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Intro to Government Information

This guide will orient patron and librarians to the types of government information available, where to find government information, and how to use government information to answer reference questions.

Finding Federal Documents

https://www.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.

Contents include:

  • Congressional reports
  • Mandated reports
  • Official publications

Search Techniques:

•Keyword Search: Enter relevant terms such as “2024 Education Funding”
•Advanced Search: Use filters like publication date, document type, (e.g., report, hearing)
•Example: Search for “Congressional Report on Education Funding 2024”
•Steps: Enter keywords, apply filters, review results
•Accessing Documents: Options to view online or download in PDF format

Visit GovInfo.gov's Tutorial and Handouts page for more instructions on how to search the site:

https://www.govinfo.gov/help/tutorials-handouts

https://metalib.gpo.gov/

MetaLib.gpo.gov is a service of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)! MetaLib is a federated search engine that searches multiple U.S. Federal government databases, retrieving reports, articles, and citations while providing direct links to selected resources available online.

Features:

  • Broad search across multiple federal agencies
  • Search by topic or agency, refine results

Search Techniques:

  • Broad Search: Enter general terms related to your topic, e.g., “Climate Change”
  • Refinement: Use filters to narrow results by agency or date
  • Example: Search for “Executive Agency Reports on Climate Change”
  • Steps: Enter broad search terms, refine results by document type
  • Accessing Documents: Links to documents from various agency sources

Vist MetaLib.gpo.gov's help page for more instructions on how to search the site:

Help Page on MetaLib.gpo.gov

Websites of individual federal agencies often host their latest reports and documents. Find websites and contact information for federal government agencies at USA.gov's A-Z index of U.S. government departments and agencies: https://www.usa.gov/agency-index

Search Techniques:

  • Start from the main agency website
  • Look for dedicated document or report sections
  • Use the search functions on the site

Finding State Documents

The State of Arizona Research Library is the regional Federal Depository Library and the central depository for all official Arizona state publications (per ARS 41-151.09(link is external).

The Arizona State Publications Collection attempts to maintain a robust collection of publications produced by Arizona government agencies from territorial days to present. The collection includes items such as annual reports, newsletters, audits, special reports and studies. This does not include agency correspondence, intra- or inter-office memoranda, permanent public records, meeting minutes , routine forms or press releases.

Search for Arizona state publications in the Research Library catalog: https://azlibrary.gov/research_catalog (Note: Not all items are cataloged. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please submit a reference request and Research Library staff will assist.)

Digitized items from the Arizona State Publications Collection are available on the State of Arizona Research Library's Arizona Memory Project: https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/nodes/view/65

(Note: Not all items are digitized. If you cannot find what you are looking for on the Arizona Memory Project, please submit a reference request and Research Library staff will assist. In many cases, there is a print copy in the Research Library catalog and staff are able to digitize and upload material to the Arizona Memory Project upon request.)

Arizona State University Library hosts the Arizona State and Local Government Documents collection. It consists of over 45,000 documents published since 1912. View more information here about their collection and how to access it: https://libguides.asu.edu/salad

Websites of individual state agencies, boards, and commissions often host their latest reports and documents. Find websites for state government agencies at AZ Direct: https://azdirect.az.gov/agencies

Search Engines

Google or other search engines - You can enter site:.gov before your search term to limit results to government websites. You can enter site:.mil to limit results to military websites. This is helpful you are unsure which federal agency may have published information about your topic of interest.