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.
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. Formats vary from print and microform to CD-ROMs and the Internet. 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.
Reference Collection
The most heavily-used government reference resources are stored in the Reference Collection on the main level. Examples of these are:
United States
Budget of the United States Government
REF HJ2051 .B8
Condition of Education
REF L112 .N377 (print version)
County and City Data Books
REF HA202 .A36 (print version)
Crime in the United States
REF HV6787 .A3 (print version)
Digest of Educational Statistics
REF L111 .D536 (print version)
Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics
REF HD8051 .A63
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
REF HF1042 .N67 (print version)
Occupational Outlook Handbook
HF5382.5 .U5 O3 (print version)
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
HF7245 .N37 (print version)
Statistical Abstract of the United States
REF HA202 .U5 (print version)
United States Code [the law of the land]
REF KF62 .A2
United States Government Manual
REF JK421 .A3
U.S. Industry and Trade Outlook
REF HC101 .U55
United States Statutes at Large [legislation passed into law each year]
REF KF50 .U55 (note: older issues are stored in Lower Level)
World Factbook (CIA)
READY REF G172 .U56 (print version)
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Laws
REF KFN 1225 .N4
New Hampshire Manual for the General Court
REF JK2931 .N4
New Hampshire Revised Statutes
REF KFN 1231 .N4
International
International Trade Statistics Yearbook (UN)
REF HF91 .U473
United Nations Yearbook
REF JA55 .U5
World Development Report (World Bank)
REF HC59.7 .W569
Government Documents Collection
Government publications on the Lower Level can be found in the library's catalog by doing a keyword search and selecting "Government Documents (U.S.)" as the Location. More likely, you may randomly encounter government documents in the course of doing keyword searching on your topic. Here is how to find government documents on the Lower Level, based on the Location given in the catalog record:
- If the location is "Government Documents (U.S.)", the item will be on the Government Document shelves on the Lower Level
- If the location is "State Documents", the item will be on the Government Document shelf facing the hallway to the restrooms
- If the location is "Govt Doc Microfiche", the item will be in the microfiche cabinets adjacent to the Government Document shelves
The US Government Documents collection is organized by SuDocs call numbers, which look different than the Library of Congress call numbers used in the remainder of our library. However, the process of finding items on the shelf using their call numbers is very similar.
Highlights of the Government Documents collection include:
United States
Census of Population for 1950-1990
Government Documents C 3.223
Congressional Record
Government Documents X 1.1: located near Oversized Book shelves
Health United States
Government Documents HE 20.7042
House and Senate Reports
Government Documents Y4; located in microfiche cabinets
New Hampshire
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
NH State Documents HJ11 .N43
Department of Revenue Annual Report
NH State Documents HJ11 .N4
State House Record
NH State Documents KFN1218 .G465
State Senate Journal
NH State Documents KFN1218 .N45
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.
Increasingly, many of the most significant government documents are being made available on the Internet for free. The list below suggests the best websites for finding online resources 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 send us a question via email.
- 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.
- Google U.S. Government Search: A Google-powered engine that limits the search to U.S. federal, state, and local government websites.
- FedWorld: Created by the Dept. of Commerce, this website offers links to governmental scientific publications, historical Supreme Court decisions, and archived IRS forms and publications.
- 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.
- Thomas: The congressional information website that allows you to search and retrieve legislation from 1989 through the present, search or browse the Congressional Record (the official transcript of the House and Senate) back to 1989, and read selected House and Senate committee reports. The bills and resolutions section includes detailed info on every bill, including sponsors, committee activity, floor votes, and the full text of the bill itself.
- GPO Access: The Government Printing Office provides online access to important federal documents such as the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register (documents pertaining to government regulation), and the US Code. Their Federal Resources by Topic page is a nice way to start finding government publications on specific issues.
- Congressional Budget Office: The CBO's website includes the budgetary and economic projections used by Congress, as well as reports analyzing the budget and economic impacts of pending legislation.
- Congressional Research Service Reports: In-depth policy research reports produced to inform legislators about issues under consideration by Congress. While most are not publicly available, over 1,000 can be searched from this website.
- 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.
- US House of Representatives Educational Resources: Includes several nice resources, including an explanation of how laws are made and links to important historical documents such as the Constitution and Federalist Papers.
- White House: The official White House website, containing transcripts of speeches, press releases, issue papers, and other documents expressing the president's perspective.
- Public Papers of the Presidents: Search or browse official versions of presidential speeches and writings since 1991. For speeches and writings of earlier presidents, see print editions in the general stacks at the call number J82.
- Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents: Search or browse presidential statements, messages, and remarks since 1993.
- American Presidency Project: An impressive website housing online versions of executive orders, inaugural and state of the union addresses, and a searchable archive of the Public Papers. Coverage is strongest for more recent presidents.
- American Law Sources On-Line: Provides state-by-state access to recent court decisions, legislative bills, laws and statutes, and other law-related resources.
- National Association of Counties: This organization's website contains a variety of useful resources, including papers and bulletins on important issues and a database of statistical information at the county level.
- National Conference of State Legislatures: An easy to use site that can connect you to bills, statutes, constitutions, and other documents for every state. Also visit their issues page for fact sheets and reports organized by numerous policy topics.
- State and Local Government on the Net: A metalink site to state and local online resources for the states, including individual government agencies and legislatures.
- State Constitutions, Statutes and Related Legislative Information (Cornell): Links to important legislative and regulatory documents for every state.
- StateList (University of Illinois): This site maintains links to online publication catalogs for many states, allowing you to search for state documents on particular issues.
- 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.
- Governments on the WWW (Northwestern): Comprehensive database of governmental institutions on the World Wide Web: parliaments, ministries, offices, law courts, embassies, city councils, etc. An exhaustive resource, but not updated since 2002.
- 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.
- 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 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 www.unsystem.org 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.
- 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.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis: GDP, trade, and income, with breakdowns by region and industry.
- Bureau of Justice Statistics: Crime, justice system, drugs, and other related statistics.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment, wages, productivity, and inflation (CPI/PPI).
- Energy Information Administration: Energy usage, supply, and prices, including forecasts.
- National Center for Education Statistics: Several useful online databases, plus the statistics-filled annual reports: Condition of Education and Digest of Education Statistics.
- National Center for Health Statistics: A variety of health-related statistical resources, including the authoritative publication Health, United States, and the national Vital Statistics.
- US Census Bureau: Demographics, housing, poverty, and economic indicators. Use the American FactFinder to view or generate tables based on the most recent Census.
- 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.
- InfoNation (United Nations): A simple tool for obtaining basic statistical information on countries, and performing side-by-side graphical comparisons.
- OFFSTATS (Official Statistics on the Web): An easy-to-use database of 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.
- United Nations Statistical Databases: Many of these databases are available for free access, including the Demographic Yearbook, Social Indicators, and several population databases.
- Ben's Guide to US Government for Kids: Ideas for introducing children from grades K-12 to the world of the US federal government.
- CyberCemetery: Websites and publications of defunct U.S. government agencies and commissions, preserved here for posterity.
- Depository CD-ROM Guides: Links to guides on using government-published CDs, via the University of Michigan; see also GODORT's CD-ROM Documentation Project for a searchable database of technical documentation of government CDs.
- GPO Catalog of Government Publications: Search the online CGP to find citation information on all government publications issued since the 1970s.
- Library of Congress: The US national library's website, with links to Thomas, the American Memory Project, and a selection of research tools.
- Migrating Government Publications (University of Memphis): Links to full-text online versions of government publications, browseable by title or SuDocs call number.
- National Archives: The government organization charged with preserving important US documents and records. Their website includes scanned versions of "America's Historical Documents", archive searching tools, and links to many online document collections.
- US Government Online Bookstore (GPO): Purchase government publications that are in-print directly from the Government Printing Office.
- Uncle Sam: A brief guide to citing government publications.
Compiled by: Jeffrey Waller
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