Government Information in the Thomas Cooper Library | Government Information on the WWW | U.S. federal government acronyms and abbreviations

What is Government Information?

Government information is any information published or sponsored by an international, federal, state or local government agency.

U.S. federal government documents are classified by the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoC) classification system and arranged by government agency, not subject matter.

Government Information in the Thomas Cooper Library

I. USC Catalog 1976-

Use the library's online catalog to locate government publications published after 1976 in the Documents and Microforms department.

To limit searches to only government documents, use a keyword anywhere search and add sucd for the department code.
For example: environmental pollution sucd

If a publication is also available on the WWW, a link in USCAN may be provided.

Government publications are best searched by keyword, title or subject.

• Use a title or keyword in title search to search for a specific publication.

• Use a subject or keyword in subject search to search for publications on a specific subject. Library of Congress subject headings must be used for searching by subject.

• Use keyword searches if you are looking for information about a subject and your subject search does not produce good results.

II. MarciveWeb DOCS (USC Affiliates only) 1976- [User Guide]

Catalog of only government publications. Thomas Cooper Library will have most of the government publications listed here.

Search by title, subject, keyword or technical report number.

Includes links to documents available on the WWW and holdings for other depository libraries in S.C. and the U.S.

III. Indexes for documents published before 1976:

Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1895-present)
Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (1900-1971)
Cumulative Title Index to U.S. Public Documents (1789-1976) are available in the Documents Reference area.

IV. Specialized Subject Indexes

American Statistical Index (ASI): the most comprehensive index of statistics from the federal government. Statistics indexed in ASI are available on microfiche in the department. Available in the Documents Reference area.
Index to International Statistics (IIS): index of international and comparative statistics. Available in the Documents Reference area.

CIS (Congressional Information Service) Indexes & Abstracts
Congressional Universe (USC Affiliates only) (1970-present): Indexes Congressional publications including hearings, committee prints, and legislative histories. The full text of bills, laws and regulations is included. Also included is supplementary information on members of Congress, congressional committees, news on current issues and events in Congress and Hot Bills & Topics sections on current policy and legislative events of interest. Includes the Code of Federal Regulations.
Congressional Masterfile 1: CD-ROM equivalent of Congressional Masterfile for 1789-1969. Includes unpublished U.S. Senate Committee hearings (1823-1969) Available in the Documents Electronic Resources Room.
Most resources indexed in these two indexes are available in print or microfiche in the Documents and Microforms department.

Index to U.S. Government Periodicals (1970-1987, 1994-present): indexes many government periodicals not included in other journal indexes. Available in the Documents Reference area.

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Government Information on the WWW

General Search Tools | Databases | Government Agencies

I. General Government Information Search Engines and Search Tools

Firstgov: browse or search for local, state and federal government information.
Google UncleSam: Fast and effective search engine of only government web sites.
Infomine: Government Information: scholarly Internet resources including databases, e-journals, books and conference proceedings, web guides.
Migrating Government Publications: Locate familiar print resources now available on the WWW. Browse by SuDoc or title.

II. Subject-Specific Searchable Databases

American Memory: Over 90 collections of primary historical materials including text, images, maps, posters, audio and video clips. FedStats: gateway to statistics and data from over 70 agencies.
FedWorld: search specialized databases such as army publications, Supreme Court Decisions, NTIS databases.
Note: access to some material is fee-based.
GPO Access: legislation, regulations, Congressional information and publications, GAO reports, Economic Indicators, the Budget, Presidential documents and more.
GrayLit Network: the most comprehensive portal to U.S. federal agency gray literature. Participating agencies include the Department of Energy, Department of Defense/Defense Technical Information Center, NASA and the Environmental Protection Agency. Includes links to full text.
Osti: allows users to search and access peer reviewed journal literature in the physical sciences and other energy-related disciplines, including nearly one million DOE Energy Science and Technology Database journal citations. Access to some full text articles may be limited.
PrePRINT Network: A searchable gateway to preprint servers in disciplines including physics, materials, and chemistry, as well as portions of biology, environmental sciences and nuclear medicine, with links to full-text reports.
STAT-USA: Electronic database of current and historical, economic and financial releases and economic data; current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, country analysis. Password required from Documents department.
THOMAS: Current and historical legislative and Congressional materials. Includes Early Congressional Documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention (1774-1789), the Federalist Papers and Congressional Documents and Debates (1774-1873).
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: all patents and trademarks from 1790 to present now available.

III. Locating Government Agency Websites

U.S. Federal Government Agencies Directory: agencies listed as organized in the U.S. Government Manual. Useful for finding specific agencies. No annotations.
 

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