Government Documents at SUNY Oneonta

Milne Library is a depository for United States and New York State government documents. We provide service and assistance in finding and using Federal and NYS documents to ALL individuals, whether affiliated with the College at Oneonta or not. Please feel free to ask for help.
Government Documents Collection Development and Access Policies
The links below direct you to key federal documents. Click this link for NYS documents.
To find print documents located in Milne Library's collection, follow this link: Locating Government Documents at Milne Library.


		Find & contact your US Representatives Find & contact your US Senators		Find & contact your NYS Assembly Representatives Find & contact your NYS Senators

Government Databases & Search Engines

Catalog of United States Government Publications (CGP)

A key index to over 500,000 federal publications, some going back as far as 1976. Includes descriptions of historical and current publications and provides links to those available online. Plans are underway to include documents going back to the early 1800s. Search by agency, title, subject, and general key word. Excellent as a starting place for serious research.

USA.gov (formerly FirstGov)

Conceived as "the official U.S. gateway to all government information," this search engine and subject directory provide ways to locate information across millions of government web sites. Directories for citizens, businesses, federal employees, and governments.

Google Uncle Sam

Limits Google searches to only .gov sites. These include federal, state, and local government web sites.

Access to Archival Databases (AAD)

"Online access to a selection of nearly 50 million historic electronic records created by more than 20 federal agencies on a wide range of topics." Excellent source for historical documents such as passenger manifests, records related to wars, and presidential records.

Energy Citation Database

"The (ECD) contains over 2.3 million bibliographic citations for energy and energy related STI from the Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessor agencies, the Energy Research & Development Administration (ERDA) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The Database provides access to over 179,000 electronic documents, primarily from 1943 forward, with continued growth through regular updates."

FDsys (GPO's Federal Digital System)

GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) is an advanced digital system that will enable GPO to manage digital information from all three branches of the U.S. Government. As a state-of-the-art digital content management system, FDsys will contain information gathered through three methods:

Files submitted by Congress and Federal agencies
Information gathered from Federal agencies’ web sites (often referred to as “harvesting” information)
Digital files created by scanning previously printed publications

Fedworld

An "online locator service for a comprehensive inventory of information disseminated by the Federal Government," including jobs, federal web sites, science and technology documents, tax forms, and Supreme Court decisions.

GovInfo

"Open access database containing about 1400 links to documents, websites, and web 'sub sites' for Canada, U.S. and other world governments."

GPO

Index to "all types of U.S. government documents, including Congressional reports, hearings, debates, and records; judiciary materials; and documents issued by executive departments (Defense, State, Labor, Office of the President, etc.)."

LEXIS-NEXIS Academic Universe

Includes full text case law, the federal code, federal regulations, state codes, tax law, and U.S. patents. Updated daily.

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications

A restrospective index to government documents from 1895 - 1970. This links to pdf copies of the original Monthly Catalog. More recent government publications can be located using the Catalog of United States Government Publications (CGP).

NCJRS Abstracts Database

National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts Database. Provides summaries of more than 170,000 criminal justice publications. About 7000 full text publications are available through the NCJRS Virtual Library.

PAIS International

Available through FirstSearch. Index to articles, books, government documents, and statistical directories about public affairs.

Science.gov

"A gateway to 47 million pages of government science information."

SearchMil.com

Limits searches to Department of Defense sites (.mil).

THOMAS

Search for bills, their status, and legislation from current House and Senate activity back to the 103rd Congress.

World Bank

A searchable database of over 6,000 World Bank publications, select full-text reports, and learning resources for teachers and students.

Gateways to Resources

Columbia University Libraries: Documents Service Center: Sections on the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Judicial Branch, Campaigns and Elections, New York State Documents.
Document Center: Extensive subject directory of both U.S. Government documents and web sites with additional information. From the University of Michigan.
GovEngine.com: Quick access to key federal, state, and local government web sites. Click on a map or browse by category.
INFOMINE: Search an extensive collection of government resources in a single search. From the University of California, Riverside.

United States Government

100 Milestone Documents: This site contains links to landmark documents in U.S. history. The documents are from the period 1776 to 1965. Includes documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Civil Rights Act. Copies of the actual documents and document transcripts may be downloaded from the site.
9-11 Report: "Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Official Government Edition."
Congressional Directory: The official guide to Congress, this directory "presents short biographies of each member of the Senate and House, listed by state or district, and additional data, such as committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or secretaries, and room and telephone numbers. It also lists officials of the courts, military establishments, and other Federal departments and agencies, including D.C. government officials, governors of states and territories, foreign diplomats, and members of the press, radio, and television galleries."
Congressional Research Reports for the People (CRS Reports): Reports created by Congressional Research Service for "members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events." Not strictly government documents, but documents created for the use of government officials. Also available with a browse feature from the U. of North Texas.
Core Documents of the United States: Provides the full text of the basic documents that define our democratic society, including the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, Statistical Abstract, U.S. Government Manual, Supreme Court Decisions, and more.
DefendAMERICA: This Web site from the US Department of Defense is dedicated to reporting the news regarding the war on terrorism.
Homeland Security Digital Library: "Provides quick access to over 50,000 important U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national strategy documents as well as specialized resources from universities, organizations and local and state agencies."
Statutes at Large: "The United States Statutes at Large, typically referred to as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. Every public and private law passed by Congress is published in the Statutes at Large, in order of the date it was enacted into law."
United States Code: "The codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. It is divided by broad subjects into 50 titles."
United States Federal Government Agencies Directory: Directory of government web sites: search by alphabetical, hierarchical, and branch.
United States Government Manual: Both searchable and browseable. "The official handbook of the Federal Government...provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees." Includes Senators, Representatives, Departments, Agencies.
U.S. House of Representatives: Provides Representative and Committee Information, Roll Call Votes, House Committee Hearing Schedules.
U.S. Senate: Provides a Directory of Senators by State and Committee Memberships.
The White House: Includes information on the President, First Lady, and Vice President and White House History and Tours.
U.S. Federal Government Basic Documents: "These documents are vital sources of information that support the public's right to know about the workings and essential activities of their Federal Government." Includes titles such as Budget of the United States, Code of Federal Regulations, Economic Indicators, United States Code, and Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.

Consumer Information

Consumer Information Center: Articles on subjects such as Cars, Money, Food & Nutrition, Health, Travel.
Government Document Brochures and Pamphlets: Full-text documents on topics including Employment, Education, Health, Social Security, Taxes. From the University at Buffalo.
My Money.gov: Information on budgeting, financial planning, home ownership, paying for education, retirement, starting a small business, and more.

International Sources

CIA Publications including the World Fact Book: The World Fact Book provides information on individual countries such as maps, birthrate, economy, climate, currency, transportation, and geography.
Electronic Embassy: Information on all the foreign embassies located in Washington, D.C.
Foreign Government Resources on the Web: Provides foreign government official web sites, news, treaties, embassies, and statistics. Includes links by subject or by continent. From the University of Michigan.
Foreign Governments: "Links to the official websites of national governments." Very comprehensive. From Northwestern University.
Political Database of the Americas: "Provides reference materials, primary documents, comparative studies and statistical data for countries in the Western Hemisphere."
United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBISnet): Index to UN documents, including voting records and speeches.
Yearbook of the United Nations: "The Yearbook is the principal reference work of the United Nations and provides a detailed overview of the Organization's activities." This site includes the Yearbooks from 1946-2005.

Law

Milne Library Law Page: Links to government, general, and historical law sources.

State & Local Government

FindLaw: State Resources by Jurisdiction
GovEngine.com: Good index of links to key state and local government sites.
Library of Congress State and Local Government: Nice active map that leads to links to key state and local web sites for each state.
State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States
State Blue Books
State Legislatures' Grasscatcher: "NCSL is a bipartisan organization that provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues." Covers news stories and documents related to state governments.

Statistics

American Fact Finder: Provides statistics on population, housing, industry and business from the Decennial Census, including the 1990 and 2000 Censuses. Statistics may be printed or downloaded.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Provides economic statistics, regional information, and news releases.
Economics: A nice collection of links to government statistical databases. From Mansfield University.
CenStats: Databases include Census Tract Street Locator, County Business Patterns, International Trade Data, USA Counties, Building Permits, Public Law 94-171 and USA Counties.
County and City Data Book: Customized data subsets from the 1988 and 1994 CD-ROM versions of the County and City Databook. From the University of Virginia. The print version is available in Milne Library Reference HA202.A36.
FEDSTATS: Links to statistic s available from over 70 United States government agencies. Searchable and browse able.
Statistical Abstract of the United States: Full text of the latest version in Excel and PDF format. Previous versions available in PDF. Tables on topics such as population, vital statistics, elections, government, economics. Print version is in Milne Library Reference HA202.A45.
Stat-USA (Some sections for SUNY-Oneonta users only. Ask at Reference Desk for password): State of the Nation provides current and historical economic and financial releases and economic data; Globus (Global Business Opportunities) supplies international market research and country analysis; NTDB (National Trade Data Bank) offers country commercial guides, market research reports, and import and export statistics.
United States Census Bureau: Social, demographic, and economic information.
National Center for Health Statistics: A site dedicated to U.S. health and vital statistics.

Taxes

Internal Revenue Service: Includes Tax Forms and Instructions to download (in several formats, including PDF).
NYS Department of Taxation and Finance: Includes Tax Forms and Instructions to download (in PDF format).

Citing Government Documents

Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA (Modern Language Association) Style: Sample citations to various types of documents (Federal, state, international) in various formats, from the University of Nevada, Reno.
DocsCite: DocsCite is a step-by-step guide to putting government publication citations into proper style format (APA or MLA) using a template; from Arizona State University.

Help

Contact the Government Documents Librarian via email at benjamkd@oneonta.edu or by phone at 607-436-2791.
Call the Reference & Information Desk at 607-436-2722 during Library Hours.
Come to the Reference & Information Desk on the 1st floor of Milne Library at SUNY Oneonta.