Government Information

Other Databases to Try

Some more general databases often include government information, articles about the government and how it works, and sometimes reports from government agencies and Congress as well. Here are some you may wish to try.

  • Academic Search Premier locked database
    Academic Search Premier provides full text for nearly 4,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975.
    Coverage Dates: 1975 - present
  • Academic OneFile locked database
    The premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Extensive coverage of the sciences, technology, medicine, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects - authoritative and comprehensive.
    Coverage Dates: 1980 - present
  • LexisNexis Academic locked database
    Comprehensive index to newspaper and magazine articles, radio and TV news program transcripts, legal material and other reference sources. Primarily focused on news, business and legal topics
    Coverage Dates: - Varies by title
  • CQ Weekly locked database
    Taking you deep inside the policy-making process, CQ Weekly provides non-partisan news and analysis on how legislation is shaped, who is shaping it and how it could affect your interests.
    Coverage Dates: 1998 -
  • Historical Statistics of the United States locked database
    This is the fourth edition of Historical Statistics of the United States. The U.S. Bureau of the Census published the prior editions in 1949, 1960, and 1975, the last known as the Bicentennial Edition. Cambridge University Press publishes this, the Millennial Edition, with the permission of the Census Bureau.
    Coverage Dates: 1610 - 2000
  • GPO Monthly Catalog (MARCIVE) locked database
    Comprehensive sources for locating U.S. government documents published by the Government Printing Office. Citations to agency reports, congressional hearings, special commissions, statistical reports, et. al.
    Coverage Dates: 1976 - present
  • USPTO Patent Database open database
    Access to bibliographic and full-text patent databases.
    Coverage Dates: 1976 - present
  • USPTO Trademark Database open database
    This page is the starting point for the USPTO's free trademark database, which includes the full bibliographic text of pendingand registered trademarks.
    Coverage Dates: - Current to within last two to four months
  • ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research locked database
    The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) located at the University of Michigan is the world's largest data archive. ICPSR acquires, processes and distributes social science data collected by government agencies and other researchers. The data holdings cover a broad range of disciplines.
    Coverage Dates: - present
  • American State Papers, 1789-1838 locked database
    American State Papers, 1789-1838 enables students and scholars to easily search and browse legislative and executive documents of the first fourteen U.S. Congresses and more. This seminal set of U.S. government publications a rich source of primary material on wide-ranging aspects of early American history. Beyond, American State Papers is cross-searchable with the digital U.S. Congressional Serial Set and all other Readex Archive of Americana collections.
    Coverage Dates: 1789 - 1838
  • U.S. Congressional Serial Set, Pre-Civil War Edition locked database
    The single most important series of American government publications, the U.S. Congressional Serial Set is an incomparably rich, largely untapped collection of primary source material on the people, issues and events of American history and politics. Readex's digital edition of this national treasure—the Reports, Documents and Journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives—is the most accurate and complete replica available.
    Coverage Dates: 1817 - 1859
  • DTIC Online open database
    The Defense Technical Information Center serves the Dept. of Defense community as the largest central resource for DoD and government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information available.
    Coverage Dates: - present
  • TRAIL (Technical Report Archive and Image Library) locked database
    The Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL) is an initiative led by the University of Arizona in collaboration with CRL and other interested agencies to identify, digitize, archive, and provide access to federal technical reports issued prior to 1975.
    Coverage Dates: - 1975

Media

Moving Images: News & Public Affairs

FedFlix (http://www.archive.org/details/FedFlix) is a joint venture between the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) and Public.Resource.Org, the creator of the web page archive WaybackMachine. Here are the best movies of the United States Government, from training films to history, from our national parks to the U.S. Fire Academy and the Postal Inspectors, all of these are available for reuse without any restrictions.

 Online Games

iCivics (http://www.icivics.org/) is a web-based education project designed to teach students  civics and inspire them to be active participants in our democracy. While meant for younger students, these games are fun and non-preachy way of learning a little bit about how all the branches of our government work together.

Recommended Databases

  • FDSys open database
    Government publications from all three branches of the U.S. Government. Search or Browse for documents and publications, access metadata in standard XML formats, and download documents and publications in multiple renditions or file formats. Replaces GPO Access.
    Coverage Dates: unknown - unknown
  • Data.gov open database
    The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the executive branch of the federal government. It has nearly 450,000 datasets. Data.gov reaches across 172 federal agencies in the United States. Date range is 2009-date
    Coverage Dates: unknown - unknown
  • Military and Government Collection locked database
    Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military and government, this database offers a thorough collection of periodicals, academic journals, and other content pertinent to the increasing needs of those sites. The Military & Government Collection provides cover-to-cover full text for nearly 400 journals and periodicals and indexing and abstracts for more than 500 titles.
    Coverage Dates: - present
  • Homeland Security Digital Library open database
    The HSDL collection provides quick access to important U.S. policy documents, presidential directives, and national strategy documents as well as specialized resources such as theses and reports from various universities, organizations and local and state agencies. The resources are reviewed and selected by a team of homeland security researchers and organized in a unique homeland security taxonomy. HSDL content includes state-of-the-art multi-media offerings and other valuable assets identified by CHDS master's degree participants and instructors.
    Coverage Dates: - present
  • Statistical Abstract open database
    A collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data are also included. The Abstract is also a guide to sources of other data from the Census Bureau, other Federal agencies, and private organizations.
    Coverage Dates: - 2006
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest 2013) locked database
    Published annually by the Federal Government since 1878, The Statistical Abstract of the United States is the best-known statistical reference publication in the world. When the Census Bureau announced in 2011 that due to budget constraints they would cease to produce this resource, ProQuest took on responsibility for updating and releasing it. Both an answer book and a guide to statistical sources , Statistical Abstract is a comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States 2013 online edition has some significant enhancements over the Census Bureau’s online version, including line-item access to tables, monthly updates instead of annual, and table-specific capabilities for narrowing results by source, data date, subject, and type of data breakdown. Links to a Help page and a quick start Guide are located at the top of the page.
    Coverage Dates: 2013 -
  • NTIS (National Technical Information Service) open database
    Index to government sponsored research reports and technical papers from all areas of physical, life and applied science.
    Coverage Dates: 1964 - present

Core Documents

Included here are direct online links to many of the basic Federal Government documents that define the history of our democracy. Many are drawn from the GPO Access page Core Documents of Our Democracy (http://www.gpo.gov/libraries/core_docs.htm), though with several revisions and additions. [Because of a reorganization of GPO's website, the government page may not be supported for much longer, and we wished to insure the continuation of this easy access for our users.]

Cornerstone Documents

Presidential Documents

Judicial Documents

100 Milestone Documents

A list of 100 milestone documents, with links to full text and images of the originals, compiled by the National Archives. These chronicle US history from 1776 to 1965. Includes such gems as the patent for the cotton gin; George Washington's farewell address; the notorious Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) that ruled that slaves were not citizens and could not expect any protection from the courts; the Zimmerman telegram (1917) that inflamed public sentiment against Germany and was instrumental in involving the U.S. in WWI; and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, removing barriers that were used to keep African Americans from votiing.

Last Update: 31 Aug 23:26