Finding Government Information

I. U.S. Government

The Online Catalog is the first stop for finding government publications held by the library. As with other library materials, the catalog shows specific formats and locations for government publications. Ask staff for assistance if the location is unclear.

Documents that receive Library of Congress classification are located in the general collection on the stacks floors or in Reference.

Documents shelved by Superintendant of Documents classification (SuDocs) numbers are located in the library's storage collection. The SuDocs classification system arranges publications by government agency rather than by subject. Click here for a detailed explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System.

Microfiche, CD-ROMs and pamphlets (20 pages or under) are kept in the Periodicals/Documents and Microforms room on the first floor of the Hodges Library.

Documents published before July 1976 may not be included in the online catalog. Staff may need to check a shelf list card file kept in Periodicals/Documents and Microforms to verify specific holdings for uncataloged documents held in the Storage collection. It may also be necessary to check several print resources to locate the correct citation.

All print government materials, regardless of location, may be borrowed for regular loan periods. Reference materials, microfiche, CD-ROM/DVD datafiles and pamphlets do not circulate.

Generally, Department of Agriculture publications are located in the Agriculture-Veterinary Medicine Library. Maps and other cartographic materials are located in the Map Library. Staff in these libraries will assist in identifying government materials in their collections.

General Indexes

• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (MARCIVE Web DOCS.) July 1976 -

This commercial electronic search and retrieval service to U.S. government publications includes bibliographic citations for materials from 1976 to present, as well as shipping list records for titles distributed but not yet cataloged. It provides links to Web sites from within the database records and a “check for holdings” feature.

• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications July 1976-

The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) from the Government Printing Office. The CGP is 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.

• LexisNexis Government Periodicals Index, 1988-

Search for articles appearing in periodicals published by departments and agencies of the U.S. government from 1988. Check the online catalog for specific periodical holdings.

• Index to U.S. Government Periodicals 1970-1987
  Hodges Stacks Z1223.Z7I5

Printed index that provides subject access to articles in U.S. government periodicals back to 1970. Check the online catalog for periodical holdings and locations.

Historical Searches

• The American Memory Project

A gateway to rich primary sourcematerials relating to the history and culture of the United States. Provides full text documents and images from collections of the Library of Congress.

• A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation

A searchable and browseable collection of U.S. congressional documents and debates, 1774-1875.

• The Avalon Project at Yale Law School

Contains the full text of numerous documents in law, history and diplomacy arranged by century.

• Declassified Documents Reference System

An archive of selected, previously classified documents from presidential libraries, the CIA, the F.B.I. and a host of other U.S. federal agencies. Primary source documents include correspondence, memoranda, policy statements, intelligence reports and technical studies. Full-text on microfiche (1974-2003) available in Documents/Microforms/ Periodicals.

• National Security Archive (free Web version)

A non-profit organization that collects declassified documents made available through the Freedom of Information Act.

Additional print indexes listed here in alphabetical order are also available in the Reference room:

• A Descriptive Catalog of the Government Publications of the United States., 1774-1881.
  Poore, Benjamin P. Z1223.A1885d. 2 vols.


• Catalog of the Public Documents of Congress and of all Departments of the Government of the United States
  1893-1938. Document Catalogue. Z1223.A13


• Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1970.
  (Lester) Z1223.Z7L45. 5 vols.


• Checklist of United States Public Documents
  1789-1909. Z1223.A113

The Checklist is also available online via Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA -- Use the alphabetical or the SuDocs number search.

• Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893.
  Ames, J.G. Z1223.A 1881-93. 2 vols.


• Cumulative Title Index to United States Public Documents, 1789-1976.
  (Lester) Z1223.Z7L47. 16vols.

A good index for finding SuDocs numbers.

• Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1900-1971.
  (Buchanan) Z1223.A18. 15 vols.


• Public Documents of the First Fourteen Congresses, 1789-1817.
  (Greely) Z1223.A1900a


• Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications 1895- Z1223.A8 Storage

The major index to all U.S. government agency publications is arranged by agency and indexed by subject, keyword, title, and author. Historical indexes are available back to 1774.

• Early American Imprints, Evans 1639-1800.

This collection may be helpful in tracking down early documents not covered by the above indexes. It contains U.S. documents and other materials published in the United States before 1800. A two-volume printed index to this collection is available in Periodicals Documents/Microforms Z1215 .S495 V.1/V.2.

• Archive of Americana 1639-1876 UT Libraries Database

A digital collection containing Early American Imprints, series I and II, Shaw-Shoemaker 1800-1819

Subject Specific Indexes

• LexisNexis Statistical, 1973-

Detailed subject, title, and category index to statistics in U.S. government publications. Links are provided to full-text documents on the Web, or, text may be obtained in the ASI microfiche collection or the government publications print collection. The index is also available in print.

• American Statistics Index (ASI) 1973- Z7554.U5A6. Reference

Additional statistical resources on the web are provided on the Documents and Microforms web page, government statistics section.

• LexisNexis Congressional, 1789-

Detailed subject index to hearings,reports, and all other Congressional publications. The print equivalent is Congressional Information Service Index (CIS) 1970- KF49.C62. Current full-text, retrospective publications are available in microfiche. See also Library Guide #110 - Reference Sources for Legislative Information

• NTIS Electronic Catalog, 1990-

Indexes federal agency publications and government sponsored research reports, particularly in the sciences and engineering fields. Most records do NOT include abstracts. Also available in print Government Reports Announcements/Index (GRA&I) 1956-1996. Z7916.G68

Access other technical report collections from major government agencies from the technical reports section on the Documents and Microforms web page.

II. State Governments

State agency publications are often the only source of information about the state government’s role in a particular area. Documents from State of Tennessee agencies may be available on agency web pages. The library acquires most publications through the Tennessee State depository library program. These are cataloged and shelved with other library materials in the general collection, except for items such as newsletters, pamphlets, departmental manuals, and Department of Education curriculum guides. These are arranged by agency in vertical file cabinets in Periodicals/Documents and Microforms. It is best to begin with the online catalog when searching for state documents. Look by author/agency, title, or subject.

• A List of Tennessee State Publications
  1954- Z1337.A516

A quarterly list of publications received by the Tennessee State Library and Archives. It is arranged alphabetically by issuing agency and may be useful for finding documents published by agencies. There is no subject index.

See also Library Guide - Tennessee Legislative Materials

The statistical portions of many state government publications are available on microfiche, and indexed in:

• LexisNexis Statistical, 1973-

An index to statistics in publications from private publishers, non-profit organizations, and state agencies. State documents with statistics are included in this index. Most publications indexed are available in microfiche, print or online formats.
Print equivalent is available in Statistical Reference Index (SRI) 1980- Z7554.U5S83

III. Local Documents

The UTK Libraries has a limited collection of local documents, with publications from the City of Knoxville, Knox County, the Metropolitan Planning Commission, and the East Tennessee Economic Development Agency. Documents received from local agencies are cataloged and shelved with the general library collection. Publications of local planning agencies issued by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development are kept in pamphlet boxes in Documents and Microforms. These include land use plans, subdivision regulations, zoning ordinances and traffic studies. These and other local municipal documents may also be available at the Municipal Technical Advisory Service. Many cities now include their budgets and other major documents on their Web pages, check at: Subject Guides – Countries, States, Cities, Maps

• Index to Current Urban Documents. 1972-
  Z7164.D.L8I45

Indexes documents published by U.S. cities and counties, by subject and geographic area. The library subscribes to the urban documents collection in microfiche for four Tennessee cities: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville.

IV. International Organizations

United Nations publications are the largest collection of international documents collected by the UT Libraries. Although the Hodges Library is not a UN depository library, it maintains a comprehensive subscription to UN publications. Materials received cover a wide range of topics including economic and social development, disarmament, science and technology, education, area studies, and international trade. Official records and proceedings received in print through 1994 for the principal organs are shelved on the 4th floor:

• General Assembly: JX 1977.A41
• Economic and Social Council: HC 59.A193
• Security Council: JX 1977.A515
• Trusteeship Council: JX 4021.U3851
• Disarmament Commission: JX 1974.U412
• Trade and Development Board: HF 1410.U58
• United Nations Official Records 1995-present,

Arranged by the UN document number, may be found in the UN documents microfiche collection in Documents and Microforms, JX1977.A2.

United Nations documents are indexed in:

• Access UN, 1998-

This index to United Nations documents and publications provides the full-text of resolutions, decisions and provisional verbatim records from plenary meetings.

• United Nations Documents Index (UNDI, UNDEX, UNDOC).1950-1996
  Z6482.U453 Print Index.

Subject and country index to general publications and official documents.

In addition, documents are received from specialized UN agencies such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), UNESCO, World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Materials from other intergovernmental organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), are also included in the library’s collection.

• SourceOECD

Provides additional access to full-text OECD periodical publications.

See international governmental organizations (Government Documents Round Table ) for additional information found on the Web.

All international agency materials received by the UT Libraries can be found in the online catalog by author/agency, title, and subject. Most are major studies, reports, statistical handbooks and yearbooks, treaties, official records, and proceedings. Many of the statistical publications of these organizations are listed in the:

• LexisNexis Statistical, 1973-

Provides a detailed index and abstracts to statistics in the publications of major international organizations. Access to publications is provided online, or is available in IIS microfiche collection in Documents and Microforms, or check the online catalog for paper copy. The index is also available in print as Index to International Statistics (IIS) 1983-

There is no print comprehensive bibliographic source to the publications of international organizations, although the larger organizations produce their own publication lists, bibliographies, and indexes such as the following:

• UNESCO List of Documents and Publications. 1972-
  Z6483.U5A353. 3rd Floor

Indexes all UNESCO publications.

V. Foreign Governments

Documents and official publications from very few other countries are received. Special emphasis is placed on legislative and statistical materials, and current economic and political topics. These can be found by checking the online catalog under the name of the country, title, or subject. In addition, check the web pages of foreign national governments (Northwestern University) for available full-text, or check the Library of Congress cooperative acquisitions program for publications acquired from foreign countries to help to identify titles.

VI. Citing Government Publications

• A Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications (University of Memphis)


• Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA Style (University of Nevada, Reno)


• Style Manuals


• Cheney, Debora. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A Manual for Social Science & Business Research.
  Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, 2002.
  DocMic Reference J9.5.G37