Research Guides: Government Information Research Guide: Publications

Introduction

Catalogs, bibliographies, and indexes are important tools to locate government publications. This includes all manner of government documents, reports, periodicals, patents, and archives.

Catalogs & Bibliographies

The separate nature of government documents in comparison to other kinds of publications, whereby they are usually classified and housed separately, means that they are also cataloged separately in their own catalog. For historical research it is useful to know that there have been numerous catalogs of United States government publications.

The published catalog of United States government publications began as a printed catalog in 1895 and changed its title numerous times. The electronic Monthly Catalog began in 1976. Its *various titles are listed below with QC holdings and reliable OCLC accession numbers that can used to search WorldCat. Most government documents published from 1895 to 1976 have been retrospectively cataloged in WorldCat. Most of the government documents held at Queens College Libraries are also listed in the OneSearch catalog. Many published government documents are in the process of being digitized. For details, see the Digitization Projects Registry.

Catalog of United States Government Publications

Catalog of United States Government Publications (CGP)
(1976- ). Previously entitled Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications (MOCAT). "The CGP is the finding tool for federal publications that includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides direct links to those that are available online."

Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications
Publication Date: 1895-2004
.

Pre-cursors to the Catalog

Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893
Call Number: Ref. Z1223.A 1905 (2 vols.)
Known as Ames'. Most of the documents indexed in Ames' were published in the United States Serial Set.
A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, September 5, 1774 - March 4, 1881
Call Number: Ref. Z1223.A 1885 (2 vols., 1970)
Known as Poore's. Most of the documents indexed in Poore's were published in the United States Serial Set.
Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909
Call Number: Ref. Z1223 .A113 [1911]
The Checklist too can be used to learn the place of a document in the Serial Set.
Guide to U.S. Government Publications
Call Number: Ref. Z1223 .Z7 A574 2005
The Guide too can be used to locate historical government documents.
Tables of and Annotated Index to the Congressional Series of United States Public Documents
Call Number: Not held at QCL
The Tables too can be used to learn the place of a document in the Serial Set. OCLC: 2562645 and 582840.

United States Serial Set
The Serial Set is traditionally both an index to early government documents as well as the collection of the document texts themselves, mostly executive and congressional reports. To learn the place of a document in the Serial Set, one can use the private indexes created by the Congressional Information Service (CIS). This CIS U.S. Serial Set Index can be located through a search of WorldCat, a reliable record for which is OCLC number: 1729151. Printed or microform holdings for the Serial Set itself can be located through a search of WorldCat, a reliable record for which is OCLC number: 3888071. The Serial Set is also available through a subscription from Proquest or Readex. See the Statutory Law section of this guide for more information on accessing the Serial Set.

Periodical Indexes

AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window
Consists of two subsets of records, the first contains citations for journal articles that include abstracts. The second consists of bibliographic records describing monographs, serials, audiovisual materials, and online content from around the world.
Catalogue Link: OneSearch.

ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
From the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), (1966- ). The most comprehensive index to educational scholarship. Also available at ERIC (Proquest) and at ERIC (EBSCO).
PAIS International
Traditionally compiled by the Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS), (1972- ). The printed index at QC is available (Periodicals, Abstracts, by title, 1991 to 2001). It is also available for subscription as Proquest's PAIS International.
PubMed (MEDLINE)
From the National Library of Medicine (NLM), (1953- ). The premier index to scholarly medical journals. Also available at MEDLINE (EBSCO). The printed index version of Medline was called Index Medicus.

U. S. Government Periodicals Index
Call Number: Not held at QCL
Publication Date: 1988-
Indexes 160+ periodicals. The printed index can be located through a search of WorldCat, a reliable record for which is OCLC number: 32291603. Available for subscription as Proquest's Government Periodicals Index.

U. S. Census Material

Census of Population and Housing: Publications
Many publications produced by the Census have been digitized and are available as PDFs (1790 to 2010). Publications that have not yet been digitized are also listed, and may be located by searching WorldCat..