Welcome to the Government Documents Section

Kemp Library has been a depository for United States government documents since 1966 and for Pennsylvania government documents since 1972. Every month, the library receives hundreds of U.S. publications and a very small number o f Pennsylvania documents. How do you know what documents the library has?

• Look in Voyager, the online catalog. Many documents are books, so we catalog them.
• Use the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1976 to date. This is available online from the Library's Horizon terminals, "Databases" icon. You can also search the Monthly Catalog, 1994 to date on the Web at GPO ACCESS.
• Use periodical indexes. Many of the periodicals we receive from the federal government are cited in printed indexes and electronic ones such as EBSCOhost .

The Internet provides access to an immense amount of government information, but relatively little of it is more than five or ten years old. For older information, Kemp Library has an excellent collection which includes special indexes and the full text of thousands of U. S. documents on microfiche, microfilm, and Readex Microprint. This site is designed to direct you to resources in our library, as well as on the Web.

• ESU faculty may request instruction in using government documents for their classes. Contact Documents Librarian Ramona Hylton at 3150 or by e-mail.
• Documents reference assistance is available to area residents, as well as to the University community.

 WHAT RESOURCES WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLORE?

Bibliographies - frequently-consulted reference and research materials in Kemp Library

Newsletter of the Documents Section - What's Up in DOCuments

Pennsylvania Census materials

Pennsylvania Documents - a few choice Internet sites for information from PA government

U.S. Government Documents

U.S. Legislative & Regulatory Materials

U.S. Supreme Court Decisions and links to other Web sites for legal research

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U.S. government on the Internet - general information

So many federal agencies have Web sites that it would be impractical to include links to all of them. One of the most important sites is GPO ACCESS. Through ACCESS, you can search over 70 databases, including the full text of current publications such as the Congressional Record, Federal Register, House and Senate bills, and laws.

Other useful and interesting sites are listed below. Congress and the Supreme Court have their own sections with more detailed information on specific sites.

Agriculture Department - National Agricultural Statistics Service - data, graphs, searches

Air Force - including career information

Census Bureau - current population data, with searches and links to other resources

Commerce Department

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION -

STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE U.S.

Centers for Disease Control - health information and current statistics

Central Intelligence Agency - It's top secret!

Copyright Office - download copyright form

Education Department - statistics; information on Goals 2000 and other initiatives

ASK ERIC - search and order ERIC reports, 1966 to date online (EDs only - not articles)

Energy Department - search the DOE reports database

Environmental Protection Agency - regulations and laws; materials for teaching, other good stuff

Federal Communications Commission - regulations, current issues, text of Telecommunications Act of 1996

FedWorld (NTIS) - search current government reports database, Federal Jobs Announcements, IRS tax forms

General Services Administration - Government Information Xchange - check the Federal Directory, Federal Information Center, and Federal Yellow Pages, among other resources

Government Printing Office - a great place to begin looking for U.S. government information; search over 70 databases, many other services available

Justice Department

Federal Bureau of Investigation - check out the "FBI's most wanted" list

Labor Department - OSHA , for statistics and data on workplace safety and health

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Library of Congress - "Research tools" include Library of Congress catalog searches

National Aeronautics and Space Administration - lots of interesting information on the space program, a great site for science educators

National Archives & Records Administration - visit the "Genealogy Page"

National Wetlands Inventory - download maps and data

Patent & Trademark Office - includes patent depository libraries list

Securities and Exchange Commission - search for corporate information using the EDGAR database of SEC filings

Smithsonian Institute - take a virtual tour of the fabulous Smithsonian

State - find articles, news releases, and other publications on international affairs

Treasury Department - DOWNLOAD TAX FORMS!

White House

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Legislative and regulatory materials -

including current Congressional bills, laws, reports, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional Record, and information ab out legislators can be found at GPO ACCESS. More than 70 databases are now available. You may also use a "Gateway" to ACCESS. Gateways are libraries or institutions which hos t GPO Access through a locally-designed interface. Gateways may be especially useful if you find that the GPO site is busy.

GPO Gateway via U. of CA, San Diego

GPO GATEWAY VIA MICHIGAN ELECTRONIC LIBRARY (MEL)

thomas ( as in Thomas Jefferson) is the legislative database developed by the Library of Congress. It is much more limited in scope than GPO Access, but may be easier to search. Read About Thomas or The Legislative Process.

Each house of Congress also has a Web site:

U.S. House of representatives

U. S. Senate

REMEMBER: Most of the materials noted above are no more than 5 - 6 years old. Kemp Library has the full text of Congressional publications back to 1789! Consult the Documents Librarian for more information about the library's extensive collection of United States documents in print and microform. Click ? here for a bibliography of library materials for research in political science and history.

Supreme Court decisions, beginning with May, 1990 can be found at the Cornell Univ ersity School of Law Web site. The "FLITE" database, 1937-75 (7,000 cases, covering U.S. Reports, volumes 300-422) is at GPO ACCESS. This has a n excellent index and will give citations to U.S. Reports. If you prefer to read the decisions off-line, the U.S. Reports are available in the library's Government Documents Section.

 Another excellent source for Supreme Court cases is the Constitution of the U.S., Analysis and Interpretation. This ele ctronic publication discusses each article of the Constitution in the context of major Supreme Court cases decided through June 29, 1992.

Other sites for legal research:

Villanova University Law School

U.S. House of Representative Internet Law Library

For useful printed resources in Kemp Library, see Constitutional Law in the Bibliographies section.

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Pennsylvania Documents

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a Web site - young, but growing. You can browse the offerings of many departments from there. The Department of Environmental Protection has some of the most extensive and useful information, including statistics and publications. The Senate also has its own Web site.

Finding information about our own state can be a frustrating process. Here are some connections of note - some government, some private:

Pennsylvania Job Leads (Jobnet - Greater Philadelphia Area - PA, NJ, DE)

State Civil Service Commission - Civil Service Exam Program

Philadelphia Online - search current Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News

Access Pennsylvania - search the holdings of 1,400 Pennsylvania libraries - public, school, college, and special

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Pennsylvania Census materials available in Kemp Library

1st Census - 1790 Early American Imprints,* #23916 (1 card)

7th Census - 1850 Serial Set,** #686 (13 cards)

8th Census - 1860 Serial Set, #1202 (9 cards)

Also available for 1860: Population schedules (personal names information) for Monroe, Mifflin, and Montgomery counties is on microfilm, Cabinet #62, 2nd floor.

9th Census - 1870 Serial Set #1473 (10 cards)

10th Census - 1880 Serial Set #2129 (12 cards)

11th Census - 1890 Serial Set #3011 (11 cards)

15th Census - 1930 Library has Vol. 1, Population, all states (call no. 312/Un3c15)

16th Census - 1940:

Agriculture, Vol. I, Pts. 1, 3-6; Vol. II, Pts. 1-3 (call no. 312/Un3si)

Population, Vol. I - Number of inhabitants; Vol. II - Characteristics, Pts. 2-7 (call no. 312/Un3si)

17th Census - 1950 Vol. II, Characteristics of the population, Pt. 38, Pennsylvania (call no. 312/Un3c17)

19th Census - 1970 Characteristics of the populations: Pennsylvania (call no. 312/Un3sd)

20th Census - 1980 - In the Documents Section, all printed reports for Pennsylvania; block statistics for selected areas on microfiche, C 3.224/5:PHC80-1-nos

21st Census - 1990 All printed reports for Pennsylvania, plus Summary Tape Files (STF) 1a and 3a on CD-ROM, located in Documents Section. Use of CD-ROMs is by arrangement with Documents Librarian or Documents Assistant.

For current Pennsylvania Census data, try the Pennsylvania State Data Center.

*Early American Imprints, 1639-1800. Readex Microprint, located on the 2nd floor

**U.S. Serial Set, Readex Microprint, located in the Government Documents Section, Row 21.

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 Genealogical Research with Government Documents

When people hear that Kemp Library has "the Census," they often assume that we have the population schedules - names of individuals made public seventy-two years after collection of the information. Although Kemp Library has lots of numbers, we have very few names. The only population schedules we have are for 1860 - Monroe, Mifflin, and Montgomery counties. They are on microfilm in Cabinet #60 on the second floor.

The library does have some government documents of use to genealogists. These include:

Pennsylvania Archives, Ref 974.8/P384a[series #]

U.S. Serial Set Index - Names Index - Documents Section, Ref 328.73/C76b

War of the Rebellion; a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, 973.73/Un35w

Many public libraries and historical societies have population schedules for their area. The Internet also has useful sites for people interested in family history. Good places to begin include the National Archives and the Genealogy Home Page.

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Bibliographies

The bibliographies on the following pages will lead you to some of Kemp Library's most frequently-used resources related to government documents. They are designed to give you a place to begin, but if you need more assis tance, please talk to a librarian.

Constitutional Law

Health Statistics

Research in History & Political Science

PLEASE NOTE:

"REF" at the beginning of a call number means that a publication is in the Reference De- partment, first floor

"Ready Ref" designates a book kept at the Reference Desk; ask the librarian on duty for these

"Documents Periodical" - Document Periodicals section, Ground Floor

Legal Terminology

REF Black's Law Dictionary
340.03
B561b6

 U.S. Constitution & Supreme Court - General Reference Works

REF Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. 1979.
347.7326
C76c2

 REF Reference Guide to the United States Supreme Court. 1986.
347.7326
R259r

 REF Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. 1986. 4 vols.
342.73
En19e

 Supreme Court Justices: Biography

REF Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. 5 vols.
347.9973
F914j

REF Supreme Court of the United States:Its Beginnings & Its Justices, 1790-1991.
347.7326
Su76t

Bibliography, Including Commentary on Cases

REF United States Supreme Court: A Bibliography. 1990.
347.7326
M363u

REFGuenther. United States Supreme Court decisions:an index to excerpts, reprints and
348.73 discussions. 2nd ed., 1983.
An22u2

 Issues & Cases - Subject Access

REF Constitution of the United States of America: analysis and interpretation. 1987, plus supplements.
342.73023
Un3c2

 REF Constitutional Law: Cases, Comments, Questions. 7th ed., 1991.
342.7303
L811c7

 REF Corpus Juris Secundum, 101 volumes, updated with "pocket parts."
348.06
C817C

Court Decisions

REF Pennsylvania Reporter, vol. 308-309, 1974 -
348.748
P384p

 Documents Section: United States Reports - Ju 6.8: volumes no. (vol. 1- ) note earlier titles, v. 1- 105, United States Reports; v. 106-385, Supreme Court Reporter; v. 383- United States Reports

 Documents Section Slip decisions (shelved after U.S. Reports)

Useful Guides

REF Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources. Rev. ed., 1993

027.5

G186c2

REF Legal Research and Writing: Some Starting Points. 3rd. ed., 1986.

340.072

St29l3

 Periodicals (journals and newspapers)

All of the following indexes are located in the Reference Department:

P.A.I.S.

Social Sciences Index

New York Times Index

347.9973 Supreme Court Review, 1960- (annual) - 2nd floor stacks

Su76c

Online indexes (available from Horizon terminal)

SearchBank

FirstSearch

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UNITED STATES

REF Vital Statistics of the United States (annual)

317.3

Un3v

Documents Section - Monthly vital statistics report. (current issues on microfiche, HE 20.6217:) 

Document Periodical - Morbidity and mortality weekly report. (also available through the Internet, starting with Centers for Disease Control home page)

REF International classification of diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), 3 vols.,

616 latest edition

In8i4

REF Health - United States. (annual)

362.10973

N213h

REF Health status of minorities and low income groups. 1991.

362.19

H349h3

REF Racial/ethnic patterns of cancer in the U.S., 1988-92. 1996.

616.994

R115r

REF Healthy people 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives. 1991.

362.1

H349ka

REF Healthy people 2000:Midcourse review and 1995 revisions.

362.1

H349kh

 PENNSYLVANIA

REF Pennsylvania vital statistics. (annual) Ready Ref.

312.09748

P384p

REF Healthy Pennsylvania 2000.

362.1

H349ke

REF Pennsylvania Cancer incidence and mortality.

362.1

C16c

REF Traffic safety facts. [Pennsylvania]. Ready Ref.

363.12

T676t

REF Health status indicators for Pennsylvania counties. 1996..

362.1

H349n

REF . Smoking facts for Pennsylvania. 1990

613.85

Sm75sa

REF Behavioral health risks of Pennsylvania adults. 1994.

614.4273

H349i

REF Infectious disease epidemiology report, Pennsylvania, 1991.

616.9

In3i

Other sources of health statistics:

 ASI - American Statistics Index (Reference Dept., Index-Abstract Area) - for statistics in U.S. government publications

CINAHL - CD-ROM index to articles in nursing & allied health periodicals (Ref. Dept.)

SearchBank - Health Reference Index - from Horizon terminals, "Databases" icon

FirstSearch - various medical databases available from Horizon terminals, "Databases" icon

Federal health information online: Healthfinder (Dept. of Health & Human Services)

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Executive

327.73 Foreign Relations of the United States, 1861-

Un3f

 REF Documents on American Foreign Relations, 1939/40-1965; 1967-(published by Council on

327.73 Foreign Relations); note cumulated indexes

D659a

REF American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1956; 1962-67;1981-

327.73

Un3am

 341.273 U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States, 1776-1949

Un35t

 341.273 U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States, 1964-

Un35u

 Documents Section - Treaties and Other International Acts, S 9.10:nos.

 341.73 Documents on Disarmament, 1945/46- (library lacks 1960-64)

Un35d

 353.03 Public Papers of the Presidents, (Hoover to the present administration): Indexes:

Un3p 353.03/Un3s

 Microfilm, 2nd floor - Presidential Papers

 Documents Section - Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, current year (superseded by

annual vols. of Public Papers of the President

 Internet sites include:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

National Archives & Records Administration (NARA)

State Department

White House

Other resources , including ESU Political Science Department Web page

Legislative

The library has the COMPLETE TEXT of the following materials:

Congressional Committee Hearings, 1869-1969, on microfiche, in the Documents Section, cabinets #38- 41. The index is CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearing Index, shelved in the Documents Reference Section.

Congressional Reports & Documents ("Serial Set"), 1789-1969, on Readex Microprint in the Documents Section, beginning in Row 21. The index is U.S. Serial Set Index, shelved in the Documents Reference Section.

 Hearings, reports, committee prints, 1970- , on microfiche in the Reference Department. The index to this material is CIS (Congressional Information Service) Index, shelved in the Abstract/Index area of the Reference Departme nt.

 Internet - selected resources

GPO ACCESS

THOMAS

House of Representatives

Senate

Congress

Judicial

Documents Section - United States Reports - Ju 6.8:vol. no.; note earlier titles, v. 1-105, United

States Reports; v. 106-385, Supreme Court Reporter.

Documents Section - Slip decisions (shelved after U.S. Reports).

REF Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation.

342.73023

Un3c2

REF Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court.

347.7326

C76c2

REF Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. 1986. 4 vols.

342.73

En19e

REF Reference Guide to the United States Supreme Court. 1986.

347.7326

R259r

 REF Guenther. United States Supreme Court Decisions: An Index to Excerpts, Reprints, and

348.73 Discussions. 2nd ed., 1983.

An22u2

REF United States Supreme Court: A bibliography. 1990.

347.7326

M363u

 347.9973 Supreme Court Review, 1960- ; annual

Su76c

Internet - SUPREME COURT DECISIONS & other legal information

328.42 British Parliamentary Papers, 1820-1900.

Ir4+letters

328.4201 Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), 1803-1899.

P239s

 Microfilm Parliamentary Debates, 1900 - (House of Commons, only); Microfilm cab. #55, 2nd floor

  327.42 Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939.

G798d

REF UNDOC (United Nations Documents Index), 1950-1984- , on microfiche; note cumulated

016.34113 index, 1950-62:REF 016.34113/Un35v, 4 vols

Un35v

Documents Section - Row 22 United Nations. Documents and Official Records, 1946-1981.

Readex Microprint edition of selected UN documents; the collection DOES NOT include everything listed in UNDOC, the UN documents index. Click here for the UN Web site.

REF Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements. 1985.

341.23

Os5e

REF U.N. Statistical Yearbook (latest edition in Ref, earlier ones in the stacks, 2^nd floor)

341.13

Un3s

REF Yearbook of the United Nations, 1946- , latest edition in Reference, earlier editions in the

341.13 stacks, 2nd floor

Un35y

341.13 Annual Review of United Nations Affairs, 1954-

An78R

 REF Chronology and Fact Book of the United Nations, 1941-1991.

341.1309

C355c4

REF Yearbook of International Organizations.

341.13

Y32I

For more information on international organizations, try the Web site of the International Documents Task Force (ALA-GODORT).

REF Documents of American History. 10th ed., 1988. 2 vols.

973

C735d10

 942 English Historical Documents. 2nd ed., 1978- (2nd ed. in progress; shelved with 1st ed.)

En36d2

REF Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources. Rev. ed., 1993.

027.5

G186c2

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  What's Up In DOCuments?

 Newsletter of the Government Documents Section

Kemp Library - East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania - East Stroudsburg, PA

First Electronic Edition - August 1997

 Since 1982, What's Up In DOCuments? has been published, from time to time, to provide the University community with information about the rich resources in "government documents." After a long hiatus, the newsletter is back, and the Internet provides a new and unique way to deliver it.

The Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications is a bibliography of documents printed or cataloged by the U. S. Government Printing Office. It includes information to identify publications available in the Federal Depository Librar y System. Although the Monthly Catalog has been published since the turn of the century, the electronic version begins with 1976.

Since 1990, the library has subscribed to the Monthly Catalog on CD-ROM. We recently changed our subscription to the Internet version. Library users can now search for U.S. government documents from any of the Library's public access terminals. To begin a search, double click the "Databases" icon on the terminals and select "Monthly Catalog." Online help is available, and there are a vari ety of access points including subject (keyword), author, report number, and Superintendent of Documents number. Our subscription only allows one person at a time to use the Monthly Catalog, so if you log on and someone else in the library is alrea dy using the database, you will get the equivalent of a "busy" signal. Try again in a few minutes.

The key to finding which publications is the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) number. There is a card file in the Library's Documents Section which lists by SuDoc number the publications we have received. If a document has been cataloged, its call number is noted on the card. U.S. documents shelved in the Documents Section are arranged by SuDoc number. Many publications are on microfiche: look for them in the microfiche cabinets in the Documents Section.

Documents with SuDoc numbers beginning Y1 and Y4 are Congressional publications. Most of them are on microfiche and are filed in the Reference Department, first floor.

This issue features the Country Studies, a series published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress under the auspices of the Department of the Army's Country Studies/Area Handbook Program. These authoritative books provide i n-depth views of the world's nations.

Although they are United States government documents, their content is not intended to reflect official government policy.

Travelers, students, and scholars, alike, will find Country Studies are an excellent beginning for basic information about the geography, history, politics, and culture of countries. An extensive bibliography is included in each publication.

We have referred students to the Country Studies so frequently that Leona Hughes, Library Assistant in the Documents Section, compiled this bibliography of titles owned by Kemp Library. The call number is given for each book.

You may now read some of the Country Studies online. Seventy-one of them are available at the Library of Congress Web site. In the "Research Tools" window, scroll to "Coun try Studies: Area Handbook Program."

The Handbook of Latin American Studies is another choice in the "Research Tools" windows.

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