Our library safeguards your right to know what the government is doing through the Federal Depository Library Program.

We have been an official federal depository library in December 1966. As a selective depository, we receive approximately 30% of the current publications available from the U.S. government. Most materials in the building are arranged by the Superintendent of Documents Classification System. Printed documents received since June 2004 can be found listed in the Online Catalog. For access to older material or for any questions regarding government documents, inquire at the Information Commons at (515) 271-2113, by email, or by online chat.

Government Resources on the Web:

Check out our Government Documents Research Guide for additional information.

Finding Documents

FDsys.gov

Leads to the Government Printing Office's new way of publishing, managing and preserving government sources from all three branches of government digitally. Includes presidential papers, budget, congressional hearings, regulations, etc.

USA.gov

Search thousands of government pages by keyword, by topic or by agency.

GPOaccess.gov

the gateway to federal web resources for all three branches of government with links to specially featured resources, the U.S. Government Online Bookstore and resource topics A-Z.

SearchGov

Search government pages by keyword with quick links to agencies, states and popular government websites.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Search for federal documents by subject, title keyword, or author. This online Catalog is slowly including all documents listed in the printed Monthly Catalog which dates from 1895-2004.

Declassified Documents Reference System

Get online access to more than 500,000 pages of previously classified government documents. Covering major international events from the Cold War to the Vietnam War and beyond, this single source enables users to locate key information underpinning studies in international relations, American studies, United States foreign and domestic policy studies, journalism and more.

Executive Branch

The White House

The official page for the executive branch, provides direct links to pages for the President and Vice President and their spouses, as well as news, issues, appointments and White House history and tours.

The President's Cabinet

Lists cabinet members with links to each department's website, as well as a link to an alphabetical list of Federal Agencies.

Legislative Branch

GPOaccess.gov

Find Congressional Bills, the Congressional Record, the U.S. Code and public and private laws.

Thomas

Leads to current action on bills before Congress, Congressional committees with their reports and full text searching of federal bills and laws.

U.S. House of Representatives

Find your Representative by state, name, or zip code and link to his/her website. Link to roll call vote information, committees, House floor debates and Committee Hearing schedules.

U.S. Senate

Find your senator, track and research bills, nominations, votes and lobbying disclosure information from the Senate's official website. There is a link also to Senate institutional history, biographies, art, exhibits and historical statistics.

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court

The official site for the Supreme Court includes links to recent decisions of the court and biographical information on the current justices as well as general information on the court.

U.S. Courts

This site includes information on the U.S. Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts and U.S. Bankruptcy Courts with links to each.

State Sources

Official State of Iowa site

This site includes links to the state legislature, governor and state agencies, facts about Iowa and other resources.

Iowa Legislature

Find your legislator, track legislation in the current general assembly, see the governor's budget recommendations and link to the Iowa Code.

Iowa taxes

Get Iowa state tax forms or file online.

Governor of Iowa

Get biographical information on the Governor and Lt. Governor, see the Governor's budget recommendations

Business and Economics

Business.gov

Best place to find information on rules and regulations for setting up and running a small business. This "official business link to the U.S. Government" is managed by the Small Business Administration and includes links to business opportunities, licenses, laws, workplace safety information and statistics.

Security and Exchange Commission

Find investment information and news. Check out rules and regulations on corporate financing and current litigation. Find company financial information through the popular EDGAR search engine.

Congressional Budget Office

Find cost estimates, reviews and analyses for Congressional bills and the President's budget.

Budget of the United States Government

The President's listing of the most recent budget along with some supplemental analyses. Some linked tables are also downloadable into spreadsheets.

Government Accountability Office

Check on how your tax dollars are being spent. GAO's mission is to "ensure the accountability of the federal government for the benefit of the American people." Reports are nonpartisan and cover all agencies from Agriculture to Veterans Affairs.

Economic Indicators

The Economics and Statistics Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce brings access to the most recent key economic indicators such as GDP, wholesale and retail trade, construction, etc. A calendar shows dates and times for the release of each statistic. Monthly compilations are available from GPO Access

Current Economic Crisis

Recovery.gov

Check out the President's efforts to get the economy back up through the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed by Congress and signed by the President February 17, 2009. Includes spreadsheets for money allocated to agencies, state progress reports and news updates. To trace how the bill got through Congress and who voted for it, type H.R. 1 in the Thomas site's "search bill" box.

TARP (troubled asset relief program)

See how the government is bailing out the financial system. TARP is part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, passed by Congress in October 2008.

Assessment of TARP

The Government Accountability Office offers an overview, assessment and recommendations of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Recommendations come after the various parts of the program are implemented and start bringing in results.

Iowa's Economic Recovery

How Iowa will spend the federal Recovery money the state gets.

Elections

Electoral College

Links to about the Electoral College and how it votes, and has voted in the past.

Federal Election Commission

Find information on campaign financing for both Presidential elections and House and Senate elections.

Iowa State Election Information

Find out about voter registration, absentee voting, college student voting, where your polling place is and much more for the state of Iowa.

Health and Medical Information

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Find guides to environmental health, healthy living, traveling health, emergency preparedness and safety. Find information on emerging infectious diseases and pages on specific diseases A to Z, plus many more links to health resources.

Health.gov

The health portal for the government includes links to health agencies, news, health guidelines, and Healthfinder.gov, a quick encyclopedia for health topics.

Department of Health and Human Services

The department home page includes videos and information on current crises with links to diseases, prevention, disaster preparedness, regulations, and available health and human service grants.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Find information on product recalls, vaccines, new drugs and cosmetics.

Medical Encyclopedia

Easy to browse alphabetically by Medical Subject Heading (MeSH). Quick medical information in laymen terms with many illustrations.

National Library of Medicine

Link to articles on current health topics, medical databases, grant information and the history of medicine.

Clinical Trials

This is a registry of ongoing clinical trials indexed by medical condition and by drug intervention.

History and Archives

American Memory

Search or browse over 100 collections on various topics in American culture and politics, finding photgraphs, maps, prints, sound recordings, scores, letters, testimonies, etc.

National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official national recordkeeper. The text and high resolution images of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights can be found here. The site includes links to Presidential Libraries, Records of Congress, the Federal Register and many research topics.

Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Find tables on inflation, consumer prices, employment, consumer spending and time use. Some data are also available by region, state or SMSA.

Census

The gateway for statistical information about U.S. population and business. The site includes direct links to popular studies such as the American Community Survey, Housing, Poverty, Health Insurance Coverage, the Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners and Foreign trade.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

Check out prevalence of food born and infectious diseases state by state, week by week.

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Find crop, dairy, meat production, land values and conditions nationally and by state.

National Center for Health Statistics

Find statistics on diseases, accidents, drug use, exercise, health insurance coverage etc.

Statistical Abstract

This is an annual compendium of statistical information the federal government collects in all field from accommodation through wholesale trade. Files go back to the first edition of 1878.

Taxes

Internal Revenue Service

Get your tax forms and do your taxes here.

Iowa taxes

Get Iowa state tax forms or file online.

State tax forms

Find state tax forms and state tax agencies from the Federation of Tax Administrators' web site.