How do I Access Government Information?
Large amounts of government information is made available publicly at taxpayer expense. With the growth of the internet, much of the currently produced information is now available online. And with the federal government being one of the largest publishers in the world, government publications may be a significant information resource for your research. Government agencies produce annual reports, statistics, books,
laws, maps, and online databases, many of which are available via the Internet. For older publications or materials not yet published online, a system of federal depository libraries for government information in each congressional district as well as one of Wisconsin state depository libraries make most documents easy to obtain.
When you need to access information produced by a government, first determine the date of the information you need. A general rule of thumb is that if the information has been published in the last 10 years, it often will be available online. Try reliable and recommended sources of online government information first, such as GPO ACCESS for federal publications, or Wisconsin.gov for official Wisconsin state agency documents. Historical information is gradually becoming available online, but you may want to consult library catalogs for printed government documents, which have been produced since 1776. Many libraries that have collections of government publications don't necessarily have the resources to catalog them or include them in the library's catalog. For example our library started adding new federal publications to our catalog in 1998, which means that many of our older important titles are not listed there yet. So, don't assume they don't have what you need-- ASK questions! Librarians will be glad to assist you in your search for government information.
Most documents collections also use a unique system of call numbers for their documents, based on the issuing agency rather than the topic. This makes browsing the shelves rather difficult--another reason why using the catalogs and databases for searching government publications is so important.
Your next step is to determine what level or branch of government is likely to be interested in your topic. Who would be publishing the information and why?