WTO): This organization's website includes trade statistics and a number of free research reports.
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Education and Children
Administration for Children and Families: This branch of Health and Human Services issues reports and statistics on the well-being and safety of America's children.
Department of Education: Includes reports, newsletters, and discussions of innovative new approaches in education.
National Center for Education Statistics: This agency publishes the annual Condition of Education and Digest of Education Statistics, and also provides a number of useful online databases and publications documenting the nation’s education system, including the Nation's Report Card (evaluating student performance nationwide).
New Hampshire Department of Education: This website has information on New Hampshire schools, curriculum, finance, credentialing, reports and statistics, assessment, and more.
UNESCO: This branch of the United Nations conducts research studies on education issues in countries around the world; many of these publications can be freely downloaded. Also visit the website of UNESCO's education unit, the International Bureau of Education.
UNICEF: Another organization under the UN umbrella, which produces many reports on the health and well-being of children, including the annual State of the World's Children.
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Energy and the Environment
Energy Information Administration: This branch of the US Department of Energy produces reports and statistics on energy usage, supply, prices, and alternative energy sources.
Environmental Protection Agency: The first stop for information on environmental regulations and programs. Includes a Quick Finder for information by topic (such as acid rain and the Clean Air Act) and the NSCEP database in which you can freely view and download EPA reports.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory: This scientific agency authors reports on renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and biomass, and researches the latest technologies like hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid automobiles.
International Energy Agency: This organization focuses on energy problems confronting developed countries. Use the "By Topic" tab to find publications and papers on subjects like greenhouse gases, energy policy, and oil.
United Nations Environment Programme: A variety of publications on international environmental issues, including the annual UNEP Year Book and Global Environmental Outlook.
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Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Research-based publications on disease, injury, and health.
National Center for Health Statistics: A variety of health-related statistical resources, including the authoritative publication Health, United States and the FastStats page with links to the best available data by topic.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration: Publications and statistics about drugs, alcohol, smoking, and mental health issues. For more information, see the NIAAA for reports on alcohol and NIDA for reports on drugs.
World Health Organization: Freely downloadable publications organized by "Health Topics" such as immunization, nutrition, and HIV/AIDS, plus their annual World Health Report. Also check the WHO Statistical Information System for data on mortality, disease, and risk factors.
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Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics: This government agency produces reports and statistics related to employment, wages, productivity, and inflation. The website also provides full text of the Monthly Labor Review.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Information about educational requirements, earnings, job prospects, and working conditions for hundreds of different jobs.
International Labour Organization: A variety of publications on labor issues worldwide, including the World Employment Report and the annual Global Employment Trends.
LABORSTA: This online database produced by the ILO enables you to view and extract data such as employment, wages, and price indexes for over 200 countries.
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Social Welfare and Development
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: This branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services conducts and coordinates policy research on a broad range of social issues. Reports are conveniently organized by topic.
United Nations Development Programme: A broad range of reports and discussion papers on developing nation issues like poverty, freedom, energy, and gender, plus the highly-regarded Human Development Reports about conditions in various countries.
United Nations Millennium Development Goals Indicators: This website provides data tracking the progress of developing countries in meeting goals for improvements in poverty, hunger, gender equality, child mortality, AIDS, and environmental protection.
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development: Research reports on social policy, social movements, ethnic identity, gender, and other issues.
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Geisel Library has been a depository for U.S. Government information since 1963, and currently receives over 20% of all the publications it releases in print form. The library serves the 1st U.S. Congressional District of New Hampshire in conjunction with 3 other depositories. Geisel Library is also a depository for State of New Hampshire government publications. U.S. and New Hampshire government publications are primarily shelved in two locations: the Reference Area on the Main Level and the Government Documents area on the Lower Level.
If the library catalog indicates that an item's Location is either "Government Documents (U.S.)", "Govt Doc Microfiche", or "State Documents", it will be housed in the Government Documents area on the Lower Level. The US Government Documents collection is organized by SuDocs call numbers, which look different than the Library of Congress call numbers used in the rest of our library. However, the process of finding items on the shelf using SuDocs call numbers is very similar.
Reports issued by international organizations such as the UN can be found by searching the catalog. They are filed in the regular stacks according to their subject matter. Some of the best governmental publications owned by the library are listed in our online Subject Guides for the subjects to which they are relevant.
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