Finding Federal Government Publications on the Internet
Updated Jan. 18, 2008.
Prepared by Peggy Roebuck Jarrett for Legal Research II, LIS 592A/Law
A599.
General Strategies for Finding Federal Government Publications
Identify the publication, including title, author, date, and issuing body. Is it the work of an agency, committee, commission, or advisory board? The more information you have, the easier your search.
Look for general or legal news stories that might give clues to help identify and find the publication. Use LexisNexis, Westlaw, or Google News.
Search library catalogs: Gallagher Law Library, Summit, OCLC WorldCat (UW restricted).
Search the Government Printing Office (GPO) Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
Search the Internet. Use Google's U.S. Government Search, which searches .gov and .mil sites, or do a Google advanced search limiting the domain to .gov.
Search the website of issuing body. Publications may not be obviously noted. Look for "library," "documents," "news," "press," or "reading room."
Check "hot docs" websites listed below.
For older publications, be prepared for multiple formats: paper, microfiche, CD-ROM, Internet. For new publications, the Internet is the most likely source.
Ask for help in the Reference Office or by email.
U.S. Government Meta-Sites
USA.gov
Official U.S. government portal designed to be centralized location for
federal, state, and local government information.
GPO Access
Multi-part official U.S. government site. Searchable databases include Code
of Federal Regulations; Federal Register; Congressional Record; and
congressional bills, hearings, and reports. Information generally from 1994
forward, although access is provided to core historic documents. Site also
hosts agency websites and provides a variety of finding aids for government
information.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications: Bibliographic records of titles distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program since 1994. Includes electronic-only publications.
U.S. Government Online Bookstore
Publications available for sale.
National Technical Information Service
(NTIS)
Searchable catalog of publications issued since 1964. Online ordering
available; some publications may be free from the originating agency’s
website. NTIS publishes many technical, scientific, and business
publications.
Beyond the .gov Domain
Federal
Government Resources on the Web
Highly recommend meta-site maintained by the University of Michigan
Documents Center. Links to individual sites, lists of lists, bibliographies,
historic documents, and "documents in the news."
Federal Agencies
Directory
Simply organized directory compiled by the Louisiana State University
Libraries in partnership with GPO.
Agency Guidance
Table
Chart of agencies with direct links to their publications, forms,
opinions/actions, and manuals. Compiled by the Washburn University School of
Law Library.
Administrative Decisions & Other Actions
Links to administrative actions available on the Internet and outside the
scope of the Code of Federal Regulations or the Federal Register. Organized
by agency and subject. Compiled by the University of Virginia Library.
Gallagher Law Library – Internet
Legal Resources
Lists major access points for U.S. and Washington State legal information.
Particularly helpful in finding administrative documents and decisions.
CyberCemetery
Provides permanent public access to the websites and publications of defunct
U.S. government agencies and commissions. A partnership between GPO and the
University of North Texas.
Selected Federal Websites
Federal Judicial Center (FJC): Research and education agency of the federal judiciary. Includes publications on courts and court administration, judges, alternative dispute resolution, evidence, and judicial history.
Government Accountability Office
(GAO)
Investigative arm of Congress. Produces hundreds of reports to Congress,
plus testimony and correspondence, usually at the request of House and
Senate members. Subject coverage is broad and includes energy, environmental
protection, financial institutions, international affairs, and justice and
law enforcement. Formerly, the General Accounting Office.
National Criminal Justice Reference
Service (NCJRS)
Federally sponsored clearinghouse of information on criminal justice.
Includes reports on topics such as courts, juvenile justice, victims of
crime, and drugs and crime. Many of these publications include statistics.
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Provides nonpartisan research and analysis to Congress. CRS reports are
chock full of useful information, but public availability is limited. For a
list of sources to check, see the Gallagher guide on CRS
Reports.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Provides nonpartisan economic and budget analysis to Congress.
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Documents in the News
Documents in the
News: Current Events Research
Organized by year and issue. Includes news and nongovernmental sources.
Compiled by the University of Michigan Documents Center.
DocuTicker
Daily list of reports issued by government agencies and other groups.
BeSpacific
Blog that includes notable government documents, with a
government documents archive.
If the document is controversial, see if a nongovernmental organization obtained and posted it.