Rapid Response Reference Federal Government Information

Rapid Response Reference The Government: #1 Information

Collector and Publisher: Federal and Kentucky Government Documents

Presenter: Leigh TroutmanReference / Federal Government Documents Librarian

Kentucky Department for Libraries and ArchivesContact: leigh.troutman@ky.gov or phone 502-564-8300, ext. 330

What are Federal Government Documents? • Federal Government Documents are publications

produced by the government and its agencies and may be in any format, such as, paper, electronic, microform, audiocassette, videocassette, etc.

• The U.S. Government is the largest publisher in the world and distributes these publications through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). The United States government provides a variety of information from laws and regulations to presidential documents to consumer health information.

A Little Bit of History

• The 1860 Printing Act authorized the Superintendent of Public Printing to execute the public printing himself, and to purchase the necessary buildings, machinery, and materials for that purpose.

• 1895 = General Printing Act (U.S. Code Title 44) requires government printing to be centralized through Government Printing Office (GPO) and creates system of Federal Depository Libraries.

• 1962 = Depository Library Act allows libraries to choose which government documents to receive, which creates selective depositories. KDLA is a selective depository; we currently select 38% of all federal government documents.

Federal Depository Libraries in Kentucky

• Regionals – University of Kentucky

• Selectives – 20 in Kentucky – To find http://www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html

• ILL available – Circulation policies vary (KDLA lends all federal

government documents, including microfiche and videos, except those documents shelved with the reference or AV collections).

How to Find Federal Government Documents

• Portals

• Directories

• GPO Access

• OPACs

Web Portals: Government One Stop Shopping FirstGov the “Official Portal to the U.S. Government” http://www.firstgov.gov - Cross Agency Portals http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Cross_Agency_Portals.shtml

• Careers http://www.careervoyages.gov • Science http://www.science.gov• Child and Family Statistics http://www.childstats.gov • Emergency Preparedness http://www.ready.gov • Disaster Management http://www.DisasterHelp.gov• My Money http://www.mymoney.gov• Recalls http://www.recalls.gov• Invasive Species http://www.invasivespecies.gov • Federal Forms http://www.forms.gov • Spanish Speakers http://www.espanol.gov

Search Engine • Google (Uncle Sam) searches only .mil and .gov internet websites

http://www.google.com/unclesam

Print and Electronic Resources for Locating Federal Government Documents

• The United States Government Manual 2004-2005 updated annually “the official handbook of the Federal Government” provides background information, contact information, and Web addresses for Federal agencies http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html

• U.S. Blue Pages search by state, city, area code, agency or service, and keyword from the U.S. General Services Administration, Federal Technology Service http://www.usbluepages.gov/gsabluepages/default.aspx

• Duke University Federal Government Agencies Database with federal government agencies acronyms index http://www.lib.duke.edu/texis/uslinks/uslinks

• U.S. Federal Government Agencies Directory source for finding specific agencies’ websites arranged by hierarchy and alphabetically from LSU Libraries http://www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html

GPO Access

Catalog of Government Publications

CGP

Advanced Search

Results

PURL

Locate Libraries

Kentucky Libraries

Searching the KDLA Catalog for Federal Government Documents

KDLA Cataloghttp://kdla.kyvl.org

KDLA Website http://www.kdla.ky.gov

Combination Search

• The combination search provides options for combining multiple keywords and phrases from different parts of the catalog record.

Combination Search: Set Limits

• To limit the search to Federal Government Documents click “set limits” in lower right corner.

Combination Search: Set Limits Example

• Select “Federal Government Documents”• Click “Set Limits” to return to search• Search as usual (i.e. title, subject, keyword...)

Federal Government Documents on the Internet

• The United States Government is now publishing many of its documents in electronic format, which are available on the Internet and may be accessed through the KDLA catalog.

• If a document is on the Internet the item will have a category of “Internet Access” and there will be a link to the document. Simply click on the link and the web page with the requested document will appear.

Searching for Federal Government Documents on the Internet

• Include “http” as a “Keyword Anywhere” search

Result of Columbia Accident Report Search

• In the category of “Internet Access” click on the blue link to go to the document on the Internet

Columbia Accident Report

Quick Limit Search

• The quick limit search allows a single search statement to be easily limited to one format or collection.

Quick Limit Search: Set Limits

• To limit the search to Federal Government Documents select a Quick Limit of “Federal Government Documents”

Quick Limit: Different Ways to Search

• Keyword or “Phrase” Anywhere or Keyword (use and, or not “Phrase”) Place phrase in “quotation marks”

• Title, Author, Subject (keyword, phrase) Searches multiple words as phrase Finds words, phrases anywhere in chosen search field

• Title, Author, Subject (exact) Searches from left to right Search term or phrase must be at the beginning of the title, author, subject

• Examples: Searching “Patriot Act” in Keyword or “Phrase” Anywhere finds: Patriot Act in

titles, subjects, notes… 

Searching Census in Subject (keyword or phrase) finds Federal Government Documents on the Census

  Searching Bush George W. in Author/Creator (exact) finds: speeches by George W.

Bush

Quick Limit: Example Search

• Searching “bush george w” and “homeland security” as a “Keyword (use and, or, not “phrase”)”

Quick Limit: Example Results

• 13 Results, including a document on the Internet as indicated by the [electronic resource] in the title.

Electronic Resource• “Internet Access” category with website address for locating the document on the Internet, click the blue link to be taken directly to the document.

KDLA: Federal Government Documents

KDLA: Federal Government Documents

BREAK!

15 minute Break

Government Information for Adults • General Consumer Information

– Federal Citizen Information Center– Consumer.gov

• Health Information– U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory – National Center for Health Statistics

• Business Information / Employment Data– Business.gov– Small Business Administration – U.S. Patent and Trademark – Census Data

• County Business Patterns and Economic Surveys

• Grant Information – Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance – Grants.gov – GovBenefits.gov

• Elections – Election Data (including campaign finances)

• Products – Household Products Database– Fueleconomy.gov

Government Information for Teachers• General

– Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)– Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) – Educator’s Reference Desk– Browse Topics

• Government– Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids

• History– Library of Congress’ Learning Page for Teachers– Library of Congress’ American’s Story / Kentucky – Our Documents – Digital Classroom

• Science / Environment – Science.gov – U.S. Geological Survey / Teachers – U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Education Center– NASA Teacher’s Corner

• Math – H.I.P. Pocket Change (U.S. Treasury)

Government Information for Parents• General

– First Gov for Parents • Children

– Healthy Start, Grow Smart Series – Childcare.gov

• School – U.S. Education Department / Parents– Helping Your Child Series– Afterschool.gov

• Safety – Internet Safety – Consumer Safety – U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Parent’s Corner

Government Information for Seniors• General

– FirstGov for Seniors – Administration on Aging

• Disability– DisabilityInfo.gov

• Fraud– Federal Trade Commission – Identity Theft

• Health – Healthfinder– Medline Plus– Hospital Compare– Nursing Home Compare

• Retirement– Social Security – Recreation.gov

Government Information for Kids• General

– FirstGov for Kids– America’s Teens – Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government

• Students – Students.gov– Copyright.gov – Students College Search – Student Aid on the Web

• Careers – Occupational Outlook Handbook – America’s CareerInfoNet – Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Information

• More Government Information for Kids– Federal Government Kid’s Pages – FactFinder Kid’s Corner (U.S. Census Bureau)

LUNCH

Lunch Break until 1:15pm

And Access for All

Review of Legislation

Patriot Act

Results

Bill Summary & Status

GPO Access / Legislative Resources

Congressional Bills

Congressional Record

Public and Private Laws

United States Statutes at Large

US Code

GPO Access / Executive Resources

Federal Register

Code of Federal Regulations

Presidential Materials

GPO Access / Judicial Resources

Judicial Resources

Law Library of Congress

Break

Break until 2pm

Statistics

• FedStats – http://www.fedstats.gov

• Statistical Abstract – http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-

us.html

• Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts – http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/

hiscendata.html

• Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970

Census Bureau

• Census Bureau– http://www.census.gov

• Census Facts – Every ten years since 1790– Mandated by the Constitution to apportion members of

the House of Representatives– Records for individuals available after 72 years– Government uses the data to distribute funds, draw state

legislative districts, identify populations in need of services

• Measuring America: the Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000– http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02marv-pt1.pdf

Navigating Census Bureau’s Website

American FactFinder

Community Fact Sheet

Summary Files • Summary File 1

– Counts and cross tabulations to the census block level for information collected from all people and housing units.

– Includes counts for many detailed race and Hispanic or Latino categories• Summary File 2

– Like Summary File 1, 100-percent population and housing characteristics – Repeated down to the census tract level for 250 population groups – No tables available for geographic areas with population less than 100

• Summary File 3– In-Depth population and housing data collected on a sample basis from the

Census 2000 long form questionnaire– Includes population totals for ancestry groups, also selected characteristics for a

limited number of race and Hispanic or Latino categories.• Summary File 4

– Like Summary File 3, presents information on the population and housing data collected on a sample basis from the long form questionnaire.

– Repeated down to the census tract level for the total population and 335 additional population groups.

– No tables available for geographic areas with population less than 100

Data Sets

Census Presentation Library

Kentucky State Data Center

And Now…

Kentucky Documents!