In 1908, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library was granted the designation of being a federal documents depository library for the 3rd Congressional District of Tennessee by the federal government. Depository libraries provide the local community with no-fee access to documents and information produced by the federal government.

Federal depository collections are available for use by everyone. The collection includes documents in many formats including print, microfiche, videotape, floppy disk, CD/DVD-ROMs, maps, and online. They cover a wide range of topics relevant to the general public and to professionals, researchers and students in almost every field of study.

Categories include:

• Law and Regulations
• Business
• Careers
• Census Statistics
• Science and Technology
• Travel
• Defense and Military History

The collection is located on the second floor of the Main Library in the Business, Science and Technology department. The staff in this department can provide assistance in helping patrons to locate the information needed. A specialized numbering system based on grouping documents together by issuing agency is used for organization of the collection rather that the Dewey numbering system seen though out the rest of the library system. Several computer databases as well as paper catalogs are available for use in the library to help in locating particular documents.

All documents are reviewed as they are received and any items that will be of great general interest or useful reference materials are held for special processing. These documents are assigned Dewey decimal call numbers and are housed in the library’s regular collection in the circulating and reference areas. The library’s catalog of materials contains records for these special items which can be located by using a title, author or keyword search.

The following list suggests the best sites to find government information available online for federal, state, international, and foreign levels of government.

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• Federal Web Locator (locate all federal agencies via Center for Information Law and Policy )
• Catalog of US Govt Publications (search for government documents)
• US Government Online Bookstore (also see the commercial site from Claitor's)
• United States Government Manual (contains information on government agencies, boards, commissions, committees and international organizations in which the U.S. participates)
• FirstGov (WWW information portal for the US Govt)
  • FirstGov en Español (Recursos del Gobierno de los Estados Unidos en Español)
• Google Search -- US Government
• Documents Center (excellent gateway from the University of Michigan)
• GovBenefits.gov (a partnership of many Federal agencies and organizaitons that provides improved, personalized access to government assistance programs)
• Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications

  
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• Core Documents of U.S. Democracy (from GPO Access)
• GPO Finding Aids (incl. Agency Sites and Topics)
• Federal Agencies (from WashLaw Web)
• Migrating Government Publications (internet sites linked from print publications, from the U. of Memphis)
• U.S. Depository Ready Reference Sources (from Columbia University)
• Milestone Documents: compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.
• Other Bookmarked Lists       .
      (titles+ from UVa & NWU, serials from Columbia & Auburn, pamphlets from UB

  
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• GPO Access
• US House of Representatives
• US Senate Home Page
• Guide to the U.S. Legislative Branch from Thomas
• Thomas (search & retrieve legislation from the 103^rd to current congresses)
• Congressional Record (daily)
• US Code
• Public & Private Laws
• Code of Federal Regulations
• Federal Register
• Regulations.gov (view abstracts/full text of proposed & final Federal regulations currently open for public comment & submit comments to the Federal agencies responsible for rulemaking action)
• Internet Law Library (laws and regulations)
• Native American & Aboriginal Law from NESL
• A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation (from LOC's American Memory collections) includes Statutes at Large to 1873
• Biographical Directory of the US Congress, 1774-present
• CRS Reports (from Gary Price at GWU)

  
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• Supreme Court Website
• FindLaw(search Supreme Court Opinions from 1893 to the present)
• Selected Historic Decisions  (over 600 historic Supreme Court decisions, from Cornell)
• Federal Judiciary Homepage
• LII's Eye on the Courts (cases in the news, from Cornell)

  
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• The White House
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
• The Public Papers of the President
• Department of Homeland Security

  
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• Medicare (information for people with Medicare)
• MedlinePlus (health information from the NLM)
• Healthfinder (consumer health and human services information)
• Traveler's Health (information for travelers by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention)
  • Health Information for International Travel "The Yellow Book" (published every two years by CDC as a reference for those who advise international travelers of health risks)
• Health Topics A to Z
• FDA Hot Topics (information from the FDA on everything from bioterrorism to wireless phones)
• The National Women's Health Information Center (provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
• Cancer.gov (information from the National Cancer Institute on types and treatments for cancer, ongoing research and clinical trials)

  
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Statistics

• Statistical Abstract of the United States 2001 & 2002  (1995-2000 editions)
• Fedstats (search engine for government data)
• US Census Bureau (also see its Customer Information Exchange Page)
  • American FactFinder
• U.S. Historical Census Data Browser
• Economic Indicators
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• The Beige Book, (current economic conditions from the Federal Reserve Board)
• The Green Book (data on federal entitlement programs)
• FY2004 Budget (PDF and spreadsheet)
• Economic Report of the President

  
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The States

• State of Tennessee Official Homepage
• Tennessee Statistical Abstract
• Economic Report of the Governor
• Tennessee General Assembly
• Tennessee Supreme Court
• Tennessee Bar Association - Legal Resources for the Public
• Tennessee Code
• Tennessee Private and Public Acts
• Tennessee Rules and Regulations
• Chattanooga City Code and Charter
• Tennessee Voter Information
  

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• State Constitutions, Statutes, and Related Legislative Information (from Cornell University)
• American Law Sources On-Line(includes state-by-state legal links)
• FindLaw (resources list for individual states)
• State and Local Government on the Net (from Piper Resources)

  
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International

 
• CIA World Factbook (profiles of world countries and territories)
• Country Studies(Library of Congress)
• Portals to the World (electronic resources selected by LC)
• Documents Center (University of Michigan)
• Foreign Governments (links to individual foreign government pages)
• World Constitutions and International Treaties (from Texas A&M)
• U.S. State Department Home Page
  • Background Notes
  • CRS Reports Relating to International Issues
  • Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices
  • Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
  • International Religious Freedom Report
  • Country Commercial Guides
  • United States Embassies and Consulates Worldwide
  • Foreign Consular Offices in the United States
  • International Information Programs, incl Washington File
• PCL Map Collection (from UTex---many CIA maps)
• United Nations
• InfoNation (UN: compare data for member states)

  
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 Documents Administration

• Federal Depository Library Program Desktop (from the GPO Homepage)
  • (includes Item Lister and Federal Depository Library Directory)
• FDLP Basic Collection
• Basic Depository Library Documents (from Tom Tyler at the University of Denver)
  • (includes List of Classes , Superseded List, and Shipping Lists)
• GODORT Toolbox (for processing and cataloging documents)
• GODORT Handout Exchange (subject guides and pathfinders)
• Documents Data Miner 2 (created and maintained by Nan Myers at Wichita State University)
• CD-ROM page of GODORT's Handout Exchange (links to guides on government CDs)
• Superseded CD-ROMs (U of Memphis)
• State and Local Information (GODORT-SLDTF)
• Columbia's DocsAdmin Page

  
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In the News

• Elections (FedDocsTaskForce Frequently Used Sites)
• Documents in the News (from the University of Michigan)
• America's War Against Terrorism (from UMich Documents Center)
• September 11 & Beyond (from LII)
• CPI Calculation Machine (worth of a dollar)

  
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Forms for the Asking

• Federal Tax Forms and Publications
• State Tax Links
• Forms from the Feds (from the University of Memphis)
• Social Security Administration Online Forms
• Passport Applications (available for printing from U.S. Department of State

  
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Just for Kids

• Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government for Kids
• First Gov for Kids
• WhiteHouseKids.Gov - Life in the White House
• FEMA for Kids
• U.S. Treasury for Kids
• USDA for Kids (A collection of USDA sponsored links for kids on subjects from nutrition to conservation)
• U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: Kids Pages
• NASA Kids
• Fact Finder Kid's Corner (provided by U.S. Census Bureau and American Fact Finder)
• CIA's Homepage for Kids
• Justice for Youth and Kids (provided by U.S. Department of Justice)
• Kidzone (provided by U.S. Department of Energy)
• Future State U.S. Department of State for Youth (provided by the U.S. Department of State)

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Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Rooms

• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Department of Defense
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Tennessee Valley Authority
• U.S. Department of State
• The Office of Administration (the White House)

  
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Odds and Ends

The Strange, The Quirky, and the Useful

• CPI Calculation Machine (worth of a dollar)
• In Plain English: Making Sense of the Federal Reserve (an overview of the U.S. Federal Reserve System)
• FAQ of the U.S. Government Have a question about federal programs, benefits or services? Check this out!
• ParkNet: Information on the National Park Service
• Federal Citizen Information Center: online consumer information
• Shopping from the Government: almost anything you could imagine on sale from government sources
• Recreation.Gov: a web-based recreaton resource offering a single point of access to recreational opportunities nationwide

  
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For comments or suggestions concerning this page, please contactChattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library or
Government Documents Department at (423) 757-5415

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Last updated 9/29/03
Chattanooga Hamilton County Bicentennial Library
Chattanooga, Tennessee
2002