TYPES OF GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Federal
Auraria Library is one of over 1,300 federal depository libraries that receive U.S. government publications free of charge from the U.S. Government Printing Office with the stipulation that they must be made available to the public. Publications available are selected which are appropriate for Auraria's academic programs. For example, this library receives most Congressional, Census, and statistical publications, as well as many major appropriate agency publications, such as those from the Department of Justice. All depository materials, however, are sent to Colorado's two regional depositories, the University of Colorado at Boulder's Norlin Library and the Denver Public Library (Central Library downtown). These libraries also have extensive historical collections dating back to the 1880s. Since Auraria Library has only been part of the depository program since 1978, both the Norlin Library collection and the Denver Public Library collection serve as valuable resources for historical publications, although Auraria has some pre-1978 publications also.
Colorado State and Local
Auraria Library is also a depository for Colorado state publications, for Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) publications, and receives selected publications from other local (city, county) government agencies.
INTERNET SOURCES
Databases
Additional Government Research Databases and Technical Reports
Federal Information by Subject
U.S. Government Agencies
Colorado State Publications
Denver and Local Government
Foreign Countries and International Agencies
PRINT, MICROFICHE, CD-ROMS, MORE INTERNET
Skyline should be searched for government publications in the Auraria Library and online. For the holdings of government publications in other Front Range libraries, following a search in Skyline, click on "Search Prospector ", to search the Colorado Unified Catalog. An exception is Denver Public Library, one of the regional depository libraries with a 100% depository collection, but which does not list all U.S. government publications in its online catalog.
PRE-1976 INDEXES
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications . 1895- 1995. (Print discontinued)
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.8:
Monthly with semi-annual, annual, and five-year cumulated indexing for 1966-70 and 1971-June 1976.
Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1900-1971 . (15 volumes.)
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.8:900-971/V.1-15
Cumulative Title Index to United States Public Documents, 1789-1976 . (16 volumes.) GOVPUB INDEX J83 .L42 (Shelved before Monthly Catalog .)
Poore, Ben Perley. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, 1774-1881 .
SERIAL SET 2268 (Shelved before Monthly Catalog .)
Ames, John G. Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893 . Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1905.
GOVPUB INDEX I 15.2: IN 2/1/V.1-2 (Shelved before Monthly Catalog .)
Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909 . Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1911.
GOVPUB INDEX GP 3.2: C 41/2
Most U.S. government publications have a different type of classification number, a Superintendent of Documents number, which is based on the governmental agency which issued the document, rather than the subject of the publication like the rest of the books in the Library. For example, "J" indicates the U.S. Dept. of Justice.The numbers look similar to the Library of Congress call numbers on the rest of the books, but they have a colon (:) in them and sometimes a slash (/). For example, HE 20.8108:Se 9/2 is a government publication whereas HE208 .B38 is not. The U.S. Government Printing Office's Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System details its principles and structure.
A comprehensive index to nearly all U.S. governmental agency publications, the Monthly Catalog does not include magazine articles, detailed statistical analysis, indexing of the content of Congressional publications, or government contract reports. For this type of information, consult other government Research Databases.
CITING GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS
Arizona State University Libraries, Government Documents Service, DocsCite
Citing Government Information Sources Using the MLA Style
General Guidelines for Citing Government Publications (University of North Texas Libraries)
University of Nevada, Reno, Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA
Beyond the MLA handbook: documenting electronic sources on the Internet
GOVPUB REF & REF DESK Z 7164 .G7 G37 2002
Cheney, Debora. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A Manual for Social Science and Business Research. Bethesda, MD: LexisNexis; Congressional Information Service, 2002.
Other Related Subject Guides
