Skip to main content
It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

Government Documents: Locating Government Documents at Milne Library

Finding U.S. Federal Documents

Description: Milne Library is a partial US Government depository library, receiving a wide variety of reports, books, periodicals, maps, catalogs, laws & legislation, supreme court reports, and patents published and distributed by US government agencies.

Locations:

  1. Government Documents Collection. Many of the government documents are housed in the Periodicals Room in the basement. U.S. Federal documents are arranged by publishing agency, using the Superintendent of Documents classification system. Most of these documents can be checked out for 4 weeks.
  2. Reference. Many census and statistical sources are housed in the reference collection on the 1st floor. These materials may not be checked out. Ask a reference librarian for help, as many of these exist in both print and electronic form.
  3. Maps.  Many maps are housed in the Map Room on the 3rd floor. Some of these can be located using the library catalog: select "Advanced Search" from the top left menu bar, then combine a keyword search with "Limit by collection" to Map Room, 3rd floor. Use the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications to find additional depository maps.
  4. Circulating Collection. Selected documents are housed in the regular collection on the 2nd and 3rd floors. These can be located using the library catalog.
  5. Internet. Many federal documents are now available via the Internet.

Indexes:
Federal documents are considered reliable sources of information for research, so directing a search towards finding them is a wise strategy. Many finding aids and indexes exist for locating government documents.

Finding US documents within Milne Library:

  1. Library Catalog. Many key documents, such as census and statistical sources, are listed in the online catalog. Select "Advanced Search." Enter your search terms, then under "Limit by collection," select "US Documents Collection, Basement."
  2. Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP). The most comprehensive finding aid for U.S. government documents; a catalog of all documents received by GPO. Indexes both electronic and print sources. A link from each record allows the user to locate libraries that own the item. Includes author, title, subject, and keyword title indexes; covers 1994 to present.
Finding US documents online:
  1. USA.gov. Conceived as "the official U.S. gateway to all government information," this search engine and subject directory provide ways to locate information across millions of government web sites. Directories for citizens, businesses, federal employees, and governments.
  2. Congress.gov. Search for bills, their status, and legislation from current House and Senate activity back to the 103rd Congress.

Finding NYS Documents

Description: Milne Library is an official New York State Documents Depository Library, receiving a wide variety of the publications in paper format from New York State government agencies.

Locations:

  1. New York Documents Collection. The bulk of print NYS documents is housed in the Periodicals Room in the basement.
  2. Circulating Collection: Selected documents are housed in the regular collection on the 2nd and 3rd floors. These can be located using the library catalog.

Indexes:

Finding NYS documents within Milne Library:

  1. Library Catalog. Most New York State documents are indexed in the Mile Library online catalog. Select "Advanced Search." Enter your search terms then under "Limit by collection," select "NYS Documents Collection, Basement."
  2. Checklist of Official Publications of the State of New York. Chose from a monthly or an annual list of documents published by New York State. Although there is no search engine, using the CTRL-F key combination to bring up the "Find" search box allows searching by keywords. Any document with a blue D next to it can be found in Milne Library under the NYS document number (e.g. LEG 787.3-3 STANS 83-2) in the Periodicals Room in the basement.

Finding NYS documents online:

  1. EXCELSIOR. The New York State Library's online catalog lists the holdings of the State Library, the State Archives and the New York State Historical Document Inventory, including the electronic version of many documents. 
Except where otherwise noted, SUNY Oneonta Library Guides are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 International License. Not sure how to cite us? Try these best practices.