Asian Americans: U.S. Government Information

The Purpose of this Page

This page is designed to provide a relatively brief starting point for accessing and using the many online collections of U.S. Government Information available to you at Columbia University Libraries. A more extensive range of guides to federal, state, and local government documents (including discussions of documents available in print and microform) is provided at our main hub for U.S. Government Documents.

Major Full-Text Resources

govinfo (United States. Government Printing Office) [open access]
Coverage: Current. Many collections cover years from approximately 1994 (103rd Congress) forward.
Provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government: the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. For a list of collections available in govinfo, click here. Collections are typically updated as electronic versions of the latest relevant documents become available.  

Congress.gov (Library of Congress) [open access]
Coverage: Current. Coverage start dates vary by collection.
Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public. It is presented by the Library of Congress (LOC) using data from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Government Publishing Office, Congressional Budget Office, and the LOC’s Congressional Research Service. Congress.gov is usually updated the morning after a session adjourns. Consult Coverage Dates for Congress.gov Collections for the specific update schedules and start date for each collection.

The American Presidency Project [Open Access]
Includes: Papers of the Presidents, party platforms, documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary, and many other resources related to the study of the presidency.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1875 (Library of Congress)
Coverage: 19th Century , 18th Century
Records of the proceedings of America's national legislative bodies, beginning with the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, and followed by the United States Congress.

Directories, Catalogs, and Manuals

Members of the U.S. Congress (from Congress.gov, Library of Congress)
"Members of the U.S. Congress features Member profiles for Representatives and Senators who have served since 1973 (93rd Congress). Members from the 71st to 92nd Congresses (1929 to 1972) who were still serving as of the 93rd Congress are included. Profiles can be faceted by congress, chamber, political party, and state or U.S. territory. Member profiles provide interactive lists of sponsored and cosponsored legislation."

Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1895-1976  
A "comprehensive index to historical information published by the United States federal government. Describing over 1.2 million items published between January 1895 and June 1976, the Monthly Catalog helps you identify important and useful information on all subjects." For items published since July 1976, use the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

The United States Government Manual A  regularly updated special edition of the Federal Register. Its contents include leadership tables and descriptions of agency activities and programs of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of Government, as well as activities and programs of quasi-official agencies and international organizations in which the United States participates as a member.

Maps

Declassified Documents

Other Columbia Research Guides for U.S. Government Documents

U.S. Government Documents (Columbia University Libraries)
Homepage of the U.S. Government Documents division of the Columbia University Libraries. Includes subject guides providing access to federal, state, and local documents as well as guidance for finding U.S. government documents at Lehman Library.

Foreign Relations of the United States in the U.S. Serial Set (Columbia University Libraries)