Government Quick Reference | State Web Resources

The State Government Documents Section

Contents:
Scope of the Collection
Depositories
Arrangement of the Collection
Access to the Collection
Circulation
Indexes to State Publications
Indexes to State Policy Issues
Directories of State Government Orginizations
Tax Forms
State Information on the Internet

Scope of the Collection

• "State" means one of the fifty US states.
• We have large collections from the southeastern states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
• Our collection focuses on business, economics, education, environment, finance, and public administration.
• The state legislative journal collection includes all states; many items in this collection are from the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Publications for the following may be found in both the state documents collection and the Davis Library Stacks: American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
• Publications from state university research bureaus have historically been included in the state documents collection but recently have been purchased also for the Davis Library stacks.
• Publications of the state university presses are received through the University Press Approval Plan and are cataloged for the Davis stacks.

Depositories

• The section is a depository for publications from New York. We were a depository for California and Ohio until the early 1990's.
• As a depository we receive certain designated classes of publications or what the state depository programs send us; we do not have all publications from those states.
• The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library is the campus depository for publications from the North Carolina state government. We have a small, basic collection, dating from the early 1980's in the Reference Department.

Arrangement of the Collection

• Reference Desk: The state documents section, located in the room behind the Reference Desk, contains statistical abstracts, state blue books, and guides to the legislatures. The collection of North Carolina publications is larger and is shelved at the end of the state section rather than in the N's.

• Documents stacks: The majority of the collection is shelved in the basement in two sections. Publications of executive departments (such as Department of Health, Deptartment of Education, etc.) are arranged by state, then issuing agency; serials and monographs are interfiled. State legislative journals are shelved separately and arranged by state, then year.

Access to the Collection

• State documents are not included in the UNC-Chapel Hill library online catalog.
• Campus users can ask at the Reference Desk for assistance in finding state publications.
• Off-campus users interested in finding out if we have a specific publication, can contact
  Michael Van Fossen, State Documents Librarian.

Circulation

• Our state executive department monographs circulate for a month; serials and periodicals do not circulate.

• Legislative journals do not circulate. Many of the older issues are in poor condition and should not even be photocopied. Users can get a basement pass and use them there.

Indexes to State Publications

• Individual states publish checklists of their publications; they are shelved in the basement by state, then issuing agency. Many of these are now available on the Internet.

• A Guide to the Microfilm Collection of Early State Records. Compiled by W.S. Jenkins, Library of Congress, 1950. Z1223.5.A1U47 and Supplement. Shelved on Row 10.

• This collection (1,886 reels of microfilm) of state records from 1677-1889 includes many, but not all states for this time period. Included are legislative records; statutory law (codes and compilations, session laws, special laws); administrative, constitutional, court, and executive records. The collection is kept in the Microforms Reading Room, Microfilm 1-1274. The copy of this guide kept at the Microforms Desk is annotated to include the microfilm reel number.

• Monthly Checklist of State Publications. Library of Congress, 1910-1994. Shelved in the Reference Annex, Z1223.5.A1U5. Arranged by state, then agency. Includes a subject index.

Indexes to State Policy Issues

• ABC POL SCI: A Bibliography of Contents: Political Science and Government. 1969- Shelved on Row 14. A guide to current periodical literature in the fields of political science and government, as well as law, sociology, and economics. This is also available on CD-ROM in U-Search (1984-)

• PAIS International in Print. 1915- Shelved on Row 7. Primarily used for getting information about state issues, books, federal and some state publications. Available on CD-ROM (1974-) in U-Search as PAIS.

• Political Science Abstracts: Annual Supplement. 1967- Shelved on Row 14. Indexes public affairs magazines, major newspapers, professional journals, and books devoted to politics and policy analysis.

• State Policy Abstracts. 1990- Shelved on Row 14. Citations and abstracts for state legislative research and program evaluation reports, National Conference of State Legislature publications, and selected publications of other government and public policy organizations.

• Statistical Reference Index. 1980- Shelved on Row 19. A comprehensive guide and index to statistical publications of associations, business organizations, research organizations, state government agencies and university research centers. The state publications indexed are available here as part of the accompanying microfiche collection.

• United States Political Science Documents. 1975- Shelved on Row 14. Abstracts of political and social science journal articles.

Directories of State Government Organizations

• Shelved at the Reference Desk.

• Book of the States. JK2403.B6. Reviews state issues such as administration, education, elections, finance, health, labor, etc. Statistical tables give comparative data.

• North Carolina Manual. JK4130.N6. A compendium of information about North Carolina state government. Includes biographical information about officials.

• State Administrative Officials Classified by Function. K2403.S68.

• State Executive Directory. JK2482.E94 S76. Lists executive and legislative officials in all 50 states. 3 issues a year.

• State Legislative Sourcebook. JK2403.S745. A detailed compilation of information on the legislative process in each state. Includes bibliographic references.

Tax Forms

• We carry paper copies of tax forms for the US and North Carolina only. These are available at the Reference Desk during Tax season (Jan-April). Copies from previous years are kept in the documents stacks.

• Tax forms for some states are available at Quick Reference.

State Information on the Internet

• State information, including specific publications, legislative information, court decisions and publications lists are being added to the Internet daily. Our State Information pages have links to state home pages, and other state-related information.

For additional assistance in this area, contact:
Mike Van Fossen, International and State Documents Librarian
Email: vanfosen@refstaff.lib.unc.edu

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