Looking for Government Publications?

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Okay, you have heard it before – starting with the right online tool will save time. One such tool when looking for Federal publications is the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. The Government Printing Office (GPO) maintains the site. They describe the catalog as “the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online.” The GPO indicates that this database currently holds more than a half million documents dating back to 1976. The researcher can query by title, subject, keyword, or agency. The site also supports a great “advanced search” option.

The user decides which “view” the results list will be displayed – either brief or extended. Both include the title of the publication, the year, and the URL if it is available online. Selecting the full record (click on “view”), will display the full bibliographic record. If the document is not available online, the searcher can choose “locate a library” and quickly find where the item is held locally. If the search produces too many results, the “refine” option helps narrow the hit list. If you are not ready to print, you can email selected items.