Subject Guide for United States Government Publications

• The Collection
• Circulation Policy
• Finding Government Publications
• Government information on the Web
• Citing Government Publications

The Collection

The United States government is the largest publisher in the world, publishing thousands of items each year on almost every subject imaginable. Many contain statistics and information not available elsewhere. The San Diego State University Library has been a selective depository since 1962, and receives about 80% of the items distributed by the U.S. Government Printing Office through its Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The material comes in a variety of formats, including paper, microfiche, CD-ROM, and videocassette. Many recent publications are available online. Publications in the library are arranged by Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification number. Most government publications are located on the third floor of the library.

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Circulation Policy

Most government publications circulate for the same loan periods as books. For more information about circulation policies, see the Quick Guide to SDSU Library Privileges.

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Finding Government Publications

Good places to start:

the PAC
Most government publications published after July, 1976 are included in the Library's catalog, the PAC. Government publications can be found by title, by author (the name of the issuing agency) and by subject or keyword. If you have difficulty finding the publication(s) you need, please ask a librarian for assistance.

Researching a Topic by Subject
There are many subject guides that include government publications (copyright, legislation, etc.). See the Researching a Topic by Subject for a list of available guides.

Other indexes to government publications:

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. 1976-ongoing
Online version of the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. Indexes all publications issued by the Government Printing Office after July, 1976.

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. 1885-ongoing.
Location: GP 3.8:vol./no. Reference/US
Indexes federal materials made available through the depository system.

American Statistics Index (ASI). 1973 - ongoing.
Location: Z 7554.U5 A46 Reference
Covers statistics in all U.S. government publications, including Congressional hearings. In two parts: an abstract volume, arranged by issuing agency, which describes the statistics available in each publication; and a detailed index volume.

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Government information on the Web

Good places to start:

the PAC
Many online versions of government publications are included in the library's catalog, the PAC.

FirstGov. Office of First Gov.
Provides searching of United States federal government agency Internet sites, plus topic browsing, government organization and contacts.

Other resources include:

FedWorld. U.S. National Technical Information Service.
FedWorld is a comprehensive fee-based service with some free searching. Reports can be ordered from NTIS. SDSU affiliated users can borrow publications through Interlibrary Loan.

GovSpot. StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc.
This site offers a "collection of top government and civic resources along with insightful, non-partisan editorial."

SearchGov.com. SearchGov.com.
Provides searching and browsing of Web pages from U.S., state, and local government Internet sites.