Catalogs of Federal government information

• U.S. government publications published since July 1976 have recently been added to the libraries' online catalog. However, new Federal publications are added slowly so it is not very current.
• If you want to search only Federal government publications, try using GPO Monthly Catalog (GPO), a not-very-current catalog of U.S. government publications back to July 1976, most of them held by or accessible via Davis Library Reference Department.
• To find the most current U.S. government publications, use Catalog of United States Government Publications (MOCAT), which goes back only to 1994.

Some useful sites and tools for finding government (especially Federal) information on the Internet

• Electronic Indexes and Databases: Government Information includes many important indexes and databases for Federal, international, and state resources. (To get here from the libraries' front page, choose "E Indexes and Databases", then "Government Information" (under the subject listing).
  • GPO Access "GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government. The information provided on this site is the official, published version and the information retrieved from GPO Access can be used without restriction, unless specifically noted."
  • Congressional Universe is a commercial database that provides excellent indexing for congressional information as well as considerable full text. The Library of Congress also provides access to legislative information via Thomas.
  • American FactFinder is the primary dissemination vehicle on the web for Census 2000 data as they become available. American FactFinder also allows you to access data from the 1990 Decennial Census, the 1997 Economic Census, and the American Community Survey. American FactFinder is a service of the U.S. Census Bureau.
• Documents Section Home Page
• Highlights from Searching for Government Information
  • Browse by (Federal) agency: Federal Agencies via UNC-Chapel Hill, a selective list.
  • Search or browse by agency: U.S. Federal Government Agencies Directory via LSU, a fairly comprehensive list.
  • Browse by subject: Browse Topics using fewer (and broader) subject headings via GPO or Documents Center Web Site Directory using more (and narrower) subject headings via University of Michigan.
  • Search by keyword: Google UncleSam for government information; or, for business-related information, US Business Advisor via the Small Business Administration. (FirstGov is a fairly new service for government information that provides keyword search and browse by subject capabilities. The first reviews on FirstGov discussed some shortcomings that we hope will be ironed out as FirstGov matures. See articles in Federal Computer Week such as "FirstGov to undergo overhaul" for more discussion.)