Government Sources: A world of information at your fingertips!

What are government sources?

Government sources are publications issued, published, or financed by international, national, state, regional, county, or municipal government agencies, offices, organizations or individuals. There are also different independent publishers who have contracts with the government to publish and distribute government information.

What is the usefulness of government information?

The U.S. government is the single largest publisher in the world! Since 1895, after the introduction of the Federal Depository Library Act, the U.S. government has been responsible for disseminating thousands of publications that provide information on every aspect of our lives! Sometimes it's really surprising to discover the wide range of subjects covered by these types of publications from consumer information, demographics, economics, industry, labor, health, housing, business, crime, the arts, technology, education, the environment, and much more. For a sampling, see USA.gov.

What are some good examples when government information can be of particular value?

Government information can be particularly useful and even powerful when you are:

... trying to prove your argument
Remeber Statistical Abstract of the United States That's just an example of a government source on stats. The government is one of the most important sources for statistics, data, or quotes. This type of information can be particularly important to illustrate or demonstrate the points you are trying to make.

... looking for research findings
Every year the government spends million of dollars for scientific research on topics related to social, economic, health, education, and other issues! For example, check these huge web sites that demonstrate the importance of government in scientific inquiry: National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Education, U.S. department of Labor, etc.

... looking for opposing views
Congressional hearings can be particularly important here as they express the views of the people who lobby and testify before House or Senate Committees. Search for congressional hearings through GPO's search page, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/chearings/search.html

... using primary/first-hand sources
Using primary sources such as laws, court cases, or historical documents can be quite powerful in your research. For example, in a research project on death penalty, you may include the Texas laws on death penalty or convict execution; or, in an argument for or against abortion, you may use the text of the historic Roe vs Wade court case as part of your discussion. Also, for primary, historical documents, check web sites such as American Memory or National Archives.

Ok, I am convinced! So, how do I look for government information?

The introduction of the Internet has allowed increasing free public access to a large number of government sources. So, one of the simplest ways to first look for government information is through search engines specializing in government information web sites. Here's how you may locate these search tools:

- go to the library web page, http://campuslibrary.cocc.edu
- under Research Tools, click on the link Government info
- for general searches, on the next page, click on WEB SEARCH ENGINES
- try Google U. S. Government Search SearchGov.com,or USA.gov by simply typing in your search keywords, similar to a Google search.
- otherwise you may also browse through the different subject categories listed on our Government info web site!.

Now, keep in mind that finding specific kinds of government information can sometimes be quite a challenging task! Besides contacting our COCC library staff, you may also get live help from Government Information Online (GIO), an "Ask a librarian chat and email service supported by government information librarians all over the country! A link to GIO is provided on the same page that lists the government information web search engines as described right above.