US Documents

United States Research Guide

For information about researching topics related to the United States government, including law, history, news and statistics, try our United States Research Guide!

Other Helpful Research Guides:

• Case Law
• Legislative History of Federal Statutes
• U.S. Administrative Law
• U.S. Decennial Censuses

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United States Federal Depository

A United States Government document or publication is defined as any printed or processed book, paper, periodical, pamphlet, map, microform, or electronic product prepared and published at public expense by the United States Congress or by any of the Executive Departments, independent agencies, or judicial bodies of the U.S. Government.

Government publications may be divided into three categories:

1. Congressional documents, which relate to the work or proceedings of Congress, such as the Congressional Record and the U.S. Serial Set.
2. Judicial documents, which consist of court decisions published by the United States judicial system, such as U. S. Court Reports and Court of Claims Reports.
3. Executive documents, which are published by Executive Departments (Health and Human Services, Treasury, etc.) and independent agencies (Federal Election Commission, etc.). These documents comprise the majority of the Library's document collection.

To locate a document, find the SuDoc number using an index or database and then check the Online Catalog for holdings and location information if the document was published in or after 1997. Not all documents received prior to 1997 are in the Online Catalog so be sure to ask a librarian for assistance in locating older materials. Titles not in the collection may be requested via interlibrary loan.

The University of Mississippi's J. D. Williams Library is Mississippi's Regional Federal Depository. Our department uses many of the tools and resources they provide.

History of Collection

The United States Government Documents Depository of Mississippi State University has served the university and public communities since 1907, when the land grant Mississippi A & M College was granted depository status to collect U.S. Government publications that supported both the college curriculum and the business and industrial interests of the area. The present selective depository collects on an extensive basis, receiving over ninety-five percent of the documents series offered by the U.S. Government Printing Office Federal Depository Library Program.

Availability

U.S. Government documents are not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely. Holdings within the Documents Area are available to patrons during all Library hours. Microfiche readers/printers and CD-ROM computers are located in the Area for patron use. Documents, with some exceptions, are circulated to the general public. Titles not available in this Depository Collection may be requested through the Library's Access Services. The Monthly Catalog can also provide information for the acquisition of personal copies of documents from government book stores and GPO.

Collection Policies

Collection Policies: Federal Government Documents (PDF)