Finding Government/Public Information Pathfinder

Electronic Resources

Databases

Congressional Staff Directory

(Library use only)
Congressional Staff Directory on the Web allows the user to browse each Member listing with biography, contact information, staff and committee assignments, as though the user were looking at the print directory. Search by House or Senate Member, staff name, district, party affiliation, chamber, committee, subcommittee or key word or phrase.

World Wide Web Resources
Catalog of US Government Publications
http://catalog.gpo.gov/F
Search government publications by author, title, subject area, or keywords on this site.

FirstGov
http://www.firstgov.gov/
"FirstGov is intended to be your first resource to find any government information on the Internet, with topics ranging from business and economy to money and benefits to science and technology - and everything in between!... FirstGov allows users to browse a wealth of information and enables users to conduct important business online - such as applying for student loans, tracking Social Security benefits, comparing Medicare options and even administering government grants and contracts."

Government Information Locator Service
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/
"The Government Information Locator Service (GILS) is an effort to identify, locate, and describe publicly available Federal information resources, including electronic information resources. GILS records identify public information resources within the Federal Government, describe the information available in these resources, and assist in obtaining the information. GILS is a decentralized collection of agency-based information locators using network technology and international standards to direct users to relevant information resources within the Federal Government." Use this site to search for government documents by subject or keyword.

The National Security Archive
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
"The National Security Archive is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)." View selected documents at this site on topics ranging from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Nixon-Elvis meeting.

SearchGov.com
http://www.searchgov.com/
A seach engine restricted to Web pages in the .gov (U.S. federal government) domain, covering millions of pages. Sorts results via popularity and keeps cached versions of indexed pages (both a la Google).

Search Systems
http://www.searchsystems.net/
A directory of freely available public information databases for the United States, individual U.S. states, and Canada. Availability varies from state to state, but databases frequently cover such topics as legislative information, sex offender registries, corporate filings, property records, obituaries, and the like.

State and National Freedom of Information Resources
http://www.nfoic.org/web/index.htm
This is the National Freedom of Information Coalitions guide to obtaining information under state and federal open meetings and open records laws. It provides links to web pages that contain descriptions and links for FOI publications, contacts, legislation and current events.

THOMAS (Library of Congress)
http://thomas.loc.gov/
"The Library of Congress THOMAS site is the source for federal legislative information.  THOMAS provides several options for finding bills, resolutions, and legislative histories from 1973 to the present.  Legislative information can be searched across multiple Congresses.  THOMAS is also the source for presidential nominations, treaties, committee reports, legislative resources for researchers and teachers.  THOMAS draws on the resources of the Library of Congress to provide users with valuable and historical information related to the legislative process."

U.S. Courts: Federal Judiciary Homepage
http://www.uscourts.gov/
Homepage for the Federal Judiciary, with links to the Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals, Bankruptcy, and District Courts. Has links to all circuit courts of appeal, including D.C. and U.S. Bankruptcy courts of appeal, as well as state District Courts and Bankruptcy Courts within each circuit. Contains links to periodicals, publications, reports, statistics and other resources

United States Government Manual
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html
"The United States Government Manual database contains comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial and executive branches. The Manual also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions and committees. Documents are available as ASCII text and as Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files." Updated annually.

Print Resources
Reference
Hone, E. Wade.  Land & property research in the United States Salt Lake City, Utah : Ancestry, c1997. Call # R 929.1 HO

Public records online : Facts on Demand Press c1997. Call # R 350.714 PU

The sourcebook to public record information : the comprehensive guide to county, state, & federal public records sources / [edited by Peter J. Weber and Michael Sankey]. Tempe, Ariz. : BRB Publications, 2005. Call # R 352.3 SO

The United States government Internet manual.  Lanham, MD : Bernan Press, c2004- Call # R 351 UN

Non Fiction
Eggers, William D.  Government 2.0 : using technology to improve education, cut red tape, reduce gridlock, and enhance democracy Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield : Distributed by National Book Network, c2005. Call # 352.387 EG

Evans, James (James H.)  Government on the Net Berkeley : Nolo Press, 1997. Call # 025.06 EV

Lesko, Matthew. Lesko's info-power III Kensington, MD Information USA c1996. Call # 020.973 LE

Find public records fast : the complete state, county, and courthouse locator / [edited by Michael Sankey & Carl R. Ernst]. Tempe, AZ : Facts on Demand Press, c1998. Call # 353 SA