Finding Government Information for Historical Research
Government documents are primary sources that record the work of the government, but also
the economic, social, political, and legislative history of the nation. From 1976 to the present,
bibliographic indexes to government publications and the publications themselves have been migrating to
electronic format. In early the years of the 21st Century, 60% of material published by the government
is available electronically. Such a trend has greatly facilitated access to such valuable sources.
Since 1976
Since 1895, the Monthly Catalog has provided some bibliographic access to government information. In 1976,
this catalog began to use standard library cataloging and more recently it became available electronically. Currently,
the best bibliographic access to publications of the federal government is through the Monthly Catalog, or
Marcive WebDocs, a commercial version of the catalog.
Prior to 1976
But what about sources published prior to 1976? How do we find them? Bibliographic information on these materials
can be found through traditional indexes published long ago, and found in depository and other libraries in paper,
but newer electronic indexes can also provide access. In addition to bibliographic leads, the full-text of historic
documents is also becoming available electronically through federal agencies and bureaus, particularly those with
a historic commitment to preservation and dissemination of information.
Traditional Indexes
The above indexes provide bibliographic access to titles of government publications which can then be located through the online catalog, in microform collections, or borrowed from other libraries.
Worldcat is an enormous database of bibliographic records for materials owned by libraries around the world, with links to stable sites on the Internet. It is a great tool for accessing bibliographic information and locations of government publications. While there is no way to limit Worldcat searches to government information, government information contained in the catalogs of libraries across the nation will be retrieved with other items when you do your searches.
While the most comprehensive access to the vast body of government information published is still only available in paper, federal agencies and bureaus that are making serious and significant attempts to make collections of such information available in full-text of the Internet. In general such material can be found on their web pages but is not easily found through one search engine or web site. To locate such information you can use search engines for government information such as:
Congressional Information
National Archives
U.S. Department of State
The State Department web site includes a permanent electronic archive of information released prior to January 20, 2001.
Intelligence Information
Census and Statistical Publications
Military Sources
Other useful sites
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