Government Documents

Library resource guide for U.S. Federal Government Documents

What are Government Documents?

Government Documents are official publications produced by U.S. Government agencies (materials such as guides, statistical data, books, congressional documents/reports, etc.), in any format (print, electronic, websites, microform). The Government Publishing Office (GPO) distributes these materials to designated libraries, Federal Depository Libraries, throughout the United States and its territories.

Federal Depository Library Program

"The United States Government is the largest publisher in the world. Every day the U.S. Government issues congressional bills, laws, regulations, presidential documents, studies, and more on a variety of topics. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to its Government's information. The FDLP is administered by the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO)."
Source: https://www.fdlp.gov/fdlp-basics

Government Documents at McDermott Library

Government Information at the Library
Finding Documents on the Shelf

McDermott Library has been a designated selective depository library since 1956. Most of the collection has been received through the Federal Depository Library Program. Publications not owned by the library may be borrowed from other depository libraries through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

• Our collection is organized using the Superintendent of Documents Classification Scheme (SuDocs)

• Location of documents:

4th floor, compact shelving (print)
3rd floor, (microfiche)

• Documents received since 1992 are included in the library's online catalog

• Most government information received today is in electronic form

• Government departments and agencies provide much of their information on the Internet

Reference service for the depository library collection is always available to the faculty, staff, and cadets of the Air Force Academy, from the library's service desk, phone, or e-mail. Reference service is also available to the general public via telephone or e-mail.

The SuDoc system groups publications by government author, which are U.S. federal departments, bureaus or agencies.

The first letter/letters of a SuDoc number represents a government department or agency (parent organization).

For example, the SuDoc number: D 301.82/7:

D = Department of Defense

The letters are followed by a number representing the agency or a subordinate office.

301 = Department of the Air Force (agency in the DoD)

This number is followed by a period which is not read as a decimal point. The numbers following the period represent the type of document.

82/7 = Air Force History and Museums Program Publications

SuDoc classes are arranged alphabetically based on the leading letter(s). The number between the period and colon is a whole number.

D 301.8: would be filed before D 301.13:

Michigan State University's SuDocs Basics provides further explanation and additional examples of the SuDocs system with an interactive quiz. Also, visit University of Minnesota's SuDoc Tutorial video.

Contact the Library Services Desk if you need assistance in locating a document on the shelf, 333-4406/4664.

Branches of U.S. Government

Government Documents

Contact:
719-333-4406/4774
libinfo@afacademy.af.edu

Documents on Display

Rocky Mountain National Park

Image Source:
Moon Over Longs by Rocky Mountain National Park
Photo by Mike Vogel

RMNP Act
President Woodrow Wilson signed an Act in January 26, 1915 to establish the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and it became the Centennial State’s first national park.

In 2021, Rocky Mountain National Park had over four million visits. It’s the most visited national park in Colorado and was ranked #14 in 2021 right after Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks for the number of visits.

The highest elevation in Rocky Mountain NP is Long’s Peak named for Stephen H. Long who was part of the Army Corp. of Topographical Engineers. During his military service, Colonel Long led several survey teams to the Great Plains area in order to learn more about its vast region.

Read The Nation Builders: a sesquicentennial history of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, 1838-1863 to find out how Colonel Long and other topographical engineers helped to map the way west for us

Park maps to include trails and campgrounds are available to view in your web browser or to download: Rocky Mountain National Park maps

You can also experience the beauty of RMNP via the Trail Ridge Road, 48 miles of paved road connecting Estes Park on the east side of the park to Grand Lake on the west.

Visit the National Park Service website to plan your trip:
https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm

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Last Updated: Nov 28, 2022 2:42 PM
URL: https://usafa.libguides.com/governmentdocuments
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Tags: FDLP, Federal Depository Library, government information, united states

"The appearance of hyperlinks on this web site along with the views and opinions of authors, products or services contained therein does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government, DoD, USAF, or USAFA. These sites are used solely for authorized activities and information that supports the organization's mission. The U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Academy do not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these link locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD Web Site."

U.S. Air Force Academy, USAFA, CO 80840, (719) 333-2590 DSN: 333-2590, Updated 8 Apr 2018
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