This section lists a variety of electronic resources for the United States government, as well as state and local level governments. International organizations are also covered. The ISU Library is a federal government depository, receiving approx. 52% of the materials available from the GPO (Government Printing Office). The ISU Online Catalog lists US government documents added since 1976, but the print collection goes back much farther, and is searchable via print indexes. Increasingly electronic publication of federal government documents (plus those issued by this state and by the United Nations) is the norm. The Online Catalog records may link you to a print, microform and/or electronic full-text (usually a PDF) document.

Service

Assistance in using the collections of the Government Documents Unit of Library Information Services is provided through the Reference Desk--one of the Reference Librarians is the Government Documents Specialist.

Contact Information

Government Documents Staff

Collections

The Library has been a selective FDLP depository for United States Government documents since 1906. It has been a depository for documents of the state of Indiana since 1974, but does not contain documents from other states. The Documents Unit also subscribes to the publications of the United Nations and of these UN related agencies: Food and Agriculture Organization, UNESCO, and World Health Organization. Other than these the ISU Documents collections do not include publications of international non-government organizations (NGOs), nor do they include documents of foreign governments.

General Guides

• www.USA.gov The U.S. government's official website and gateway--a searchable compliation of federal and state governments sites, it also has links that are organized by audience.
• www.Bensguide.gpo.gov Ben Franklin's guide contains a wide variety of information intended for children, but also information of interest to teens, plus their parents and teachers.
• www.google.com/ig/usgov This is a commercial site, whose homepage contains news items relating to the federal government which are arranged by the issuing branches of government: this also has a google search engine, so that searching of government websites can be done here as well.

GPO Access

GPO Access provides full-text electronic access to a number of government documents; by law, the Government Printing Office is the official publisher/printer of federal documents, which are not subject to copyright. Items available through this electronic gateway include: the Budget of the U.S., Congressional Bills, the Constitution of the U.S., Federal Register, Statistical Abstract of the U.S., Congressional Directory, Statutes at Large, Supreme Court Decisions, and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.

• www.gpoaccess.gov From the GPO Access Home Page it is possible to access the A-Z Resource List of sites when searching for an individual document or agency's publications, to search by issuing agency and/or branch of government, view electronic versions of important recently released documents in the news, or just do a keyword search in the 'search' box located in the upper right corner of the homepage. You can also Search across multiple databases to find where some topic is mentioned.

Federal Websites of Particular Interest to Students

• www.mymoney.gov/education Through the section 'Paying for Education', many informative federal government websites are listed and available by way of this portal. The home page (of which this is one link)found at www.mymoney.gov is a great resource--whether for taxes, credit, or planning for major life events.
• www.studentaid.ed.gov THE electronic information resource for federal Student Load information, which ws created and is maintained by the Department of Education.
• www.loanconsolidation.edu.gov Also created by the Department of Education, this website has valuable information for those wishing to simplify repayment by consolidating educational loans (and hopefully lower the interest rates). It contains a FAQ section, plus one containing forms and publications.
• www.careervoyages.gov An introductory resource, available through the www.usa.gov portal: it introduces users to a wide variety of possible career options and jobs.
• online.onecenter.org O'NET OnLine The occupationa information Network, created by the Department of Labor, is on online database of occupationa information. This recource contains data on over 1,000 job characteristics and the needed worker knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm “Occupational Outlook Handbook” is a great resource for the current job outlook and career entry requirements for a huge variety of occupations; also created and regularly updated by the Department of Labor.
• www.bls.gov/oco/cg/home.htm The “Career Guide to Industries” serves as a companion resource to the above work, and has career information for dozens of different industries, from Construction to Health & Education, plus it has information on the job market in each state.
• www.usajobs.opm.gov is the official employment site of the U.S. federal government. Produced by the Office of Personnel Management, this is a one-stop source for federal jobs and employment information.
• www.state.in.us/spd is the State of Indiana Personnel Department’s webpage, which serves as a gateway to employment information and listings of available state jobs.
• www.consumer.gov Created to be a 'one stop' link to a range of federal information resources which is arranged by broad coategories includeing Home and Community and Transportation (each category aslso has a 'Scam Alert' section). It is listed in this section because students are also consumers--a useful gateway website with information on everything from rental housing to purchasing a used car.

Branches of Government (Executive, Legislative, Judicial)

• www.house.gov Official website of the U.S. House of Representatives, this contains information on the individual members, bills, voting information, committees, hearings, etc.
• www.senate.gov Official website of the U.S. Senate, this contains information on the individual members, bills, voting information, committees, hearings, etc.
• www.supremecourtus.gov Official website of the U.S. Supreme Court, gives access to their judicial decisions, and opinions, oral arguments presented to the Court, case docket, etc.
• thomas.loc.gov Thomas, created and maintained by the Library of Congress, is the home of federal legislative information on the internet. Legislative calendars, bills, resolutions, committee reports, etc. from both houses of Congress, as well as presidential nominations for Supreme Court justices and treaties are available through this portal, as are some past years of the "Congressional Record" full text (it is their library, after all). It was named for President Jefferson, whose personal library collection helped found the Library of Congress in the early 1800s.
• www.whitehouse.gov Official website of the U.S. President, this contains speeches, policy statements, press briefings, and executive orders of the current chief executive; it also serves as a portal to the various executive offices of the president (example: National Security Council), and to current interest topics ranging from pandemic flu to the Patriot Act (including information on Whitehouse Conferences which have been held on many of these topics). There is also an 'Ask the Whitehouse' interactive feature, and a 'History and Tours' section for people interested in the historic building. This website also serves as a springboard to:
• www.whitehouse.gov/vicepresident Official website of the U.S. Vice President, giving access to his speeches, news releases, etc.

Cabinet-level Departments/Agencies

• www.usda.gov Department of Agriculture
• www.commerce.gov Department of Commerce
• www.dod.gov Defense Department
• www.ed.gov Department of Education
• www.energy.gov Energy Department
• www.epa.gov Environmental Protection Agency
• www.hhs.gov Department of Health and Human Services
• www.dhs.gov Department of Homeland Security
• www.hud.gov Department of Housing and Urban Development
• www.doi.gov Interior Department
• www.justice.gov Department of Justice
• www.dol.gov Department of Labor
• www.whitehouse.gov/omb Office of Management and Budget
• www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov Office of National Drug Control Policy
• www.state.gov Department of State
• www.dot.gov Transportation Department
• www.ustreas.gov Treasury Department
• www.ustr.gov U.S. Trade Representative
• www.va.gov Department of Veterans Affairs

Selected Agencies

• www.census.gov U.S. Census Bureau
• www.cdc.gov Centers for Disease Control
• www.irs.gov Internal Revenue Service
• www.nara.gov National Archives
• www.nih.gov National Institutes of Health
• www.hoaa.gov National Weather Service
• www.osha.gov Occupational Safety & Health Administration
• www.uspto.gov United States Patent and Trademark Office

Statistical Resources

• factfinder.census.gov The American FactFinder is "Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data provided by the U.S. Census."
• www.stats.bls.gov Provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, under the Department of Labor, this is a great resource for statistics on employment, consumer spending, inflation, etc.
• www.censtats.census.gov CenStats, produced by the U.S. Census Bureau, serves as a portal to many business-related statistical databases, including those concerned with "USA Counties, County Business Patterns, Zip Code Business Patterns, and International Trade Data". In addition this website provides access to an enormous amount of detailed demographic data.
• www.fedstats.gov Fedstats is the electronic gateway to recent statistics from over 100 U.S. federal agencies.
• www.nces.ed.gov The National Center for Educational Statistics, under the Department of Education, is an excellent resource for all kinds of educational information in statistical format. This is the federal agency which produces the annual "Digest of Educational Statistics".
• www.census.gov/compendia/statab The Statistical Abstract of the U.S. is an authoritative compilation of recent statistics from a wide variety of governmental agencies (the source of which is always listed); this resource also includes some historical statistics.
• www.stat-usa.gov STAT-USA/Internet STAT-USA is a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, designed for the U.S. business, economic, and trade community, providing authoritative information from both the federal government and other resources (example: University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers Center). The resource is divided into two areas: State of the Nation plus GLOBUS & NTDB. Available in the ISU Library building only, this is provided through the FDLP depository.
• www.stats.indiana.edu This is an official state resource for vital statistics; however, it was created by and is maintained by Indiana University's Business Research Center.

Special Topics and Interagency-Supported Websites

• www.business.gov Managed by the Small Business Administration this is the official federal resource to help business find compliance, personnel, import , and patent information, plus forms, and contacts from the government - making it useful to businesses of any size!
• www.usdoj.gov/crt The Civil Rights Division, of the U.S. Department of Justice was founded in 1957 to enforce anti-discrimination laws; the website has searchable sections ranging from Housing to Disability Rights, plus it gives electronic access to selected court decisions and legal briefs filed by the division, speeches statements, and testimony, and "significant guidance documents".
• www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr The "Code of Federal Regulations" is the annually updated and searchable codification of all the regulations published daily in the "Federal Register" by government departments and agencies.
• www.fedworld.gov Developed and maintained by NTIS (National Technical Information Service), this is the electronic index to many U.S. Government technical and scientific resources on the web; it also serves as a portal to information on government job openings and is updated daily.
• www.forms.gov The U.S. government's official hub for electronic forms from EVERY federal agency and department.
• www.healthfinder.gov Healthfinder is a gateway website of health information which is intented for laypeople; it is produced and updated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which is under the Department of Health and Human Services.
• www.loc.gov The website of the Library of Congress is a portal to everything from digitized collections of photographs, to the massive 'American Memory' Project-as well as to copyright information. Legally, a copy of every new book published in the U.S. goes to this national library.
• www.ourdocuments.gov The one hundred milestone documents of U.S. history are available electronically here.
• www.science.gov This electronic index is a gateway to over 50 million pages of authoritative science information provided by federal agencies, including research and development results.
• www.technology.gov Website of the federal government's Technology Administration, which is under the Department of Commerce.

• www.state.in.us The official website of this state's government, this serves as a gateway to the websites of all the state agencies, to electronic forms, etc. -- even to online versions of such Indiana documents as "2008 Recreation and Fishing Guide" and "Indiana Driver's Manual". In addition, it serves as a springboard to get users to the official websites of the 92 counties in this state, via the site www.in.gov/mylocal/county_select.htm
• www.state.in.us/icpr/2316.htm The Indiana State Archives is under the Indiana Commission on Public Records, and contains materials ranging from vital records of value to genealogists, to a database of early Indiana Supreme Court cases.
• www.statelib.lib.in.us Indiana State Library This library has very strong collections which support research in the areas of Indiana history, culture, state government, and extensive colections on Indiana family history and genealogy materials; plus it contains Indiana newspaper holdings, as well as near-comprehensive-level collections of State of Indiana and federal government documents.
• www.terrehaute.in.us The city of Terre Haute's official government website.
• www.vigocounty.org Yes, despite the ".org" address, this is the official government website for Vigo County.

• www.naco.org This is the website of the National Association of Counties, which gives access to the official websites of the counties of various states.
• www.usa.gov Besides serving as a portal to federal agency websites and individual electronic documents, this also has a section which takes users to the official websites maintained by every individual state.
• library.stmarytx.edu/acadlib/doc/us/states/index.htm This site is a collection of state government link pages giving detailed information on each state; it was produced by St. Mary’s University Library’s Government Information Department.

• www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook The CIA World FactBook is updated throughout the year and gives economic, geographical, governmental, and statistical information on foreign countries. Maps of countries and regions are also available.
• memory.loc.gov/frd/cs Country Studies is a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program that has been sponsored by the Department of the Army. This series presently contains individual studies of more than 100 countries and regions, which are updated on an irregular basis.
• ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/foreigngovt.htm This site points to the official websites of foreign governments as well as information on a country’s economic, health, military, politics, foreign relations, etc. which comes from authoritative sources. It was produced by the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Government Publications Library.
• www.lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html Country Studies is a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program that has been sponsored by the Department of the Army. This series presently contains individual studies of more than 100 countries and regions, which are updated on an irregular basis.
• www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/resource/internat/foreign.html This site points to the official websites of foreign governments and was produced by Northwestern University Library's Government and Geographic Information and Data Services Department.
• www.library.northwestern.edu/govinfo/resource/internat/igo.html This site points to the official websites of international governmental organizations (IGOs), as well as to guides for users of international government information; it was produced by Northwestern University Library's Government and Geographic Information and Data Services Department.
• www.un.org/english Official website of the United Nations (English language version).
• www.unesco.org/en/ Official website of UNESCO the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (English language version).
• www.who.int/en/ Official website of WHO: World Health Organization (English language version).

• members.cox.net/govdocs/govspeak.html GovSpeak is A Guide to Government Acronyms & Abbreviations; this is an extremely useful resource!
• www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs University of Michigan Documents Center The Library's Government Documents Center is a central reference and referral point for government information, whether local, state, federal, foreign, or international. Its web pages are a reference and instructional tool for government, political science, statistical data, plus it has a Documents in the News section.
• www.presidency.ucsb.edu The American Presidency Project was created by and is maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara to provide researchers with electronic access to the public papers of the past presidents'; their speeches, executive orders, proclamations, press conferences, presidential papers (going back the president Washington) are included in this website.

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  Updated July 11th, 2008     Maintained by: Government Documents
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