This document provides a summary of many US government websites that provide access to publications, legislation, statistics, regulations and other public information resources. It outlines key sites run by agencies like the Library of Congress, EPA, FDA, USGS and others that contain full-text legislative materials, environmental data, health information, maps and other materials. It also gives tips on finding budget and funding data from the White House, Census and other sources.

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

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

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

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

8.  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

10. 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

11. http://thomas.loc.gov

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

13.  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

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

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

17.  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?”

18. http://www.fedstats.gov

19.  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.

20. http://www.census.gov

21. http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus

22.  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

23.  URL: http://www.science.gov/
 Cross-departmental
 Searches over 1,800 government science websites
(more than 50 million pages)
 Offers email alerts

24. Science Accelerator: http://www.scienceaccelerator.gov/


25.  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


26.  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


27.  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/

28.  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/

29.  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.

30.  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

31.  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


32.  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

33.  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

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

36.  Most agencies have a student-oriented site
Example: EPA Student Center

(http://www.epa.gov/students/)

37.  National
Security Agency (NSA) Cryptokids:
http://www.nsa.gov/kids/

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

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

41. 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

42.  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)

43.  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

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

45.  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)

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

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

48. Questions?