Reinert-Alumni Library: Government Publications Research Guide

Mike Poma
Subject Librarian
280-2298

Library Home > Research by Subject > Government Information

Government Information Research Guide

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to its Government's information. Since 1813, depository libraries have safeguarded the public's right to know by collecting, organizing, maintaining, preserving, and assisting users with information from the Federal Government. The FDLP provides Government information at no cost to designated depository libraries throughout the country and territories. These depository libraries, in turn, provide local, no-fee access to Government information in an impartial environment with professional assistance. The Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library has been a depository library since 1964.

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Finding Aids

Library Catalog (CLIC): The "Creighton Libraries Information Catalog" of books and other materials, including publications of the U.S. Government.
http://clic.creighton.edu/
Core Documents of U.S. Democracy: To provide American citizens direct online access to the basic Federal Government documents that define our democratic society, a core group of current and historical Government publications is being made available for free, permanent, public access via GPO Access. These titles contain information which is vital to the democratic process and critical to an informed electorate. They support the public's right to know about the essential activities of their Government. Full Text
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/coredocs.html
USA.gov: The U.S. government's official web portal for citizens, businesses, and nonprofits, plus federal employees and other government entities. Full Text
http://www.USA.gov/
FDsys: "Provides public access to government information submitted by Congress and Federal agencies." GPO's Federal Digital System, which will replace GPO Access by mid-2009, when the migration of collections is complete.
http://fdsys.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action
GPO Access: Resources of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government disseminated by the U.S. Government Printing Office. Some Full Text
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
GPO Access: Browse Topics: This service arranges U.S. Government sites by topic. Created through a Government Printing Office/Oklahoma State University partnership. Some Full Text
http://www.library.okstate.edu/govdocs/browsetopics/
GPO Access: Search Across Multiple Databases: Search individually or together key U.S. publications such as the Federal Register, Congressional Record, Congressional Bills, Budget of the U.S.,U.S. Code and much more. View the alphabetical list of more than 100 available databases. Full Text.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/multidb.html
GPO Monthly Catalog: Index of U.S. government publications, including Congressional publications, judicial resources, and documents issued by executive departments (1976-present). Citations only
ScienceGov: Science.gov is a gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies, including research and development results. Full Text
http://www.science.gov/
WorldCat: Search for books, government publications, and other materials in thousands of libraries worldwide.

Federal

A - Z Index of U.S. Government Agencies: Find government agency web sites alphabetically.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
U.S. Government Manual: As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html

Executive Branch

Federal Executive Branch: Link directly to Executive Branch web sites.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Executive.shtml
The White House: The official web site of the White House. Link to the President, Vice President, First Lady, and Mrs. Cheney.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Legislative Branch

Congressional Universe: House and Senate reports, documents, testimony, bills, laws, histories, voting records, and more (2004-present). More extensive range of Congressional materials available from the Law School.
CQ's Politics in America: Politics in America profiles the 535 members of Congress and offers concise and candid analysis of personalities, political styles, legislative agendas, political ambitions, and reputations of members at home and on Capitol Hill. Detailed state and district information plus a wealth of information and data on campaign finance, partisan caucuses, standing committees, and other member facts round out the book. Part of the CQ Press Electronic Library.
Federal Legislative Branch: Link directly to Senate, House and many other legislative web sites.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Legislative.shtml
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet: Search the text of legislation in current Congress, browse bills by sponsor, and more.
http://thomas.loc.gov/

Judicial Branch

Federal Judicial Branch: Link directly to Supreme Court and other Judicial Branch web sites.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Judicial.shtml
Understanding the Federal Courts: Provides an introduction to the federal judicial system.
http://www.uscourts.gov/understand02/index.html
United States Code: The United States Code is the codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is divided by broad subjects into 50 titles and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
U.S. Courts: Link to U.S. Federal Courts at all levels.
http://www.uscourts.gov/

State & Local

City of Omaha: http://www.ci.omaha.ne.us/
Governor Dave Heineman: http://gov.nol.org/
Nebraska Public Documents: "Digitized historic annual reports of state agencies" starting from the 1870s.
http://nebpubdocs.unl.edu/
Nebraska.gov: The official web site of the State of Nebraska.
http://www.nebraska.gov/index.phtml?section=nol
Nebraska Unicameral Legislature: http://nebraskalegislature.gov
State and Territorial Governments: Find official web sites for each state alphabetically.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories.shtml

International

Background Notes (U.S. Dept. of State): These publications include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/
Country Studies (Library of Congress): The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
EuropaWorld: Covering political and economic information for over 250 countries this reference work includes statistics on governments, media and business for each country.
GLIN: Global Legal Information Network: GLIN is a searchable online database containing the following categories of legal documents for jurisdictions spanning the globe: 1) Laws, 2) Judicial Decisions, 3) Legislative Records, and 4) Legal Literature.
Organization of American States: The OAS brings together the countries of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation and advance common interests through multilateral dialogue and concerted action.
http://www.oas.org/
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
http://www.unesco.org/
United Nations System of Organizations: Official web site locator for the United Nations System of Organizations. Go directly to the United Nations home page.
http://www.unsystem.org/
The World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/
World Factbook(Central Intelligence Agency): The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Census & Statistics

American Factfinder (U.S. Bureau of the Census): Browse, search, and map data from Census Bureau sources, including the 2000 Census, the 1997 Economic Census, and the American Community Survey.
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html
Bureau of the Census: Excellent source of social, demographic, and economic data about the U.S. population.
http://www.census.gov
FedStats.gov: Provides access to statistics from over 100 Federal agencies. Statistics can be found by subject, geography, or agency.
http://www.fedstat.gov
Statistical Abstract of the United States: The government's most important statistical factbook on the social, political, & economic aspects of American life. Includes data on population, births, deaths, life expectancy, marriage and divorce, health and nutrition, education, law enforcement.
Also in paper: Ready Ref. HA 202 .U6 2001
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
Statistical Resources on the Web: This annotated list from the University of Michigan Documents Center includes categories for demographics, sociology, health, and directories/multi-topic sites, among others.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/stats.html
Statistics at the State and Local Levels: Choose from a variety of city, county and state statistical compilations.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Government/State_Local/Statistics.shtml
UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Global and internationally comparable statistics on education, science, technology, culture and communication.
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev_en.php?ID=2867_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
Uniform Crime Reports (Federal Bureau of Investigation): Comprehensive statistics on crime in the United States.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
United Nations Statistics Division: International statistics on a wide range of social and economic topics from the United Nations.
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/
Nationmaster.com: A clearing house of U.S. and international statistics organized by topic and country. Sources of statistics include the CIA factbook, UN Statistics Division and others. All statistical tables are well cited.
OFFSTATS: Official Statistics on the Web: Developed by the University of Auckland, New Zealand; this site offers a centralized collection of links to free, official statistics resources. http://www.library.auckland.ac.nz/subjects/stats/offstats/

Tax Forms & Publications

Tax forms and publications can be downloaded from the websites below. Note that the IRS does not distribute these publications through the library any longer. The 2008 1040 Instructions are available in hard copy from the Reference desk. Paper copies of other IRS materials can be obtained from the local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center.

Federal Tax Forms & Publications: http://www.irs.gov/index.html
Nebraska Tax Forms & Publications: http://www.revenue.ne.gov/tax/current/current.htm
Iowa Tax Forms & Publications: http://www.state.ia.us/tax/forms/indinc.html
Other State Tax Forms & Publications: http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/link/forms.html

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