About Our Federal Documents Collection

The University Libraries have been a selective depository for United States documents since 1907, and we hold United States federal documents dating back to the 18th century. More than 1 million federal documents are housed in the collections of Mullins and the Young Law Library.  Documents collections include congressional reports and hearings, and the publications of various executive agencies such as maps, diplomatic materials, economic and demographic data, and legal materials. 

The University Libraries participate in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). Designated a selective depository, the Libraries select 80 percent of the titles offered through the U.S. Government Printing Office.

While more recent documents can be found online, older documents are held in paper, microfiche, and even CD-ROM.

The Government Documents reference collection and Census collection can be found on level four southeast of Mullins Library.  However, the bulk of our print collections are held offsite; please ask us if you need help requesting older documents for your use. 

Over the years, a number of federal documents have been classified in regular Library of Congress (LC) call numbers and shelved with the main circulating collections. Other documents remain in U.S. Documents collections and are arranged according to the Superintendent of Documents classification numbering system (SuDoc).

Finding Documents

From 1976- present

Online Documents

Search in the library catalog, OneSearch, in library databases such as ProQuest Congressional and Executive or in govinfo to locate documents online. 

Print documents

Most United States documents from the last 50 years can be found in OneSearch.  Please note that in some cases  you may need to use indexes or catalogs to locate specific documents within series. 

Older Documents

Earlier documents may also be found in OneSearch or by using print or online indexes such as ProQuest Congressional and Executive or the Monthly Catalog. However, many pre-1976 documents can only be located by consulting documents specialists.

Other library databases that offer collections of historical documents include the U.S.Congressional Serial Set Online and its companion database, American State Papers and the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 

Requesting Documents

Most materials including maps, may be requested from the Library Annex and checked out. Locate the item in OneSearch and place a request. 

Not all government documents collections are fully described in OneSearch so please do Ask Us if you cannot locate the information you need.