Government Resources

A reference point for easy access to U.S. and Oregon State government information, politics, statistics, and political news--the SOU Hannon Library is a depository for federal and Oregon state government publications.

In October, 2004 Hannon Library was awarded Depository Library of the Year by the United States Government Printing Office!

Reference Quick Jumps	Catalogs of Federal Websites	Government Publications
Congress & the White House	Statistics & Census	Politics, Election and News
Business	Law, Courts and Criminal Justice	UN & International
Oregon	California and other states	Links to Explore

Reference Quick Jumps and Searching by Subject

Search Engines for Government Info

USA.gov
Google U.S. Government Search

GovEngine.com
SearchMil (Military sites only)
Science.gov (authoritative science info by U.S. government)
FindOR (Oregon sites only)

Search by Subject

Infomine (Univ. of Calif. Riverside)
Browse Topics (Government Printing Office)
Government Resources by Subject (Univ. of Buffalo)
Government Databases by Subject (Indiana Univ.)
Government Information on the Web Subject Index (St. Mary's University)
Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information (Vanderbilt)
Fedaral Information by Topic (Idaho State Univ.)
Government Databases Available on the Web
Databases--Government Documents (University of Idaho)
Government Information Databases (Purdue)
Congressional Universe Subject access to Congressional publications (SOU community members only.)

Quick Reference

Statistical Abstract of the United States
United States Government Manual
Code of Federal Regulations
Federal Register
Supreme Court Decisions 1937-1975
Supreme Court Decisions 1991 - current
The U.S. Code
Federal tax forms and instructions (IRS)
Oregon Administrative Rules
Oregon Revised Statutes

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Catalogs of Federal Web Sites

U.S. Federal Government Agencies Page: A list of federal agencies on the Internet organized by Louisiana State University Library.
Government Departments and Agencies: A-Z, and by branch from USA.gov

FedWorld Information Network: Connect to government bulletin boards and link to government web servers by subject search. You can search for federal tax forms here and also for federal jobs .

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Government Publications

Publications through the Government Printing Office

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications: An online catalog of bibliographic records of materials published by the United States Government since July 1976. SuDoc numbers for finding the document in the SOU Library Government Publications Department are included with the title of each record.
GPO Access: Main page of the U.S. Government Printing Office with free electronic access to a myriad of government information resources. Use the A-Z Resource List to find and search many databases from the 3 branches of the Federal government. Or Search Across Multiple Databases such as Budget, Congressional bills, Congressional Record, Economic Indicators, Federal Register, GAO Reports, Public Laws (104th Congress on), U.S. Code at once.

Other Full-Text Electronic Government Publications

GOOGLE Uncle Sam: Despite its name, this fabulous search engine (begun at Stanford) locates most-often-linked -to federal publications and agencies by keyword.
Federal Electronic Publications: A list of government publications which can be accessed directly from the internet maintained by the University of Michigan.
Electronic Texts: More links to digital government publications gathered by the University of Washington.
Internet Publications by Agency: Link to full-text government publications gathered by the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Governnment Document Brochures & Pamphlets: The State University of New York at Buffalo's list of brief full-text government publications, arranged by agency.
U.S. Government Documents Ready Reference Collection: Major online reference sources organized by subject by Columbia University

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Congress, the White House, and Legislation

United States Congress: Searchable Congressional publications and easy access to House and Senate Committees
Congressional Directory for the 109th Congress: Short biographies of Senators and Representatives by State and District with addresses, phone numbers, committee memberships, and staff members. Much additional directory information including maps of Congressional districts.
Congressional Universe (SOU community members only.): Comprehensive access to full text Congressional publications and legislation, information on members, committees, public policy issues, and recent legislative activities organized by Congressional Information Service. (SOU community members only.)
THOMAS: A one stop, user-friendly source of contemporary Congressional information, including bills, the Congressional Record, and Committee activities.
Congressional Bills: All published versions of bills from the 103rd (1993-1994) Congress forward.
LOCIS: Legislative histories of all bills from 1973 through 1998. Choose #3, Federal Legislation, at the LOCIS menu screen.
The Executive Office of the President (White House): Links to the President, Executive Branch, White House offices and agencies, press releases, policy briefings, and major Executive Office documents.
U.S. House of Representatives: Information about House members, Committees, organizations, and activities. Legislative Process contains detailed information on bills and votes.
U.S. Senate: Senate members, Committees and calendar.
Congressional Research Service Reports from the National Library for the Environment.: A set of reports on natural resources and environmental quality.
Open CRS: Project of the Center for Democracy & Technology. Harvests Congressional Research Service Reports from several online collections.
CRS Reports (Univ. of North Texas): Search reports by keyword, title, author, subject, and report number, and browse by subject.
CRS Reports from 2act: Search your topic among web accessible reports with Google
Government Accountability Office Reports: The GAO is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress. You may search for full-text GAO reports here.
Congress.Org: A guide to the U.S. Congress produced by a consumer and public affairs consulting firm. Useful for quick access to Congressional members.
U.S. Legislative Information Sources on the Internet: An *excellent* annotated list of links to Congressional information useful for researching recent U.S. legislation organized by a librarian from Bowling Green State University.
Presidential Directives and Executive Orders: From the Federation of American Scientists
Executive Orders, 1937--: From the National Archives and Records Service.
The American Presidency Project: Public Papers of the Presidents from Hoover through G.W. Bush, State of the Union and Inaugural addresses, National Political Party Platforms from 1840, Presidential elections data from 1828. Sponsored by the University of California.
Public Papers of the Presidents: A project of the University of Michigan
AmericanPresident.org: The "most comprehensive non-partisan resource available on the history and function of the American presidency" from the Miller Center for Public Affairs at the University of Virginia

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Statistics and Census

Statistics

Statistical Abstract of the United States
Statistical Resources on the Web (University of Michigan): Quick and easy access to statistics by topic.
Statistics (Vanderbilt University): Government statistical sites by agency and by subject
Fedstats: The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy maintains this site to provide easy access to the full range of statistics and information produced by more than 70 agencies in the U.S. Government for public use.
Economic Statistics Briefing Room: Links to current Federal economic indicators.
Social Statistics Briefing Room: A selection of current Federal statistics on crime, demographics, education and health.
Uniform Crime Reports: Nationwide crime data based on statistics submitted by law enforcement agencies throughout the country.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis: Gross domestic product, personal income and outlays, state and local personal income, balance of payments, etc.
Population Reference Bureau: America's oldest population organization provides information and assessments of U.S. and international population trends and issues.
Australian National University - Demography & Population Studies: Australian National University's guide to worldwide demography and population studies. Over 100 links to demographic information of all kinds.
STAT-USA: The Department of Commerce's site for business and economic data: retail sales, wholesale trade, business conditions, CPI, gross domestic product, etc. Includes the full and up-to-date National Trade Databank.
The Green Book: Overview of Entitlement Programs: Background material and statistics on entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Compensation, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Child Support enforcement, Child Welfare, etc.
ChildStats.gov: Statistics on children and families including population, economics, health, behavior, social environment, and education. Includes some international data.
United States Depository Ready Reference Sources: An arrangement of frequently used document reference publications divided into 16 subject areas (emphasizing statistical and directory sources)available on the Net.

Census

U.S. Census Bureau Web Site: Current demographic, economic and housing trends, poverty data, population projections, current industrial reports, county business patterns, etc.
Population Publications: Census Bureau's collection of full-text statistical publications on social and economic characteristics of the population, such as household composition, ethnicity, and income.; Population Profile of the United States for quick demographic information
American Factfinder: Census Bureau's site for manipulating all kinds of demographic and economic Census data, including statistics from the new American Community Survey.
State and County Quick Facts
Census Briefs: Analysis of Census 2000 population and housing topics, including: Disability Status, Employment, Poverty, Home Values, Educational Attainment, Occupations, Language Use and English-Speaking Ability, Foreign-Born Population and more.
County and City Data Book (for 1988, 1994, and 2000): Provides population counts and population by age and race for U.S., states, counties, cities of 25,000 or more and places of 2,500 or more. Some of the subjects covered include: crime, education, health, households, housing, employment, income, poverty, and vital statistics.
State of the Cities Data System (HUD): Data on U.S. cities: demographics, employment, average pay by SIC and NAICS code, crime, expenditures, etc.
Statistical Abstracts of the United States: Current and older editions, including the Bicentennial Edition:Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 .
United States Historical Census Data Browser: The University of Virginia Library and the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research offer searchable data from the 1790-1960 Censuses.
Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts: Great collection of older Census statistics
Center for Population Research and Census, Portland State University: Very current population estimates for Oregon, Counties, and Cities

International Statistics

INFO-NATION: Up-to-date statistical information for member nations of the UN.
The International Data Base: The IDB is the U.S. Census Bureau's statistical site of demographic and socio-economic data for all countries of the world.
United Nations Statistics Division--Statistical Databases: Wide range of statistical data on countries, e.g., social, economic, and environmental indicators, health, education, housing, etc.
International Statistics: Michigan State University's guide to international statistics, including print and electronic sources. (Some are sources that SOU does NOT have access to). Still, an amazing page...
FIRST: Facts on International Relations and Security Trends THIS IS GREAT FOR STATISTICS!!: A joint project of the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). 39 databases prepared by 18 different programs from governmental and nongovernmental organizations in 8 countries. Databases include information on conflict, military strength, nuclear capacity and more along with general information on countries--population, size, gdp, budget, etc. Click on "ENTER FIRST" TO USE THE DATABASES (at bottom left).. A site to bookmark and use frequently!!
NationMaster: Nation Master Web site is an excellent resource for finding out current details about most countries. Offers 335 statistical data sets, ranging from televisions, military expenditures, library books, forested land, Internet users, and airports. Also allows one to create an original graph in order to effectively compare different nations. Has links to national profiles, including available statistics for each country, and images of the country's flag and political map.
OFFSTATS:Official statistics on the Web: Official statistics from countries, government agencies and intergovernmental organizations available by country, region or topic. Topics include children, climate, crime, debt, education, health, income distribution, literacy, population, poverty, women and more.

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Politics, Election and News

ELECTIONS 2004: Election links from the U.S. Dept. of State Foreign Press Center including briefings on primaries, political party sites, election calendars, polls, etc.
Elections 2004: Web sites, complete political biographies, voting records, campaign finances, polling numbers, election surveys and much more gathered by the Univ. of Michigan.
Election Statistics (from the U.S. House of Representatives): Official vote counts for federal elections from the official sources among the various states and territories.
e-democracy: Non-partisan citizen-based organization with excellent 2004 election links.
CNN allpolitics: A great source for American political news and commentary.
Vote Smart Web: A nonpartisan site offering election studies, voting records, local, state and national campaign finance data, special interests' performance evaluations, issue positions and candidate background.
Open Secrets: The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group that specializes in the study of Congress and the role that money plays in its elections and actions. This site is loaded with data on campaign finance issues, special interests, lobbyists, individual donors, and political action committees.
Government Documents in the News: A service of the University of Michigan for easy access to new bills, laws, and a variety of links to sites concerned with contemporary political and social issues.
Annotated Bibliography of Gov Docs Related to the Threat of Terrorism & the Attacks of September 11: Excellent compilation by the Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries of 250 items with SuDoc numbers or URLs. Material from the White House, FBI, military, Library of Congress and others.
Government Views of Iraq: Bibliography of primary government documents and information about Iraq compiled by the City College of New York Libraries. All have full-text links.

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Business

STAT-USA: The Department of Commerce's site for economic and business data: retail sales, wholesale trade, business conditions, CPI, gross domestic product, etc. Includes the full and up-to-date National Trade Databank. (Get the login from a Hannon Library reference librarian).
The NTDB (National Trade Data Bank): Provides access to Country Commercial Guides, Market Research reports, Best Market reports. The NTDB also provides U.S. import and export statistics, as well as over 75 other reports and programs.
Foreign Trade Statistics - Census Bureau
Business Gateway at FirstGov: Easy access to government services for U.S. businesses. Includes e-services, buying and selling to the government, statistics, laws and regulations, international trade services, publications.
Export.gov: Online trade resources with links to many federally produced market research products.
Small Business Administration: Links to a multitude of federal, state, and local government Web sites useful to the small business person---start-up help, financing, business opportunities and more.
U.S. Business Advisor: Over 100,000 business, trade, and labor web pages from government sites.
EDGAR: Filings for all U.S. public companies are available from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Included are Annual (10K), quarterly (10Q) reports, annual reports to shareholders and other material for a comprehensive overview of the financial condition of companies.

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Law, Courts and Criminal Justice

CORNELL LAW SCHOOL: Links to Court decisions at all levels, Federal and State statutes, Treaties, Constitutions, and current legal issues. Current Supreme Court Decisions 1990-current are easy to locate here.
FedWorld/FLITE Supreme Court Decisions: Full text of 7,407 U.S. Supreme Court Decisions from 1937 to 1975.
The Federal Courts Finder (Emory Law Library): Another outstanding site for information relating to Federal courts, including slip opinions.
FindLaw: Internet Legal Resources: A superlative set of links to International, federal, and state law.
WashLaw: Washburn University School of Law maintains this outstanding site devoted to law related resources. It provides access to Supreme Court, Federal, Circuit and State court opinions, Federal administrative opinions, city codes and more.
Internet Law Library: Links to full-text federal, state and international law. The U.S. Code can be searched here.
State Legal Resources on the Web (Univ. of Michigan): Bills, laws, regulations, Constitutions, state courts, and newspapers from every state.
Code of Federal Regulations
U.S. Statutes-at-Large: Library of Congress searchable database of the U.S. Statutes for the first 43 Congresses (1789-1875).
American Law Sources Online - Oregon: Links to online sources of Oregon law.
Municipal Codes Online: American city and county codes
Criminal Justice Links: Florida State University links to both U.S. and international crime and justice information and statistics: drugs, police, juvenile delinquency, prisons, death penalty, terrorism.
Justice Information Center: The National Criminal Justice Reference Service provides full text documents, news, statistics, and links to sites on corrections, courts, crime prevention, criminal justice, drugs and crime, juvenile justice, law enforcement and victims.
National Criminal Justice Center Reference Service Abstracts Database: Summaries of more than 195,000 publications on criminal justice, including Federal, state, and local government reports, books, research reports, journal articles, and unpublished research. Subject areas include corrections, courts, drugs and crime, law enforcement, juvenile justice, crime statistics, and victims of crime from the early 1970's to the present. To search the NCJRS collection of 3,500+ full-text publications, go to NCJRS Advanced Search.

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United Nations and Other International Information

United Nations Home Page: United Nations overview, issues, news, and links to documents.
United Nations Web Site Locator: Index, classification and links to all UN organizations.
United Nations Scholars' Workstation Home Page: A collection of texts, links, data, and maps developed by Yale in all areas of United Nations studies, including disarmament, environment, human rights, population, and social development.
Global Policy Forum: Monitors global policy making at the United Nations. Main sections include UN financial crisis, Security Council, social/economic policy, nations & states, NGO's, UN reform, and 9/11. Keyword searchable.
Northwestern University International Documents: Links to international organizations of all kinds maintained at Northwestern University. Includes International Governmental Organizations, foreign governments, research guides and topical information. (Be sure to scroll down)
International Agencies and Information: University of Michigan Document Center's very comprehensive site for intergovernmental agencies. Additional links for foreign governments, international relations, news, simulations, statistics, treaties, and U.S. Policy.

Foreign Government Resources on the Web: University of Michigan's comprehensive gateway to every official government website that could be located, as well as embassies, tourist authorities and quasi-official sites. Related sites for foreign information are included.
U.S. Department of State-International Information Programs: Press releases, speeches, radio broadcasts, etc. presenting the U.S. government position on international issues. Offers full-text of several electronic journals covering international issues, eg. Aids, education, terrorism, etc.
Country Studies: A continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. This online series presently contains studies of 100 countries, describing and analyzing the political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions of each country.
Country Profiles: BBC News quick guide to history, politics and economic background of countries, territories and world organizations.
Country Reports on Terrorism: Trends in global antiterrorist activity and locations of terrorist activity from the U.S. Dept. of State.
Foreign Policy Association: Nonpartisan site with keyword searchable Resource Library and online guides.
Foreign Affairs Online: Several thousand links to important sites for the study of international relations.
Coucil on Foreign Relations: Nonpartisan organization active in debate on global policy issues. Find current analyses of world issues.
World Factbook: The CIA's reference on foreign countries including information on geography, demographics, government, and economy of each nation. Maps included.
Background Notes: Facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignity from the Dept. of State.
Constitutions of the World (Findlaw): Collection of links to 120 Constitutions of nations.
Nations of the World: A collection of links to nations gathered by the Law Library of Congress. Offers full texts of laws, regulations and court decisions of all countries.
Consular Information Sheets: Information on travel by country from the Dept. of State. Includes entry/exit, safety & security, crime, medical facilities & insurance, traffic & aviation safety, and more.

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California

Welcome to California: A portal for California State Government with links to education, health, business, labor, environment, and state agencies.
California State Agency Index
California State Senate -- Bill Information: Search California Senate and Assembly bills by number, keyword, or author.
California Law: Search California Codes and current legislation.
California Research Bureau: The California Research Bureau (CRB) within the California State Library provides nonpartisan, confidential research and policy assistance to the Governor's Office, members of both houses of the Legislature, and other state constitutional officers. Many of the Bureau's published reports are available at this site.
State Agency Databases: Publicly accessible databases from every state. Arrangement is by state, but a keyword search box is available.

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Great Places to Explore

INFOMINE -- Government Information: University of California at Riverside. Search by Subject, Author, Keyword or Title.
Documents Center: The Government Documents pages at the University of Michigan are excellent.
Yale University Government Documents and Information Center: A classification of links to Government information that is both comprehensive and user-friendly.
U.S. Government Online Bookstore: The U.S. Government Online Bookstore offers for sale more than 10,000 official Government books, periodicals, posters, pamphlets, forms and subscription services in 172 different subject categories from all branches of the U.S. Government.

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Citing Government Publications

DocsCite: Fill in the pieces of your bibliographic citation and DocsCite will arrange it for you in MLA or APA style!
Uncle Sam - Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications (Univ. of Memphis): This site is based on Chicago/Turabian style. Modify citation if you are using MLA or APA. This site is excellent, however, because so many different kinds of documents are cited.
General Guidelines for Citing Government Publications (Univ. of North Texas)
Government Documents: Examples for Works Cited Lists (Duke Univ.)
Citing Government Documents-APA (Univ. of Nebraska, Kearney)
Citing Government Documents-MLA (Univ. of Nebraska, Kearney)
Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA Style (Univ. of Nevada, Reno)

Last updated 5/07/08
D. Hollens