What does Government Information include?
Statistics, administrative reports, committee and commission reports, debates in the legislature, research reports, official policy statements, speeches of public officials, rules and regulations, consumer information, maps and charts, periodicals, directories, bibliographies, regulatory decisions and opinions, and more.

Information is produced and distributed at all levels of government: local, state, U.S. federal, international intergovernmental organizations, and foreign governments.

General Resources

• How to Effectively Locate Government Information on the World Wide Web,
  Sherry DeDecker, Head, Government Information Center, University of California, Santa Barbara.

• Google-UncleSam, searches internet domains .gov or .mil. This includes
  U.S. federal, state, and military sites. http://google.com/unclesam
  

• Government Information Resources, Davis Library, Reference Department.
  
• Quick Reference-Government Information, Davis Library, Reference Department.
  


• Searching for Government Information, Davis Library, Reference Department.
  
• Article Databases and More, Davis Library Home Page. Government information databases.
  

U.S. Federal Government:

• Quick Reference - Federal Information, Davis Library, Reference Department.
  
• FirstGov, "The official government gateways for citizens, business, and government employees." http://www.firstgov.gov/
  
• GPO Access, U.S. executive, legislative, and judicial information, full-text. http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
  
• Thomas, Legislative information from the Library of Congress.
  


• FedStats, a gateway to statistics from over 100 federal agencies.
  
• U.S. Census Bureau, detailed information is available for the 1990 and 2000 census.
• Finding Data on the Internet, a Journalists Guide. From RobertNiles.com.

• Freedom of Information Act Guide (FOIA) from the Department of Justice. Links to FOIA contacts at other federal agencies.

• Links to U.S. Government News, InfoUSA, U.S. Department of State.
• News/Press Releases from Federal Agencies, National Contact Center, Federal Consumer Information Center.

• Useful Web Links for Journalists, U.S. Department of State.
• News Media Page, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Press Resources, DefenseLink, U.S. Department of Defense.

• Internet Resources of Interest to Journalists Covering the Environment, Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.
• Journalists' Guide to Remote Sensing Resources on the Internet.

• Federal Government Information, the Journalist's Tool Box.

U.S. State Governments:

• Quick Reference, State Information, Davis Library, Reference Deparment.
  
• FirstGov, State and U.S. Territory Resources.
  
• Quick Reference, North Carolina Resources, Davis Library, Reference Deparment.
  
• Useful Links for Journalists, New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.
• State/Local Information, the Journalist's Tool Box.

• Foreign Governments, Davis Library, Reference Department.

International Intergovernmental Organizations:

• Quick Reference-International Information, Davis Library, Reference Deparment.
  
• International Governmental Organizations, Davis Library, Reference Deparment.

• United Nations
  • United Nations Multimedia, links to the News Center, radio, television and video, and photo.
  • UN Links, from the UN News Center. Links to press/news pages of other UN-related organizations.
  • Security Council Meetings.

U.S. States

• We have material from all 50 states.
• We have a small collection of North Carolina publications. The North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library is the campus depository for North Carolina publications.
• State publications are not listed in the library online catalog; ask at the Reference Desk for assistance.

• Our collection includes material published since the 18th century.
• Most items published since 1976 listed in online catalog.
• Indexes for pre-1976 publications are available in the Davis Reference Department. Ask at the Reference Desk for assistance.

• Foreign government publications are listed in the UNC-CH Online Catalog by agency, title, and subject.
• The Reference Department has a large collection of indexes to historical British publications.

• UNC-CH has been a UN depository since 1946. The collection is shelved in the basement of Davis Library. Ask at the Davis Reference Desk for assistance.
• UNBISnet. Indexes United Nations publications. http://unbisnet.un.org/ Many, but not all, of the documents indexed are available in the Davis Library Reference Department.

• Most publications from international organizations--NATO, European Union, Council of Europe, etc. are listed in the UNC-CH Online Catalog.
• Ask at the Reference Desk if you can't find a publication listed in the online catalog.
• Duke University is a depository for European Union publications.

Declassified Documents
There were several questions about declassified documents during our class session. Here are a few websites if you want more information.

• Declassified Documents Reference System, a UNC-CH Library Article Database.
• Department of State, an extensive collection of declassified material.
• Gulflink, declassified documents from the Gulf War, 1991.
• Electronic Reading Room, from the CIA. Includes such topis as: UFO's, Bay of Pigs, Guatemala, etc. You can do a search or just browse through a list of documents.
• National Security Archive, George Washington University. This includes many free declassified documents as well as various collections that need to be purchased--those are available at Duke University under the "Digital National Security Archive."

Public Access to Government Information in the 21st Century, statement of Daniel P. O'Mahony, Brown University Library, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. This covers the importance and value of government information.

Key Principles on Government Information, from the Government Documents Round Table, American Library Association.

Morehead, Joe, 1931- Introduction to United States government information sources / 6th ed. Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1999. Z1223.Z7 M665 1999. Copies available at the Davis Reference Desk, SILS Reference, and Law Reference.

Morehead, Joe, 1931- Essays on public documents and government policies / New York : Haworth Press, c1986. Z688.G6 M67 1986, SILS Lib and Law stacks

Robinson, Judith Schiek: Tapping the Government Grapevine, 3rd ed. Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Press, 1998. ZA5055.U6 R63 1998. Copies available in Davis, Davis Reference, SILS, and Law Reference.

Hardy, Gayle J., 1942- Subject guide to U.S. government reference sources / 2nd ed. Englewood, Colo. : Libraries Unlimited, 1996. Z1223.Z7 R63 1996. Copies available at the Davis Reference Desk, SILS Reference Desk, and Law Reference.

Of particular interest to journalists is:
Covering Government: a Civics Handbook for Journalists. Rob Armstrong, Iowa State Press, 2002. 268 pages. A concise, handy, practical overview of the U.S. federal government and state and local governments. Available in Davis Library, JK276.A76 2002 and the Park Library, REP .A737 2002