LibGuides: Federal Government Documents: Welcome

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What is a federal government document?

Federal government documents are informational material published by the various agencies of the United States government.

Federal government documents include laws, acts, executive orders, reports, statistics, maps, and other types of documents.

There is information published by the United States government on just about every subject!

Basic Collection

govinfo.gov
govinfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch.
govinfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. Congress.gov is usually updated the morning after a session adjourns.
USA.gov
A subject-based portal to Federal services and resources online. A Spanish site is also available.

The following titles are vital sources of information that support the public's right to know about the workings and essential activities of the Federal Government.

Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation
The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, popularly known as the Constitution Annotated, encompasses the U.S. Constitution and analysis and interpretation of the U.S. Constitution with in-text annotations of cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Explore Census Data data.census.gov
Data.census.gov is a source for population, economic, and geographic information and data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas.
Assistance Listings
Provides detailed, public descriptions of Federal assistance listings available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); Federally recognized Indian tribal governments, Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups, and individuals.
Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government
The legislative process for students of all ages.
Budget of the United States Government
The Budget of the United States Government is a collection of documents that contains the budget message of the President, information about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications that have been issued throughout the fiscal year.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online.
Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) annual edition is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
Congressional Directory
This is the official directory of the U.S. Congress which includes:
•Short biographies of each member of the Senate and House, listed by state or district.
•Committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or secretaries, and room and telephone numbers for Members of Congress.
•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 Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session.
Compilation of Presidential Documents
The Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary. The Compilation of Presidential Documents is published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Economic Indicators
This publication provides economic information on gross domestic product, income, employment, production, business activity, prices, money, credit, security markets, Federal finance, and international statistics.
Economic Report of the President
An annual report written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers which gives an overview of the nation's economic progress.
Federal Register
The official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.
Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH)
The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations. It is a publication of the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
Each Public Papers volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the specified time period. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the textnote.
Social Security Handbook
Basic guide to Social Security programs.
United States Code
The general and permanent laws of the United States.
United States Government Manual
The official handbook of the Federal Government. It provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches plus quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees.
United States Reports
Opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States.