U.S. Government Information
Sonoma County Library is a Federal Depository Library
The Sonoma County Library has been in partnership with the United
States Government Printing Office, through the Federal Depository
Library Program, since 1896. We are a selective depository and we
receive about 30% of the items published by U.S. agencies that
are
available though this program. We primarily serve the people
of the 6th Congressional District, but access to all
government-published material is free and open to anyone visiting
the Central Branch of the Sonoma County Library at Third & E
Streets, Santa Rosa, CA, phone 707-545-0831.
Assistance in using materials in our documents collection is available at the Reference Desk, and anyone with a Sonoma County Library card may check out all circulating materials, including books, periodicals, pamphlets, and CD-ROMs. We are happy to loan materials to patrons outside of our service area through inter-library loan; please contact your local library.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications This is an excellent way to determine if the Sonoma County Library has received a particular document. Once you locate the item you are interested in, click on the Locate Libraries button, type in 707 (our area code) and if we received the item our Directory Information will appear.
A Guide to United States Online Resources
Searching For United States Government Information on the Internet
- USA.Gov the "U.S. government's official web portal" is a gateway to extensive Federal information, forms, and services available on the Internet (formerly Firstgov)
- Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information from the librarians at the ALA Government Documents Round Table
- Grants.gov for finding government scholarships and grants
- Science.gov "a gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies, including research and development results." Searchable or use the directory of topics.
- GPO Access: Official Federal Government Information At Your Fingertips
- Core Documents of U.S. Democracy on GPO Access
- Government Google - Google's Uncle Sam search
- Federal Depository Library Program Electronic Collection "a comprehensive digital library of U.S. Government information, drawn from a wide variety of sources, and sharing the attributes of being of public interest or educational value and produced entirely at taxpayer expense."
- Browse Topics service arranges Federal Government Internet sites by topic. The main list of topics is based upon the current Guide to U.S. Government Information, also known as the Subject Bibliography Index.
- GovEngine.com
- Federal Agency Internet Sites Link directly to agency Web sites after searching an index or viewing a list of agencies that reflects the structure of the government as identified in The United States Government Manual. Indentations (syndetic structures) will inform the reader of the institution's place in the big picture. This site is brought to the web through a service partnership between Louisiana State University Libraries and GPO.
- Government Information Locator Service (GILS) GPO maintains a series of GILS records describing the information of Cabinet-level and major independent Federal agencies, called Pathway records, that are designed to assist depository libraries and their users locate and access Federal information.
- America Anywhere - Phone numbers and websites for U.S. Federal Agencies.
- USLinks: U.S. Federal Government Agencies Database
- GPO Access Databases A - Z list of GPO Access online resources. Search across multiple databases or do a detailed search of a specific database.
- GPO Access WAIS Server - Full text of the Congressional Record, Federal Register, US bills & laws and more
- Ready Reference Sources - Frequently used government document sources. From Columbia University.
- Subject Bibliographies Browse bibliographies by subjects to identify publications, subscriptions, and electronic products for sale by the Superintendent of Documents.
- Government Databases by Subject from Indiana University
- Ben's Guide to US Government for Kids
- Fedstats: One Stop Shopping Federal Statistics
- Federal Depository Library Directory
Departments
- Department of Agriculture
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Defense
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy
- Department of Health & Human Services
- Department of Homeland
Security
- US Citizenship & Immigration
Services (USCIS)
(formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service, INS)
- US Citizenship & Immigration
Services (USCIS)
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Justice
- Department of Labor
- Department of State
- Department of Transportation
- Department of the
Treasury
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
- Bureau of the Public Debt includes information on Savings Bonds, Treasury Bonds, etc.
- Internal Revenue Service
- Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of the President
Agencies
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Consumer Information Center
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Government Printing Office (GPO)
- Library of Congress
- Medicare
- National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Peace Corps
- Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC)
- SEC Online Publications for Investors - good information about "how the securities industry works, how you can avoid costly mistakes and fraud, and how to plan for a secure future."
- Small Business Administration (SBA)
- Social Security Administration (SSA)
- Smithsonian Institution
- US Postal Service
- United States Supreme Court
Congress
- United States Senate
- United States House of Representatives
- The U.S. Legislative Branch from the Library of Congress - links to Legislative Branch Internet Resources
- Senate Committees and Subcommittees
- House Committees and Subcommittees
- OpenCRS Congressional reports online
Laws
- United States Code
- Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet from the Library of Congress
- Senate, House, & Treaty Documents from GPO Access - searchable
- Public & Private Laws from GPO Access - searchable
- U.S. Copyright Act
- Code of Federal Regulations from GPO Access - searchable
- Federal Register from GPO Access - searchable
- Congressional Record from GPO Access - searchable
- LLSDC: Legislative Source Book an excellent starting place for tracking current legislation
Courts
- US Courts From the Judicial Branch of the United States.
- Federal Court Locator From Villanova University
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Supreme Court Case Lookups From Findlaw
- Selected Historic Supreme Court Cases From Cornell
Statistical Resources
- National Center for Health Statistics
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- National Agricultural Statistics Service
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Bureau of Transportation Statistics
- Childstats - Federal and State statistics and reports concerning children.
- Agingstats - Federal agencies that produce or use statistics on aging.
- Statistical Abstract of the United States
- STAT-USA "a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the site for the U.S. business, economic and trade community" and USA-Trade Online import and export statistics. These databases are available for use in our Central Library in Santa Rosa only and require a password. Please inquire at the Central Reference Desk for assistance [707-545-0831].
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- White House Links to Economic Statistics
- White House Links to Social Statistics
- US Census Bureau
- Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers - current series
Other Resources
- Census of Agriculture
- Economic Census
- Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
- Budget of the United States Government
- Catalog of Domestic Federal Assistance
- Core Documents of U.S. Democracy from GPO Access
- Forms from the Feds - Easy access to 500 of the most popular government forms.
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
- The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
- Reports of the United States Surgeon General
- Occupational Outlook Handbook
- Search Copyright Office Records
- Publications on the Internet - an Illinois Institute of Technology website of links to government publications by agency and by Superintendent of Documents classification.
- Migrating Government Publications - Access to publications that are in electronic format only.
Just For Kids - Visit Uncle Sam Wants to Help
You! for more government resources
just for children.
Ben's Guide to US
Government for Kids