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Government Documents Department
106B Ellis Library (1st Floor East)
University of Missouri

Marie Concannon (573) 882-0748
concannonm@missouri.edu

Guides to Using Government Information

Legal research in a nutshell
Written for non-experts, this guide covers legal documents from all three branches of government.
Government publications and their use
by Laurence Schmeckebier, 1969. This classic is still a go-to whenever one hasn't the foggiest clue of where to look in a historic documents collection for a bit of information. It was first published in 1939, but look for the 1969 version.
Introduction to United States government information sources
By Joe Morehead, 1999. First published in 1978, this was once commonly used as a textbook for library school students.
Local and regional government information: how to find it, how to use it
by Mary Martin, 2005.
International government information and country information: a subject guide
by Andrea Morrison, 2004.

Agency Seals

Documents by Type - Federal

There are many types of government information. From agency reports to appropriations, census data to Supreme Court decisions, it comes in many formats and covers almost every topic. This list is arranged alphabetically by document type. For more information on federal, state or local government information, use links in the left navigation bar.

Restricted to faculty, students, and staff at The University of Missouri This icon indicates the resource is restricted to students, faculty, and staff at the University of Missouri.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - L - M - N - O - P - R - S - T - W
A
Analysis of government programs	1923-current (incomplete) .....	General Accountabilty Office (GAO) reports
	1973-current ..........................	Print and fiche GAO reports are filed under the GA 1.13 call number.
	1989-2008 .............................	GAO Reports at GovInfo.gov
Aerial photographs	1920s-current ........................	Where to find Aerial Photographs
Agencies, guide to	1935-current ......................	U.S. Government Manual
Agencies, guide to	Current ..................................	A-Z Index of Departments and Agencies
Agency reports	1976-current .........................	Catalog of Government Publications
	1895-2005 .............................	Find print set of Monthly Catalog of Government Publications (title varies) on Documents Reference shelf under call number Z 1223 .A18.
	1789-1909 .............................	Checklist of United States Public Documents 1789-1909 or see online version in Internet Archive
Appropriations, budget estimates, etc.	1995-2004 .............................	GovInfo.gov

B


Bills, congressional (See also guide to bill versions)	1994-current........................	GovInfo.gov
	Coverage dates..........................	Congress.gov has full text of bills and legislative action.
	1979-2000.................................	The MU Law Library has House and Senate bills on microfiche for the 96th-106th congresses. Ask Law Library staff for assistance.
	1933-1988.................................	The University of Arizona has a complete set of this time period. This set is microform - request through interlibrary loan. For interlibrary loan purposes the official title is Congressional bills, resolutions, and laws.
	1801-1829, 1861-1899...........	House and Senate Bills and Resolutions on microfilm in MU Law Library. Filmed by the Library of Congress.
	1789-1933................................	Center for Research Libraries (microform - request through ILL)
	1789-1921.................................	The University of Washington has an incomplete set on microform - request through interlibrary loan. For ILL purposes the official title is Congressional bills, resolutions, and laws.
	Varies..........................................	Law Librarians' Society of Washington DC
	1799-1873...................................	Library of Congress
Bills, summary and status	Coverage dates.......................	Congress.gov shows legislative action on bills.
Bills, history of	1983-current..............................	GovInfo.gov History of Bills The History of Bills lists legislative actions on bills that were reported in the Congressional Record. In print it is part of the Congressional Record Index, but on GovInfo it is a separate collection.
Bills, history of	1929-2015................................	ProQuest Legislative Insight
Budget of the U.S. Government	1996-current.................................	GovInfo.gov
Budget of the U.S. Government	1921-current.................................	Federal Reserve Archive

C


Campaign contributions	Current...................................	OpenSecrets.org

	1988, 1994.....................................	"Open Secrets" books in Ellis Library
Campaign finance reports	2007-current...................................	Federal Election Commission
Census data	1790-current..................................	MU Libraries Census Guide
Circuit Court Decisions	1938-current...................................	Find Law
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)	1938-current................................	Hein Online
	1996-current...................................	GovInfo.gov
	Current .......................................	Electronic CFR
Code, U.S.	1994-current...................................	GovInfo.gov
Code, U.S.	1925-current...................................	Hein Online
Committee membership	Current...........................................	Govtrack.us
Committee membership	1947 to 1992..................................	Committees in the U.S. Congress, 1947-1992 (print)
Committees, legislation assigned to	Current..........................................	Govtrack.us
Committee prints, congressional	1955-current (incomplete) ...........	GovInfo.gov
Committee prints, congressional
Committee reports, Congressional	1821-current..................................	GovInfo.gov
	1973-current..................................	Congress.gov


Congressional Record
	1789-current................................	Sources for the Congressional Record
	1897-current.................................	Congressional Record (bound) 1873-2016; Congressional Record (Daily) 1994 to present; Congressional Record Index (Daily) 1983 to present
	1873-current.................................	Congress.gov


Congressional Record, Daily Digest	1989-current...................................	Congress.gov
CRS Reports	1916-current...................................	Proquest Congressional
	Various...........................................	Archive-It (list of links to various sources)
	Various............................................	Law Librarian's Society of Washington D. C.
	Various............................................	EveryCRSReport.com

Congressional Session Dates	1789-current.................................	Session Dates
Court records	Varies.............................................	Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) (fee-based)
Court records	Varies.............................................	GovInfo.gov

D


Debates, presidential	1960, 1976-current ..........	American Presidency Project
Debt, public	1869-current ...................	U.S. Treasury fiscal data
Declassified documents	Any dates	Declassified Documents Guide
Directory, Congressional	1816-1887 .......................	Print copies held by library
	1888-current...................	Print copies held by library
	All dates .........................	Congress.gov
	1997-current ....................	GovInfo.gov
	Current ............................	GovTrack.us
Documents, House and Senate	1975-current ....................	GovInfo.gov

E


Economic Indicators	1995-current ................	GovInfo.gov
Economic Report of the President	1995-current ................	GovInfo.gov
Economic Report of the President	1947-current ................	FRASER (Federal Reserve)
Elected officials		USA.gov
Elected officials	1956-2014 ...................	America Votes (print copies in library)
Election returns, presidential
	1789-2008 ...................	National Archives
	1789-2012 ...................	NationalAtlas.gov (printable maps)
	1956-2014 ...................	America Votes

Executive orders, presidential
	1996-current ................	Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3 (online)
	1826-current ................	American Presidency Project

F - G

F (return to top)
Federal Register	1936-current ..............	Hein Online
Financial disclosures, congressional members
Financial disclosures, congressional members	2008-current .............	Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives
Floor votes, congressional	Current ...................
		CQ Weekly

Foreign aid (loans, grants, etc.)	1946-1997 ................	Green Book
G (return to top)
GAO Reports	1989-2008 ..................	GovInfo.gov
Grants	Current ........................	Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Grants	Current ........................	Grants.gov

H - I - J

H (return to top)
Hearings, scheduled	Current ............................	Senate.gov; House.gov
Hearings, Congressional	1824-1979 ......................	Proquest Congressional

	Up to 1923 .....................	Many historic hearings are now digitized and freely available in HathiTrust. Tip: use the HathiTrust advanced search feature. Put "Committee" in the author field, "Hearing" in the title field, and limit further by date or words found in full text.
	Scattered issues ..........	Selected hearings are available in full text on GovInfo.
House Documents (Y 1.1/7) House Reports (Y 1.1/8)	1817-current .................	House and Senate Documents and Reports are compiled in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. See SERIAL SET, CONGRESSIONAL on this page.
	1817-current .................
I
Inaugural Addresses, Presidential	1789-current ..................	American Presidency Project
J (return to top)
Journals, House of Representatives	1992-current ...................	GovInfo.gov

L - M

L (return to top)
Laws (U.S. Code)	1926-current ...................	Hein Online
	1994-current ...................	GovInfo.gov
	Current ..........................	Cornell University Law School
Laws, Public and Private (slip)	1995-current ...................	GovInfo.gov
Legislative histories
Legislative histories	1887-current ...................	Proquest Legislative Insight
Legislation, (in force) See Code, U.S.
M (return to top)
Maps		Maps and Geographic Information LibGuide
		USGS Maps
		National Map

N - O - P - R


P (return to top)
Plum Book (policy and positions)	1996-current ..................	GovInfo.gov
Presidential documents	1993-current ..................	GovInfo.gov
Presidential documents	1965-current ..................	Hein Online
Presidential papers	1790-current ..................	American Presidency Project
R (return to top)
Regulations, federal
	1936-current ...................	Code of Federal Regulations

S

(return to top)
Senate Documents (Y 1.1/3:)	1817-present	House and Senate Documents and Reports are compiled and reprinted in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. See SERIAL SET, CONGRESSIONAL on this page.
Senate Executive Reports (Y 1.1/6:)
Senate Reports (Y 1.1/5:)
Serial Set, Congressional Note: The American State Papers, 1789‑1838 was the predecessor set.
	1817-1969 ......................	Microfiche set available offsite.

	1817-present..................	GovInfo.gov FULL TEXT: House and Senate Documents (1817-present) House and Senate Reports (1819-present)
	1810s-1990s ...................	HathiTrust Collection. This is a free online digital library that includes over 29,000 uploaded volumes. The Serial Set collection has been sectioned off from the rest of the library so that it can be searched
	1983-1998 (finding aid only) .............	You can get the Serial Set volume number using only the House Report, House Document, Senate Report or Senate Document number by checking United States Congressional Serial Set Catalog: Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes in Docs stacks under number GP 3.34. This source is available for the 98th-105th congresses only (1983-1998.)
	1981-present ..................	Check microfiche cabinets located to the north of the Documents stacks. Use the following system to find materials: Senate Documents - Y 1.1/3: [congress-rept#] Senate Treaty Documents- Y 1.1/4: [congress-rept#] Senate Reports - Y 1.1/5: [congress-rept#] Senate Executive Reports - Y 1.1/6: [congress-rept#] House Documents - Y 1.1/7: [congress-rept#] House Reports - Y 1.1/8: [congress-rept#] We have fiche for all of these starting with the 97th Congress.

Soil Surveys	1899-1901	Stored offsite- Dewey number - 631.08 Un31b
	1923-1966	MU ELLIS - Library of Congress call number - S 591 .A22
	Varies	Stored offsite - SuDoc number - A 57.38
	Varies	Online
Speeches, congressional		See Congressional Record (above)
Speeches, presidential		Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
State government publications
State government publications	1700s?-1950	Center for Research Libraries has more than a half million volumes of U. S. state government documents from the earliest periods through 1950. Excluded are internal agency newsletters, agricultural station publications, maps, and state court reports. Most of the collection is not cataloged. To identify resources, try to find state publications checklists, or contact CRL Access Services. CRL also maintains a collection of legislative journals through 1990.
State of the Union Address, Presidential	1790-current	American Presidency Project
State of the Union Address, Presidential	1994-current	GovInfo.gov
Statistics		USA.gov
	2013-2016	Statistical Abstract of the United States
	1878-2012	Statistical Abstract of the United States
		Historical Statistics of the US
Statutes at Large (session laws)	1951-2012	GovInfo.gov
	1789-1875	Library of Congress
	1789-2013	Constitution.org
	1789-current	Proquest Congressional
	1789-2006	Hein Online
Supreme Court Records and Briefs	1832-1978	US Supreme Court Records & Briefs
Supreme Court Records and Briefs	1999-2007	Find Law

T - U - V - W

T (return to top)
Technical reports		Nuclear Regulatory Commission
		Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS)
		Defense Technical Information Center
		Energy Citations Database
		National Transportation Library
		National Library of Energy
		NASA Technical Reports Server
Topographic Maps		Inventory of 7.5-minute topographic maps at the Geology Library
Topographic Maps		National Map - USGS Topo
Trademarks		Patent and Trademark Office
Travel by Members of Congress		Legistorm
Treaties	1950-1984	Hein Online
Treaties	1973-current	Congress.gov
Treaties, in force	current	US Department of State
Treaties, in force	1955-current	Treaties in force (print)
Treaties with Indian Tribes	All	Hein Online choose U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
	1778-1883	Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties (See Vol. 2 of printed set for Treaties) Or see full text in Hathi Trust
	1722-1869	Ratified Indian Treaties, Special Collections, microfilm

W (return to top)
Weekly Addresses, Presidential	current	Weekly Addresses