Library Guides: HMRT 21001: Contemporary Issues: U.S. Government Information

U.S. Government Agencies

Congress

ProQuest Congressional This link opens in a new window
Provides full text of committee hearings since 1817, Congressional committee reports since 1990, House and Senate Documents since 1995, selected committee prints since 1995, bills since 1789, and the Congressional Record since 1985.
Government Accountability Office This link opens in a new window
The GAO audits govt agencies as needed and generally tries to ensure that federal funds are spent responsibly and the for the purpose Congress intended. Their site has archived their reports back several decades; an Advanced Search is available once you have run a simple search.

U.S. Government Publications Indexes

govInfo This link opens in a new window
Central source for official US docs.
Featured Collections

* Code of Federal Regulations
* Compilation of Presidential Documents
* Congressional Bills
* Congressional Documents
* Congressional Hearings
* Congressional Record
* Congressional Reports
* Economic Indicators
* Federal Register
* Public and Private Laws
* United States Code
and much more
GPO Monthly Catalog This link opens in a new window
Enhanced version of GPO Access, with information on libraries which hold published documents

Federal Regulations

The Federal Register is published daily and consists of proposed and passed regulations that Federal agencies use to carry out policies based on laws passed by Congress. The Code of Federal Regulations is the yearly compilation of promulgated rules and is organized into 50 titles, including Commerce and Foreign Trade, Energy, Foreign Relations, and National Defense.

Federal Register This link opens in a new window
Proposed and implemented Federal regulations. This site is very easy to browse by day, month, and year.
Federal Register (with public comments) This link opens in a new window
Each regulation has a 90 day public comment period. This site allows you to search the comments and view the full text of them.
Code of Federal Regulations This link opens in a new window
Annual codification of the permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. Arranged into 50 general topics.

The White House

American Presidency Project
& more less...
Full text for many White House-issued materials such as speeches, vetoes, press conferences, and executive orders and proclamations.

HeinOnline: United States Presidential Library This link opens in a new window
This library includes such titles as Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Public Papers of the Presidents (Hoover-Present), CFR Title 3 (Presidents), Weekly Compilation of the Presidential Documents, Economic Report of the President, and other documents relating to U.S. presidents.

Public Papers of the Presidents
& more less...
Documents such as Proclamations, Executive Orders, and similar documents that are published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, are usually not included for the presidencies of Herbert Hoover through Gerald Ford (1929-1977), but are included beginning with the administration of Jimmy Carter (1977).

Google for Gov

A great deal of government information is available on the Internet, directly from the websites of federal and state agencies and departments. If you know the agency involved in your research area, you can search its website directly. If you're not sure, try this Google trick:

In a Google search, enter "site:gov" + keyword(s). This will search for your keyword(s) only on websites that have the domain .gov.

Police Department

Annual Report
Online: 1965-2010
Annual Report. Chicago Police Department.
Library has in print: 1986-2009
Statistical Summary. Chicago Police Department.
Library has in print: 1978-1985
Annual report / Police Department, City of Chicago.
Library has in print: 1913-1971
Report of the General Superintendent of Police of the City of Chicago...
Library has in print: 1873/1874,1893,1895-1912
Homicide in Chicago 1870-1930
Northwestern University School of Law