GOVERNMENT INFORMATION FOR ALL LIBRARIES
GOVERNMENT INFORMATION FOR ALL
LIBRARIES
VALUE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION
Changes in government publications and access to the government
New transparency & feedback mechanisms
Extends research resources
How the FDLP can assist you
TOP TOOLS FOR SEARCH &
TRANSPARENCY
USA.GOV Good browse options : http://www.usa.gov
WHITE HOUSE.GOV Blog, rapid posting of material Accountability websites Task Forces
REGULATIONS.GOV Consolidated place to:
find proposed regulationsFind accompanying documentsSubmit your comments
GPO ACCESS
Core government reference tools
Full text US Code, Federal Register, & Code of Federal Regulations
Aggregator site: some hosted material, lots of links to other sites
Generally organized by branches of the government
THOMAS Access to current and recent legislation:
Read the text of bills your Senators or Representative are considering
See how legislators voted on billsRead the text of speeches and debates in
Congress Updated daily Great access for materials 1989-present
http://thomas.loc.gov
http://thomas.loc.gov
HOUSE & SENATE SITES Quick access to contact information for
legislatorshttp://www.house.gov http://www.senate.gov
Access to Congressional committees/hearings
Senate Reference materials
FOLLOW THE MONEY What do these initiatives cost? What’s the budget for a specific program? What programs and governments get grant
money?
Office of Management & Budget (OMB)http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ Official Presidential budget
Recovery.govhttp://www.recovery.govAccounting for the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act
CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL FUNDS REPORT (CFFR) http://www.census.gov/govs/www/cffr.html Census Bureau database that breaks down
funding to state, county, & local governments/programs
Queryable database
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
http://www.cbo.gov Congressional watchdog Prolific reports on costs for proposed
legislation and new programs
DEEPER RESEARCH TOOLS
STATISTICAL SOURCES The U.S. Government is the largest
producer of statistical information in the world.
Data is needed in many kinds of research projects.
Statistical Abstract first
It can be helpful to ask, “Who would be interested in this data? Who would collect it?”
http://www.fedstats.gov
CENSUS BUREAU Data on most aspects of American life,
from basic demographics, to economics, to household characteristics.
Historical data on ethnicity, religion, finances, and more.
Census Bureau A to Z is good for pointing in the right direction.
http://www.census.gov
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus
STATISTICAL SUPERSTARS Bureau of Economic Analysis Bureau of Justice Statistics Bureau of Labor Statistics Bureau of Transportation Statistics Energy Information Administration National Agricultural Statistics Service National Center for Education Statistics National Center for Health Statistics
SCIENCE.GOV URL: http://www.science.gov/ Cross-departmental Searches over 1,800 government science
websites (more than 50 million pages) Offers email alerts
Science Accelerator: http://www.scienceaccelerator.gov/
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/ Always a good place to start for environmental
topicsOrganized by topic & links to related agencies
(good aggregation of info by subject)“Learn the Issues” tab and A-Z Index often best
places to start“Where you live” functions are powerful
CLIMATE SCIENCE RESOURCES National Climatic Data Center (NCDC):
http://www.ncdc.noaa.govFree access to detailed climate data for users
from .gov, .edu, .k12, .mil, and .us domains U.S. Climate Change Science Program:
http://www.climatescience.gov/Key climate change reports
EPA : http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ Links to policy documents Information on climate factors
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Publications Warehouse: http://pubs.usgs.gov Annual ReportsBulletinsCircularsOpen-File ReportsWater Supply PapersWater-Resources Investigations Reports
Science topics: http://www.usgs.gov/science/
Natural Hazards Information: http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/
WILDLIFE BIOLOGY
Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS): http://www.fws.gov/Endangered Species ProgramSpecies descriptionsWildlife refuges
USGS Biology Science Programs: http://biology.usgs.gov/
National Wildlife Research Center: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Nature & Science:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/Terrific site with biological, geological, and
general environmental informationAir & water quality dataNoise monitoring informationWildlife management
Specific park policies (like Yellowstone winter use) are in the Management/Park Planning sections of individual national park websites.
FORESTRY
Treesearch: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/Lots of full-text, digitized research publicationsSearch by topic or citationMore than 24,000 publications, & more added all
the time
HEALTH INFORMATION
MedlinePlus: http://medlineplus.gov/Consumer-oriented side of MedlineOverview information on conditionsMedical encyclopedia & dictionaryDescriptions of drugs, supplements, and herbal
remedies
Healthfinder: http://www.healthfinder.gov/ Health library describing illnesses and
treatmentsDrug interaction checker
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): http://www.samhsa.gov Office of Applied Studies releases many
publications on mental health and drug abuse topics.
Mental Health Work Group (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm
GIS/MAPPING RESOURCES Geodata.gov: http://www.geodata.gov
Government portal for GIS resources National Atlas:
http://www.nationalatlas.govGreat for thematic maps
National Map: http://www.nationalmap.gov Especially good for scientific info: topo,
geologic, and streamflow layers
RESOURCES FOR KIDS AND
TEACHERS
KIDS.GOV URL: http://www.kids.gov/
Organized by grade levelsHighlights good government science websites for
kids
KID-FRIENDLY SITES Most agencies have a student-oriented site
Example: EPA Student Center (http://www.epa.gov/students/)
National Security Agency (NSA) Cryptokids: http://www.nsa.gov/kids/
FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE (FREE) FREE: http://free.ed.gov/index.cfm Provide curricular materials by subject
WHAT ABOUT THE OLD STUFF?
DIGITAL INITIATIVES Google Book Project: http://books.google.com/
INITIATIVES, CONT. Open Content Alliance / Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/USGovernmentDocuments Has separate section for digitized U.S. Government
Documents Librarians can submit materials for digital archive Better understanding of copyright-free status
CENSUS BUREAU Digitized copies of historical statistical
volumes: http://www.census.gov/history/ Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the
United States, Colonial Times to 1970Historical Census ReportsStatistical Abstract of the U.S.: 1878-present (
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/past_years.html)
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS American Memory collection:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
Government information digital collections: http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/digital-collections CRS reportsExperiment Station PublicationsFederal NewsmapsFCC RecordUSDA publications
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA
American Presidency Project: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Washington
to Taft (1789-1913) Public Papers of the Presidents: Hoover to Bush
(1929-1993) Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents:
Clinton to G.W. Bush (1993-2008)
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY
Digital Collections: http://digital.library.okstate.edu Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws & Treaties Indian Claims Commission Decisions
FRENCH NATIONAL LIBRARY
Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Reports: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37575968z/date
THANKS!
Questions?