A US government document may be broadly defined as any publication issued at government expense or published under the authority of a governmental body.* Such a broad definition is helpful, though, since governments produce all sorts of information on virtually all topics as a routine matter of carrying out their missions on a daily basis.
This could include things like weather records, tax forms, trade agreements, congressional hearings, presidential statements, employment statistics, or brochures for national parks. If you follow the news, read a newspaper, or magazine, there are always stories reporting on one government document or another, or which try to shed light on some new piece of legislation or a judicial proceeding, etc.
There are many places to search for government documents, no one being comprehensive. It is easier to decide where to search based on what you are hoping to find. But in general, start with the Library Catalog.
Listed here are some of the main places to search for government documents. The rest of this guide offers a number of other search tools, as well as attempting to showcase core components of our collection.
See our brochure for more information.
The Government Documents librarian is available for:
Please use the contact information in the box above to get in touch.