Government Documents

What are Government Documents?
Locating Federal Government Documents
Locating North Carolina State Government Documents
Federal Government Documents Online
Federal Government Agencies and Departments
North Carolina Governmental Information

What are Government Documents?

Federal and state governments publish information, and their publications are known as government documents. Government documents cover a wide array of topics and may be used for research purposes in any discipline.

Pearsall Library is a selective depository for both United States government documents and North Carolina government documents. This means that the Library receives publications from both the federal government and the state government. The designation as a selective depository means that the Library receives a carefully selected list of documents, not all documents published by the government.

Pearsall Library's government document collection includes: maps, educational resources, health and human services materials, environmental science information, legislative documents, statistics on innumerable topics, and much more.

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Most of Pearsall Library's government documents are located in the government documents section. Federal government documents are arranged according to the Superintendent of Documents Classification System. In this system, each government document is given a unique SuDoc (Superintendent of Documents) number. Each SuDoc number begins with a letter or combination of letters that indicates the department or agency that published the document. The following list of selected alphabetical prefixes can help you locate documents from a particular department or agency:

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Locating North Carolina State Government Documents

Like federal documents, state documents are located in the government documents section of the Library. State documents are organized according to the Classification Scheme for North Carolina State Publications. This classification scheme arranges state government agencies by function. The following alphabetic codes indicate the issuing agency for government documents:

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Federal Government Documents Online

• Core Documents of U.S. Democracy (Includes Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence)

• Code of Federal Regulations

• Federal Register
  This is the National Archives and Records Administration official site to search the Federal Register.

• Government Periodicals
  This links covers most of the periodical publications produced by the federal government. It is maintained at the University of Louisville.

• GPO Access
  This is the main access page for the Government Printing Office. There are links to databases and specialized search pages.

• Public Laws
  This database is a collection of public laws enacted during the 105th Congress and 104th Congress.

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Federal Government Agencies and Departments

Executive Branch

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
• Economics and Statistics Administration
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
• Bureau of the Census
• STAT-USA (Business, trade and economic information)
• Department of Defense
  • Air Force
  • Army
  • Marine Corps
  • National Guard
  • Navy
  • Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • Office of the Secretary of Defense
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Food and Drug Administration
• National Institutes of Health
• Department of Homeland Security
• Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Department of the Interior
• Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Park Service
• U.S. Geological Survey
• Department of Justice
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Office of the Attorney General
• Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Department of Labor
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Department of State
• Department of Transportation
• Coast Guard
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Federal Highway Administration
• Department of the Treasury
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Internal Revenue Service
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• White House
• National Security Council

Judicial Branch

• Federal Judiciary
• Supreme Court

Legislative Branch

• Government Printing Office
• House of Representatives
• Library of Congress
• Senate

Independent Agencies

• Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Communications Commission
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
• Federal Election Commission
• Federal Trade Commission
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• National Archives and Records Administration
• National Science Foundation
• Peace Corps
• Social Security Administration
• United States Postal Service

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North Carolina Governmental Information

• Find NC (Gateway to NC Governmental Information)
• North Carolina Information Directory

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