Research guides: Foreign government information: General resources

Major resources

USA.gov
- portal of U.S. Federal Government
- first stop to find any government information online
- indexes individual reports and bills
- A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments & Agencies
- mobile apps available
Govinfo (GPO)
- Provides access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government
- Browse by Category
GPO Metalib
- simultaneously searches 50+ federal government publication catalogs, federal library catalogs, and specialized indexes
- supplements catalog of government publications with records for such items as articles within government periodicals and technical reports resulting from government contracts
- pulls in non-government publications, such as the medical literature indexed in the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed and the millions of items described in the Library of Congress Catalog
United States Government Google Custom Search
- Search for government information from the United States of America
- Searches sites including: *.gov, *.mil
Government web harvest: Congressional and Federal (The National Archives, 2004+)
Data.gov
- public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the executive branch of the federal government
HathiTrust Digital Library
- Login to the HathiTrust site with your UTORid and password to download books
Open Government Guide
- Reporters Committee for freedom of the Press
- covers state's open records and open meetings laws
Datalumos (ICPSR)
A crowd-sourced repository for government data resources.

Catalogs

Catalog of United States Government Publications (also called the Monthly Catalog) is the most comprehensive source of information on federal government publications.

Monthly publication since 1895, cumulated seminannually and annually.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
- 1976 +
- links to many online U.S. Government publications
Monthly Catalog: U.S. government publications
- ProQuest
- 1895 - June 1976
- University of Toronto only
Monthly catalog of United States government publications
- 1895 - 2004
- annual index has author, title, subject, series/report index and title keyword
- monthly publication has title keyword index
- before July 1976
- after July 1976
- both MoCat numbers and SuDocs numbers after 1925
Monthly catalog: U.S. government publications
- University of Illinois and Internet Archive
- 1895 -1970 (incompleted)
- full text scans
- formats include: flip book, PDF, B/W PDF, DjVu
- text, basic and advanced search are available in PDF format
Guide to U.S. Government Publications
- 1973+
- Originally known as the Andriot's Guide to U.S. Government Serials and Periodicals
- Annotated guide to the important series, periodicals, and reference tools published by U.S. Government agencies.

Budget & economic data

USASpending.gov
The budget of the United States Government
- 1956/57, 1963/64 - current
Budget of the United States Government (Govinfo)
- 1996+
Fraser
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Congressional Budget Justifications
- These are submissions from each federal agency to Congress to accompany the President's budget
- They are available on each agency's website
Disaster Relief Fund: Monthly Report

Elections

Federal election laws, results, and voting history
Election statistics
- in .pdf format (1920 - present)
U.S. Elections: for public opinion research (Roper Centre)
- Presidential Elections, 1976+
- Primary Exit Polls, 1976+
- National Election Day Exit Polls, 1972+
- State Election Day Exit Polls, 1978
- Popular Votes, 1960+
Electing the President: Proceedings of the Republican National Conventions, 1856-1988
- primary source collections that cover the proceedings of the Republican National Conventions
- includes speeches, debates, votes, and party platforms
- also included are lists of names of convention delegates and alternates
- Records of the earliest proceedings are based in part on contemporary newspaper accounts
Electing the President: Proceedings of the Democratic National Conventions, 1832-1988
- primary source collections that cover the proceedings of the Democratic National Conventions
- includes speeches, debates, votes, and party platforms
- also included are lists of names of convention delegates and alternates
- Records of the earliest proceedings are based in part on contemporary newspaper accounts
Russian interference in the 2016 election (Durham Report)
- Special Counsel's Office (U.S. Department of Justice)
- The Indictment
The Minority Voter, Election of 1936 and the Good Neighbour League
- A case study of minority involvement and support in an American presidential campaign

Environment & Climate changes

Freedom of Information

FOIAonline
- allows you to submit FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests to all participating agencies from this website, track the status of requests, search for requests submitted by others, and generate up-to-the-minute reports on FOIA processing.
Governmentattic.org
- provides electronic copies of Federal Government documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
- Click to "FOIA LOGS" or "DOCUMENTS" to get the actual documents
MuckRock
- provides a repository of original government materials requested via FOIA
- contains information on how to file FOIA requests, and tools to make the requesting process easier.

Historical Sources

Making of America (MoA)
- 1850 - 1877
- primary sources related to development of U.S. infrastructure
- strong collection in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology
The American founding era collection
- includes papers of
The Presidential Libraries
Historical Publications of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
- from the University of Maryland
Development of Environmental Health Policy: Pope A. Lawrence Papers 1924-1983
- a collection of correspondences, field studies, reports, scientific data, photographs, maps and publications relating to the research and career of Pope A. Lawrence, an environmental health scientist with the Public Health Service (PHS) and the Environmental Health Agency (EPA) during the 1950s to 1970s

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800 This link opens in a new window
Books, pamphlets, and broadsides published during the 17th and 18th centuries, from the bibliography by Charles Evans and Roger Bristol's Supplement. Subjects covered include economics, government, law, literature, philosophy, science, and more.
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819 This link opens in a new window
Eight Centuries This link opens in a new window
A database covering source material dating from 1106 until 1960, aggregating indexes, catalogs, collections, and other finding aids. 8C provides access to articles, newspapers, books, U.S. patents, government documents, and images, with links to full-text where available.

Checklist of United States public documents 1789-1909, congressional
- 3rd edition
- Congressional: to close of Sixtieth Congress, Departmental: to end of the calendar year 1909
- v. 1 lists congressional and departmental publications
- Digitized version of the Checklist
- Arranged by SuDoc number and is useful for tracing a particular agency's publication from the time it was established to 1909.
A Descriptive catalogue of the government publications of the United States, September 5, 1774-March 4, 1881
- referred to as "Poore".
- chronological list with a subject index
- weak in coverage of departmental documents
- Serial Set numbers not included for congressional reports or documents
Comprehensive index to the publications of the United States government, 1881-1893
- referred to as "Ames"
- picks up coverage in 1881 when "Poore" leaves off
- weak in coverage of departmental documents
- Serial set numbers are provided for congressional reports and documents
Catalogue of the public documents of the ... Congress and of all departments of the Government of the United States
- 1893 - 1940
- referred to as "Document Catalog"
- coverage of presidential proclamations, executive orders and articles in periodicals that were regularly issued
- 56th congress (1899-1901)+ : includes references to Serial Set volume numbers for congressional reports and documents.

Housing

Public Housing, Racial Policies, and Civil Rights: The Intergroup Relations Branch of the Federal Public Housing Administration, 1936-1963
- includes directives and memoranda related to the Public Housing Administration's policies and procedures. Records in this collection document the distribution of federal programs that initially supported white middle-class families purchasing houses in the suburbs but contributed to a downward income shift in the public housing population
- Documents include civil rights correspondence, statements, and policies about racial discrimination and housing, court cases, and many more

Immigration

US immigration law and policy library (HeinOnline)
Reports of the Immigrant Commission,1907-1910
- Contain 41 bound volumes of reports by the U.S. Immigration Commission, analyzing the waves of immigration to America in the early 1900s and their effects on the country
- Provide information on nationalities of immigrants and their integration into U.S. society

Indian Affairs

U.S. Congressional Serial Set: Indian Affairs
- Agencies, committees, and other organizations relating to Indian affairs
- Indian reservations
- Indian treaties
- Names of Indian tribes
- Subjects specific to Indian affairs
- Laws relating to Indian affairs
- Supreme Court cases relating to Indian affairs
Annotated Bibliography of Native American History from United States Federal Documents: Print and Online Resources
Proquest Indian Claims Insight
- The resource includes primary source documents that support U.S. Indian claims from 1789-present as well as State/Territory& Nation and Tribe histories.
- Support resources include a libguide with detailed search strategies for the database and help searching for Indian claims more generally.
Federal Websites for and about American Indians
The War Department and Indian Affairs, 1800-1824
- a collection of correspondences to and from the War Department; financial documents such as vouchers, receipts, and financial statements; depositions, legal documents such as contracts, trade licenses, and passports for travel in the Indian country; and newspapers, speeches, conference proceedings appointments, and instructions to commissioners, superintendents, agents, and other officials.
Native American Tribal Histories, Series 1-4, 1813 - 1880 (Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA)
- Includes documents related to many nations and tribal communities, including Apache, Arapaho, Blackfeet, Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Creek, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Klamath, Lummi, Mandan, Mojave, Navajo, and others.

Scientific Sources

Science.gov

PubMed This link opens in a new window
Public version of Medline, the core database for health sciences disciplines. This platform is best for quick clinical searches.

National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
Office of Scientific & Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)
WorldWide Science
Development of Environmental Health Policy: Pope A. Lawrence Papers 1924-1983
- a collection of correspondences, field studies, reports, scientific data, photographs, maps and publications relating to the research and career of Pope A. Lawrence, an environmental health scientist with the Public Health Service (PHS) and the Environmental Health Agency (EPA) during the 1950s to 1970s.
SciTech Connect (Department of Energy)

Web archives

Directories

United States Government Manual
- 1995+
- official handbook of the U.S. federal government
- comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches
- includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees
- United States Government Organization Chart
United States Government Manual
- University of Toronto only
- 1935+
- Title varies: 1949 - 72 as "U.S. Government Organization Manual"
United States government organization manual
- 1936+
A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies
- from USA.gov
United States government policy and supporting positions (Plum book)
- from FDsys
- published after each Presidential election
- identifies presidentially appointed positions within the federal government
- provides information such as general salary levels for appointed government officials and expiration dates for some terms of service
Federal Government Mobile Apps Directory

Periodical and Government Documents Indexes

Government Documents Indexes (Eight Centuries Content)
- click to "Resources List View" then "Government Documents Indexes"
- includes American State Papers, Annals of Congress, Register of Debates, Congressional Globe and etc.

PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
International research in public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations. Provides access to journal articles, books, government documents, research and conference reports, and more.

Index to U.S. government periodicals
- 1983-1987

Miscellaneous

Constitution of the United States (GPO)
100 Milestone Documents (National Archives and Records Administration)
Core Documents of U.S. Democracy (FDsys)
- a selective list of very important government publications as being "key to an informed democratic process"
Google patent search
- 1790s+
- all patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
The Oxford Guide to the United States Government
- University of Toronto only
- authoritative information on the American presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court
- includes search and browse indexes
Government Documents in the Archives Library Information Center (National Archives and Records Administration)
- includes finding aids and research guides to U.S. government information.
CIAO: U.S. Government working papers (Columbia International Affairs Online)
- working papers from university research institutes
PolicyFile
- access to U.S. foreign and domestic policy papers and grey literature
- updated weekly
- abstracts and links to the latest reports, papers, and documents from think tanks, research institutes, and agencies
Avalon Project (Yale Law School)
- primary documents arranged by time period and subject
- September 11, 2001: Attack on America
American Oversight
- Ukraine-Related Documents Obtained by American Oversight
Country Commercial Guides
- Market research by country
Government funding
- Assistance Listings: formerly Catalog of federal Domestic Assistance
- Grants.gov
FEDLINK: United States Federal Collection (Internet Archive)
Government Documents Media
GovSpeak: A Guide to Government Acronyms & Abbreviations (University of San Diego)
Locating United States Government Information: A Guide to Sources
- J83 .H46 1997
Selected Bibliography of US Government and International Documents on Latin America and the Caribbean
National Criminal Justice Reference Service

Research Guides

Foreign government information