LibGuides: Government Documents: Home

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

Documents on Display

Establishment of USAFA

66 years ago on 1 April 1954, the U.S. Air Force Academy was authorized with President Dwight D. Eisenhower signing Public Law 325, the Act to provide for the establishment of a United States Air Force Academy.

The founding of the Air Force Academy was the result of individuals who years earlier expressed support for a dedicated military institution that would provide flight training.

image source: www.usafa.af.mil and U.S. Air Force Academy McDermott Library Archives

1919 -- Bill to establish the Department of Aeronautics
Congressman Charles F. Curry introduced legislation, which later failed, to establish the Department of Aeronautics on July 28, 1919

1926 -- General William “Billy” Mitchell: Department of Defense and Unification of Air Service: Hearings before the Committee on Military Affairs House of Representatives 69^th Congress, 1^st Session January 19 to March 9, 1926

Testimony of General Mitchell pages: 396-440
Menoher Board report discussions pages: 908-917

1947 -- National Security Act of 1947 became law on 26 July 1947 and the Department of the Air Force was created

1954, Jan -- Full committee hearings on H.R. 5337, to provide for the establishment of a United States Air Force Academy House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services ; January 13, 1954

1954 -- The Air Force Academy Act, Public Law 325, April 1, 1954

Primary sources listed above and many other official documents are freely available on the Internet from sites such as GovInfo.gov and HathiTrust Digital Library. Also, the library subscribes to several government publication databases (ProQuest Congressional and HeinOnline—please go to the Library Resources tab and its remote access guide via BlackBoard for instructions).

McDermott Library’s Clark Special Collections on the 6th floor of the library is a repository for materials relating to the origin and development of the Air Force Academy: https://usafa.libguides.com/spc

To read more about the Air Force Academy’s history, please visit: https://www.usafa.edu/about/history/

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►►►Previously highlighted documents

Government Documents

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

Government Documents: Home