GOVERNMENT INFORMATION FOR ALL

LIBRARIES

VALUE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Changes in government publications and access to the government

New transparency & feedback mechanisms

Extends research resources

How the FDLP can assist you

TOP TOOLS FOR SEARCH &

TRANSPARENCY

USA.GOV Good browse options : http://www.usa.gov

WHITE HOUSE.GOV Blog, rapid posting of material Accountability websites Task Forces

REGULATIONS.GOV Consolidated place to:

find proposed regulationsFind accompanying documentsSubmit your comments

GPO ACCESS

Core government reference tools

Full text US Code, Federal Register, & Code of Federal Regulations

Aggregator site: some hosted material, lots of links to other sites

Generally organized by branches of the government

THOMAS Access to current and recent legislation:

Read the text of bills your Senators or Representative are considering

See how legislators voted on billsRead the text of speeches and debates in

Congress Updated daily Great access for materials 1989-present

http://thomas.loc.gov

http://thomas.loc.gov

HOUSE & SENATE SITES Quick access to contact information for

legislatorshttp://www.house.gov http://www.senate.gov

Access to Congressional committees/hearings

Senate Reference materials

FOLLOW THE MONEY What do these initiatives cost? What’s the budget for a specific program? What programs and governments get grant

money?

Office of Management & Budget (OMB)http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ Official Presidential budget

Recovery.govhttp://www.recovery.govAccounting for the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act

CONSOLIDATED FEDERAL FUNDS REPORT (CFFR) http://www.census.gov/govs/www/cffr.html Census Bureau database that breaks down

funding to state, county, & local governments/programs

Queryable database

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

http://www.cbo.gov Congressional watchdog Prolific reports on costs for proposed

legislation and new programs

DEEPER RESEARCH TOOLS

STATISTICAL SOURCES The U.S. Government is the largest

producer of statistical information in the world.

Data is needed in many kinds of research projects.

Statistical Abstract first

It can be helpful to ask, “Who would be interested in this data? Who would collect it?”

http://www.fedstats.gov

CENSUS BUREAU Data on most aspects of American life,

from basic demographics, to economics, to household characteristics.

Historical data on ethnicity, religion, finances, and more.

Census Bureau A to Z is good for pointing in the right direction.

http://www.census.gov

http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus

STATISTICAL SUPERSTARS Bureau of Economic Analysis Bureau of Justice Statistics Bureau of Labor Statistics Bureau of Transportation Statistics Energy Information Administration National Agricultural Statistics Service National Center for Education Statistics National Center for Health Statistics

SCIENCE.GOV URL: http://www.science.gov/ Cross-departmental Searches over 1,800 government science

websites (more than 50 million pages) Offers email alerts

Science Accelerator: http://www.scienceaccelerator.gov/

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

EPA website: http://www.epa.gov/ Always a good place to start for environmental

topicsOrganized by topic & links to related agencies

(good aggregation of info by subject)“Learn the Issues” tab and A-Z Index often best

places to start“Where you live” functions are powerful

CLIMATE SCIENCE RESOURCES National Climatic Data Center (NCDC):

http://www.ncdc.noaa.govFree access to detailed climate data for users

from .gov, .edu, .k12, .mil, and .us domains U.S. Climate Change Science Program:

http://www.climatescience.gov/Key climate change reports

EPA : http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ Links to policy documents Information on climate factors

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Publications Warehouse: http://pubs.usgs.gov Annual ReportsBulletinsCircularsOpen-File ReportsWater Supply PapersWater-Resources Investigations Reports

Science topics: http://www.usgs.gov/science/

Natural Hazards Information: http://www.usgs.gov/hazards/

WILDLIFE BIOLOGY

Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS): http://www.fws.gov/Endangered Species ProgramSpecies descriptionsWildlife refuges

USGS Biology Science Programs: http://biology.usgs.gov/

National Wildlife Research Center: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwrc/

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Nature & Science:

http://www.nature.nps.gov/Terrific site with biological, geological, and

general environmental informationAir & water quality dataNoise monitoring informationWildlife management

Specific park policies (like Yellowstone winter use) are in the Management/Park Planning sections of individual national park websites.

FORESTRY

Treesearch: http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/Lots of full-text, digitized research publicationsSearch by topic or citationMore than 24,000 publications, & more added all

the time

HEALTH INFORMATION

MedlinePlus: http://medlineplus.gov/Consumer-oriented side of MedlineOverview information on conditionsMedical encyclopedia & dictionaryDescriptions of drugs, supplements, and herbal

remedies

Healthfinder: http://www.healthfinder.gov/ Health library describing illnesses and

treatmentsDrug interaction checker

PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES

Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): http://www.samhsa.gov Office of Applied Studies releases many

publications on mental health and drug abuse topics.

Mental Health Work Group (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/index.htm

GIS/MAPPING RESOURCES Geodata.gov: http://www.geodata.gov

Government portal for GIS resources National Atlas:

http://www.nationalatlas.govGreat for thematic maps

National Map: http://www.nationalmap.gov Especially good for scientific info: topo,

geologic, and streamflow layers

RESOURCES FOR KIDS AND

TEACHERS

KIDS.GOV URL: http://www.kids.gov/

Organized by grade levelsHighlights good government science websites for

kids

KID-FRIENDLY SITES Most agencies have a student-oriented site

Example: EPA Student Center (http://www.epa.gov/students/)

National Security Agency (NSA) Cryptokids: http://www.nsa.gov/kids/

FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE (FREE) FREE: http://free.ed.gov/index.cfm Provide curricular materials by subject

WHAT ABOUT THE OLD STUFF?

DIGITAL INITIATIVES Google Book Project: http://books.google.com/

INITIATIVES, CONT. Open Content Alliance / Internet Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/USGovernmentDocuments Has separate section for digitized U.S. Government

Documents Librarians can submit materials for digital archive Better understanding of copyright-free status

CENSUS BUREAU Digitized copies of historical statistical

volumes: http://www.census.gov/history/ Bicentennial Edition: Historical Statistics of the

United States, Colonial Times to 1970Historical Census ReportsStatistical Abstract of the U.S.: 1878-present (

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/past_years.html)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS American Memory collection:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

Government information digital collections: http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/digital-collections CRS reportsExperiment Station PublicationsFederal NewsmapsFCC RecordUSDA publications

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA

American Presidency Project: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu Messages and Papers of the Presidents: Washington

to Taft (1789-1913) Public Papers of the Presidents: Hoover to Bush

(1929-1993) Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents:

Clinton to G.W. Bush (1993-2008)

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Digital Collections: http://digital.library.okstate.edu Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws & Treaties Indian Claims Commission Decisions

FRENCH NATIONAL LIBRARY

Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Reports: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb37575968z/date

THANKS!

Questions?