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Government information runs the gamut from directory to pamphlet to scientific report to law books and include subjects that
encompass the world of human knowledge. Publication Formats include: leaflets, books, CD-ROMs, microfiche and film, loose-leaf
compilations, maps, and of course, web sites.
Selecting the best tool to identify government publications depends, to a great extent, upon what you are searching for in
the wide world of documents. Often, the best place to start is with a library online catalog.
Library Catalogs
- BGSU Library Catalog (BGLink)
- All documents published after 1986 have been added to the library catalog. The Documents Department has also been adding earlier
publications. Currently there are about 200,000 records in the catalog. All our hearings are in and a large percent of our
important series and historic publications. However, not all government documents are in BGLink. If you don't find a document in our catalog, you need to search other resources.
- OhioLINK Central Catalog
- OhioLINK provides catalog access to a network of Ohio libraries as well as research databases and fulltext resources. Search
government documents in the OhioLINK online catalog. BGSU users may request items from other depositories across the state
including the Regional Library in columbus. Document delivery usually takes just two to four days. Not all documents are in OhioLINK catalog. If you don't find what you want, you need to search other resources.
- WorldCat (Available only for BGSU and OhioLINK users)
- This is a universal database created by OCLC and includes catalog records contributed by libraries around the world. It is
one of the largest catalogs in the world so your chance of finding a document record is pretty good. It may or may not include
the SuDoc number.
- You can borrow material from WorldCat through Interlibrary Loan. (Forms available at the Circulation Desk)
- We may own the document and just not have it cataloged yet. Check our documents collection first, before filling out an ILL
form.
- And, as with BGLink and OhioLINK, Not all documents are in WorldCat.
Indexes and Databases
Jerome Library subscribes to a number of specialized indexes. Some are general, covering all publications issued by the federal
government while others focus on specific topics such as education or specific agencies such as Congress.
- Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications
- 1895-1976
- SuDoc Number: GP 3.8: yr.
- Annual volumes shelved in Documents Reference Area
- These years are ONLY AVAILABLE IN PAPER FORMAT
- 1976-to date
This is the primary index to government publications and provides access to all documents issued to depository libraries.
Early years (before 1976)are formated as a dictionary index--includes authors, subjects, and titles mixed together. For more
information about using the Monthly Catalog:
Supplemental Cumulative Indexes to the Monthly Catalog
- Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of the United States Government Publications, 1900-1971
- Shelved in Documents Reference Area (ref Z1223.A1973x )
Multi-volume set covering 70 years
Search topics in the index and find the matching page or entry numbers in the Annual Monthly Catalog.
- Cumulative Title Index to United States Public Documents, 1789-1975
- Represents titles in the GPO collection now housed in the National Archives including materials indexed in the Monthly Catalog.
SuDoc numbers are included in this index.
Specialized Indexes--Online
There are several Research Databases that index government information. Access to Research Databases is limited to registered BGSU and OhioLINK users. We have
found the indexes listed below most useful when searching government information.
- America: History and Life
- Indexes journals and books about American culture and history. Includes excellent abstracts. Searches can be limited to specific
time periods.
- Agricola
- Journal article citations and the holdings of the National Library of Agriculture.
- 1909 Checklist of United States Publications
- This link connects to a digitized version of the Checklist of United States Publications, 1789-1909 created by Carlos Diaz, Government Documents Specialist, Evergreen State College.
- Checklist is arranged by classification number and is useful for examining the scope of a particular agency's publishing from
the time it was established through 1909. If you know that you need an early annual report issued by the Interior Department
you can consult Checklist and discover that these reports were classed as I 1.1: yr. and first issued in 1849.
- ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center)
- Citations and abstracts to more than 850,000 documents and articles related to teaching and learning.
- Lexis-Nexis Academic
- Full text newspapers, periodicals, legal materials, company information, and much more. Best known for its powerful search
capabilities in federal and state court cases.
- Lexis-Nexis Congressional
- Full text access to congressional hearings, reports, bills, legislative histories, the Federal Register, information on members
and more. Excellent subject and keyword index to the Congressional working papers, 1970-to date.
- Medline
- MEDLINE 1950-1965
- MEDLINE 1966 - present
- MEDLINE 2001 - present
- Covering the fields of medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences,
this database contains bibliographic citations and abstracts from over 3,900 biomedical journals published in the United States
and 70 foreign countries.
- Ohio Capital Connection (HANNAH Online)
- Ohio government materials. Includes Ohio bill text and status; committee rosters, agendas, and reports; information on state
legislators; Ohio government directories and links; Ohio Revised Code; Ohio Administrative Code; and full text newsletters
such as Hotline Weekly and On the Money.
- PAIS International
- Citations to more than 425,000 articles, government documents, books, etc. related to public affairs. Excellent coverage of
international perspectives.
- STAT-USA
- This is the Commerce Department site for the U.S. business, economic and trade community, providing authoritative information
from the Federal government.
- STAT-USA has expanded to include free access to USA Trade Online. Find U.S. merchandise trade data including current and cumulative export and import data on more than 18,000 export commodities
and 24,000 import commodities worldwide.
Locators
There are a wide array of government, university, library, and commercial search engines which help you find agency web sites,
government information, full-text electronic reports. Like indexes, the best locator often depends upon what you are seeking--an
agency page, a subject guide, or a report that you can download.
Commercial and Non-Profit Organizations--Locators
- USA.gov
- Formerly called FirstGov, USA.gov is a centralized web site that allows anyone with a computer and modem to one-stop shop
for information on the Government's 27 million web pages. A single search can produce information on subjects from Social
Security benefits to the latest advances in health care. Businesses can find the Government's most recent procurement opportunities,
and prospective applicants can search for federal grants.
- Google U.S. Government Search
- This is a great search engine that provides indexing and access to all sites with .gov or .mil domaines. Find federal, state,
and some local government sites and publications.
- The Internet Archive
- Mounted the Way Back Machine in October, 2001. This is a free service allowing people to access and use archived versions of past web pages. The Internet
Archive's enoromous collection of web sites (over 10 billion web pages) dates back to 1996.
Government--Locators
- FDLP Desktop:Specialized Collections of Full Text Information
- Links are provided to the full text of Federal Government information at GPO or other offical sites.
- Sets included:
- The Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) Research Collection
- Core Documents of U.S. Democracy
- DOE Information Bridge
- DOE PubSCIENCE
- Dept. of State Foreign Affairs Network (DOSFAN)
- Environmental Health Information Service
- Federal Bulletin Board
- National Atlas of the United States
- National Climatic Data Center Online Document Library
- Sites Hosted by GPO Access
- This is a good site to start with if looking for full text government publications.
- Federal Agency Directory
- A GPO Partnership site which is mounted by Louisiana State University. This is a comprehensive directory of all federal agencies
organized like the Government Manual.
- Federal Citizen Information Center
- Consumer Topics such as cars, children, food, health, and money. Browse though hundreds of pamphlets and booklets on popular
topics. Many of these are available full-text and all can be purchased.
- FedStats
- Gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. federal agencies. Use the A-Z topical index or access Fast Facts to retrieve the
most popular tables and state rankings from the Statistical Abstract of the United States or stats from the White House Statistical Briefing Rooms. Search agency press releases for the latest data.
- Kids.gov
- This site was developed and is maintained by the Federal Consumer Information Center. It provides links to Federal kids' sites
along with some of the best kids' sites from other organizations all grouped by subject.
- GPO Access
- Maintained by the Government Printing Office.
- Official Federal Government Information at Your Fingertips.
- GPO Access provides free online use of over 1,500 databases of Federal information in over 80 applications.
- GPO Finding Aids
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- PubMed Central
- This is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.
- Science.Gov
- This web resource provides public access and a unified search of the government’s vast stores of scientific and technical
information.
- Each agency selects its best science information for science.gov. Two major types of information are included — selected authoritative
science Web sites and often hard-to-access scientific databases (specific content varies by database).
- Science.Gov allows searches across 30 databases and more than 1,700 science Web sites.
Library Associations and Universities--Locators
- FDTF Frequently Used Sites
- Created and maintained by ALA Godort. Includes subject and agency access to the most heavily used federal government information
web pages. Includes: popular indexes, library pages, government sites, special (hard to find) resources.
- CyberCemetery
- The University of North Texas Libraries and the U.S. Government Printing Office, as part of the Federal Depository Library
Program, created a partnership to provide permanent public access to the Web sites and publications of defunct U.S. government
agencies and commissions. This collection was named the "CyberCemetery" by early users of the site.
- Search by topic with a powerful search engine that allows boolean and phrase searching, or
- Browse Agencies by Name
- Browse Agencies by Branch of Government
- Browse Agencies by Date Expired
- Documents Center (Univ. of Michigan)
- Although not comprehensive, this site is well organized and focuses on the most important government information published
by government agencies, educational institutions, and commercial interests. This is a fascinating and authoritative web resource.
- Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
- The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School contains full text resources from pre-18th Century through the 20th Century.
- Search Avalon by authors, titles, and subjects. Search engine allows full text word searches.
- Collections include treaties, Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents, the Federalist Papers, cold war documents, and much more.
- Government Documents Brochures and Pamphlets
- University at Buffalo Libraries web page.
- Electronic Books and pamphlets government documents section.
- Contains federal, state, county, and Canadian documents full text. Alphabetical and popular (topical) listing of full text
resources.
- InfoMine
- Over 20 University of California, California State University, and other university and college librarians have contributed
to building INFOMINE.
- Browse subject, title, and keyword. Includes federal, state, and international web sites.
- Migrating Government Publications (University of Memphis)
- Attempts to track print government publications that are migrating to the internet. Documents listed in order by SuDoc number
point to the electronic version by identifying the URL. Search documents by SuDoc number or by title. This site also publishes
a good citation guide--Citing Government Documents
- Political Advocacy Groups
- This is a directory of United States Lobbyists. Created and maintained by Kathi Fountain, Political Science Librarian, Meriam
Library, California State University, Chico.
- Research Collections in Microform
- Compiled by Carol Singer, Reference Librarian.
- This is an annotated list of all research collections held by Bowling Green State University Libraries. It includes significant
government document collections not easily retrieved by searching the Monthly Catalog.
- Each collection is given a separate page. Access to these pages if from four lists arranged by title, by major subject category,
by time period, and by language.
- U.S. Depository Libraries Home Pages (University of Idaho)
- Connections to many depository library web sites, organized by state. Probably one of the best sites to identify the largest
and most useful documents web pages.
Map Resources
Bowling Green University Libraries owns a wide range of maps which are housed in Science Library or the maps cases in the
Government Documents area near Main Periodicals Collection. All tangible maps (i.e. those printed on paper, microfiche, or
distributed on CD-ROM) are cataloged in the Library Online Catalog. Below are links to a few important map resources published
on the web.
- The National Atlas of the United States
- The best online choice for discovering America
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