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Getting Started with Government Documents

Databases for Finding Government Information (Selected)

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP)
Free Website: http://catalog.gpo.gov/
CGP is the finding tool for electronic and print publications from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government. It contains more than 500.000 descriptive records for historical and current publications generated since July 1976 and provides direct links to those that are available online. Updated daily.

Congressional Universe (LexisNexis Congressional) (UTSA subscription)
Provides access to information including congressional publications; bill tracking and full text of bills; legislative history; federal regulations; and member affiliations, demographic, financial, and voting records.

GPO Access
Free Website: http://gpoaccess.gov
Provides free online access to the official published versions of United States government publications. Includes publications from the Legislative Branch (Congressional Bills, Congressional Hearings, United States Code), the Executive Branch (Budget of the United States of America, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations), and the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court Decisions), in addition to U.S. laws, administrative decisions, and the Core Documents of U.S. Democracy. GPO Access Training Manual available online.

GPO Monthly Catalog (UTSA subscription)
Indexes U. S. Government documents from July 1976 to the present including Congressional reports, hearings, and debates; judiciary materials; and documents issued by executive departments.

Statistical Abstract of the United States
Location: JPL Reference Desk & Downtown Library, Reference HA202 .B8; older editions in JPL Stacks
Free Website: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
Summarizes statistical data from a wide variety of government agencies in over 1,500 tables. Check original sources of data for more detailed information. Index refers to table numbers and not page numbers. Excellent starting place for U.S. statistics. Statistical Abstract is available online from 1878 to the current year. Tables are now also available in Excel format.

Statistical Universe (LexisNexis Statistical) (UTSA subscription)
Provides access to statistical information produced by the U.S. Government. Includes indexing and abstracting from 1973 to the present. Significant full text content from 1995 to the present including Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Texas State Agencies Library Catalog
Free Website: http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/webcat/index.html
This searchable online catalog contains the holdings of six Texas state agencies including the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and five partner agency. Useful for identifying Texas government publications that may be available at UTSA or on the web. Not all items owned by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission prior to 1976 will be listed in this catalog. UTSA may own the item or can get it for you through Interlibrary Loan.

TRAIL: Texas Records and Information Locator
Free Website: http://www2.tsl.state.tx.us/trail/
TRAIL searches and links information from over 180 Texas state agency web servers. TRAIL also provides basic information about state agencies including contact, legal, budgetary and background resources on the Texas State Agencies page.

For additional resources, check the database listings on Public Policy and Government/Law Resources or some of the UTSA Library Subject Guides listed below.

Federal

• U.S. Government
• Congressional Resources at UTSA (.pdf)
• Congressional Publications

Texas

• Texas Government
• Texas Counties

San Antonio

• San Antonio City Information

International

• Country Statistics

Legal

• Court Cases
• Legal Research

Subject

• Criminal Justice
• Patents
• Political Science
• Tax Forms
• Trademarks and Brands

Database Tip Sheets

GPO Access
Congressional Universe