 Changes in government publications and
access to the government
 New transparency & feedback mechanisms
 Extends research resources
 How the FDLP can assist you

 Good browse options : http://www.usa.gov

 Blog, rapid posting of material
 Accountability websites
 Task Forces

 Consolidated place to:
find proposed regulations

Find accompanying documents

Submit your comments


 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

http://thomas.loc.gov
 Access to current and recent legislation:
Read the text of bills your Senators or

Representative are considering
See how legislators voted on bills

Read the text of speeches and debates in Congress

 Updated daily
 Great access for materials 1989-present

http://thomas.loc.gov

 Quick access to contact information for
legislators
http://www.house.gov

http://www.senate.gov

 Access to Congressional committees/hearings
 Senate Reference materials

 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.gov
http://www.recovery.gov

Accounting for the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act

http://www.census.gov/govs/www/cffr.html

 Census Bureau database that breaks down
funding to state, county, & local
governments/programs
 Queryable database

 http://www.cbo.gov
 Congressional watchdog
 Prolific reports on costs for proposed legislation
and new programs

 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

 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

 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

 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/


 EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/
Always a good place to start for environmental topics

Organized 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


 National
Climatic Data Center (NCDC):
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov
Free 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


 Publications Warehouse: http://pubs.usgs.gov
Annual Reports

Bulletins

Circulars

Open-File Reports

Water Supply Papers

Water-Resources Investigations Reports

 Science topics:
http://www.usgs.gov/science/
 Natural Hazards Information:
http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/

 Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS): http://www.fws.gov/
Endangered Species Program

Species descriptions

Wildlife refuges

 USGS Biology Science Programs:
http://biology.usgs.gov/
 National
Wildlife Research Center:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/

 Nature& Science:
http://www.nature.nps.gov/
Terrific site with biological, geological, and

general environmental information
Air & water quality data

Noise monitoring information

Wildlife management

 Specific
park policies (like Yellowstone
winter use) are in the Management/Park
Planning sections of individual national park
websites.

 Treesearch: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/
Lots of full-text, digitized research publications

Search by topic or citation

More than 24,000 publications, & more added all the

time

 MedlinePlus: http://medlineplus.gov/
Consumer-oriented side of Medline

Overview information on conditions

Medical encyclopedia & dictionary

Descriptions of drugs, supplements, and herbal

remedies
 Healthfinder: http://www.healthfinder.gov/
Health library describing illnesses and treatments

Drug interaction checker


 SubstanceAbuse & Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA):
http://www.samhsa.gov
Office of Applied Studies releases many publications

on mental health and drug abuse topics.
 MentalHealth Work Group (CDC):
http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm

 Geodata.gov: http://www.geodata.gov
Government portal for GIS resources

 National Atlas: http://www.nationalatlas.gov
Great for thematic maps

 National Map: http://www.nationalmap.gov
Especially good for scientific info:

topo, geologic, and streamflow layers

 URL: http://www.kids.gov/
Organized by grade levels

Highlights good government science websites for kids


 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/

 FREE: http://free.ed.gov/index.cfm
 Provide curricular materials by subject

 Google Book Project: http://books.google.com/

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

 Digitized
copies of historical statistical volumes:
http://www.census.gov/history/
Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the

United States, Colonial Times to 1970
Historical Census Reports

Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: 1878-present

(http://www.census.gov/compendia/
statab/past_years.html)

 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

 Government information digital collections:
http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/digital-
collections
CRS reports

Experiment Station Publications

Federal Newsmaps

FCC Record

USDA publications


 AmericanPresidency 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)

 Digital
Collections:
http://digital.library.okstate.edu
Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws & Treaties

Indian Claims Commission Decisions


 Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Reports:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37575968z/date

Questions?