Navigation Menu Introduction Government Knowledge Academic Knowledge Private Sector Knowledge What is a book? What is a periodical? Government Documents Non-Print Material Quiz

Government Documents In the section on the production of information by the government we stated that government agencies are the largest producers of information in the United States. We also mentioned that libraries throughout the country are set up as depository libraries to receive copies of the documents produced by government agencies. When you are doing your research you should consider looking for government documents that might support your topic. Government documents can be broken down into three broad categories: 1) federal documents, 2) state documents, and 3) local documents. Federal Documents Federal documents are those produced by federal agencies such as the Department of Education, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, etc. These agencies send their documents to the Government Printing Office (GPO), which then makes them available to the public. In Minnesota you can access federal documents at a number of depository libraries. There are two basic types of federal depository libraries: full-depository libraries which contain all the federal documents available through the depository system, and partial-depository libraries which contain some of the federal documents published. The University of Minnesota is the  full-depository library for Minnesota and South Dakota.  Partial-depository libraries in South Dakota include the libraries at Northern State University, the University of South Dakota and the South Dakota State Library.  Partial-depository libraries in South Dakota provide access to their government documents collections via their library catalogs. Students can also access the Government Printing Office database of federal documents on the Internet.  State Documents State documents are those produced by state agencies in each state. South Dakota documents are distributed to nine depository libraries in South Dakota by the State Library as part of the state publications distribution center and depository library system.  Northern State University is a state documents depository. Local Documents Local documents are those produced by various local branches of government, i.e., county or city governments. Local documents are usually available in the main branch of a city or county public library system. Local documents can also be found in county or city law libraries.