Government Information

Contents of this page:

What are government publications, and why would I want to use them?

Government information includes any publications issued by local, state, national, or international governments. The documents collection has information on topics ranging from AIDS to the environment. In fact, it is hard to think of a topic you would not find in government documents.

Government information includes laws, regulations, statistics, consumer information, and much more. Government information is generally considered to be reliable.

Government publications in Carrier Library and online

As a federal government depository, Carrier Library receives about fifty percent of the government agency publications as they are produced and a complete collection of Congressional hearings since 1976. Carrier Library is also a depository for Virgina state government documents.

Both the U.S. and Virginia documents collections are located on the first floor. U.S. documents are classified by Sudocs number. Virginia documents are arranged by department or agency. There is no index for Virginia state government documents, but you may wish to browse through this collection on Stack 2B.

Most government documents circulate, just like books.

 

  • Locations of important government documents
  • Map of government documents area

In addition to the documents collection in the library, you can find many federal and state documents on the Internet.

How to find government information

The best way to find government information in agency publications, legislation, court cases, and hearings is to use the following sources:

  • LEO Library Catalog
    Federal documents in Carrier Library are cataloged in LEO. Search by topic and Limit to "Where Item is Located" - Gov't Documents

  • GPO Access
    Search for information on your topic in Congressional bills, Congressional Record, U.S. Code, Federal Regulations, Federal Register, U.S. Budget and more. You may download the full text of a bill or law.

  • LexisNexis Congressional
    Full-text of bills, laws, regulations, and much more.

  • U.S. Code - the body of law of the United States

  • Code of Virginia - searchable

  • Virginia General Assembly
    Bills and resolutions by session. Great place to check on the status of VA legislation.

  • LawGuru
    Full text of Virginia Supreme Court opinions, Virginia Code, and Virginia General Assembly Bills, as well as similar documents for 47 other states and the United States.

  • U.S. Supreme Court Decisions
Send comments to: Lynn Cameron
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