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Home / Research Help / Research Guides / How Do I Find... / Finding U.S. Government Documents, Foreign Policy, and Defense Policy Information

Finding U.S. Government Documents, Foreign Policy, and Defense Policy Information

What Kind of Info | General Reference | U.S. Foreign Policy Reference | Library Catalog/Govt. Documents Indexes | Articles/Books on International Relations | Legislative Information | Other Document Sources | Foreign Countries | Statistics | News | Web Sites | Citing Govt. Information Sources

What Kind Of Information Does The U.S. Government Publish?

The U.S. Government publishes information on topics ranging from AIDS to the environment, including laws, regulations, statistics, consumer information, and much more both in print and electronic form: reference works (indexes, encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, bibliographies) books, periodicals, pamphlets, maps, and cd-roms. Vassar is a partial depository and receives only a selection of print publications.

Where Are The Government Documents In Vassar Library Located?

Most U.S. Government documents (print and CD-ROM formats) are located in Stack I and the Microtext Room (microfiche format) on the ground floor of the library. Documents shelved in these areas are classified by Superintendent of Documents (Sudocs) number. Some older documents are in the regular collection and can be located through the online catalog. Except for census materials and documents on microfiche, most government documents circulate.

How Can I Find Government Information On My Topic?

General Reference Works on Finding Government Documents

• Tapping the Government Grapevine: the User-Friendly Guide to U.S. Government Information Sources (Ref. J 83.R633 1998)
  A bit dated, but has chapters on Legislative and Executive Branch Information Sources.
• U.S. Government on the Web: Getting the Information You Need (Ref. ZA 5075.H47 2003)
• Using Government Information Sources: Electronic and Print (Ref. J 83.S4 2001)
  Chapter on Foreign Policy.

Reference Works on U.S. Foreign Policy

• American Foreign Relations Since 1600: a Guide to the Literature (Ref. E 183.7.A55 2003)
  Bibliography of selected books and articles on foreign relations, defense policy, foreign economic policy up to the Clinton Administration.
• Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations (Ref. E 183.7.B745 2002)
• Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy (Ref. E 183.7.E52 2002)
  Good source of background info on foreign policy in different areas, e.g. Science and Technology, Terrorism and Counterrorism, Tariff Policy, Environmental Diplomacy, Human Rights, Narcotics Policy
• Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations (Ref. E 183.7.E53 1997)
• Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (various call numbers)
  Look up this title in the online catalog and pick the president you want to research. Also online at American Presidency Project (UCSB)

Library Catalog and Indexes to Government Documents

• Vassar Online Catalog
  Starting in 1995, current federal documents that Vassar Library owns have been added to the library's online catalog. Older titles are being added as time allows. To find information on foreign policy toward another country, use these subject headings:
   
  • United States--Foreign relations-- [insert country name]
  • United States--Foreign economic relations--[country]
  • Environmental policy--United States
  • [Topic]--Government policy--United States
  • United States--Military policy
  • To find only govt. documents, limit searches to "Where Item is Located": Main U.S. Doc, Main U.S. Doc Fiche, Main U.S. Doc Internet
• Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
  Index to U.S. government agency publications and hearings available both in print (Ref.Z1223.A18) and online through:
   
  • GPO Monthly Catalog (1976-current)
    Includes links to PDFs in GPO Access.
  • MarciveWeb (1976-current)
• PAIS International
  Public policy information in books, periodical articles, and documents. 1972 to current.

Indexes for Articles and Books on International Relations

• CIAO (Columbia International Affairs Online)
  Includes fulltext books, working papers, etc.
• Expanded Academic Index and other multidisciplinary indexes such as Proquest and WilsonSelectPlus.
• JSTOR
  Fulltext of backfiles of selected electronic journals in economics, finance, political science, history, sociology, ecology, etc. Five-year "moving wall" between latest issues in JSTOR and most current issue published. Includes such journals as Comparative Politics,Foreign Policy, International Security
• PAIS International
  Public policy information in books, periodical articles, and documents. 1972 to current.
• Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  Articles, books, dissertations, book chapters and essays on politics, international relations, public policy, government.

Legislative Information

• CIS (Congressional Information Service) Index
  Indexing/abstracting (some fulltext) for Congressional hearings from 1970 to the present and legislative histories from 1984 to the present is in Congressional Universe. Also in print (discontinued) in Microtext Rm. KF 49 C62.
• CQ Weekly Report
  Includes weekly reports and analysis of the activities of Congress: current topics, status of bills in play, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, committee and floor activity, debates and all roll-call votes.
• GPO Access
  Congressional bills, The Congressional Record, The U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, the U.S. Budget, and more. These publications are also available in the library in print.
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
  Legal news, transcripts of Congressional testimony, U.S. case law, U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations, European Union law.
• Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service
  Background material prepared by the Library of Congress CRS on current topics of national and international interest, e.g. foreign relations. Vassar has these reports on microfiche from 1992-2004. Online availability is limited. Some sources for selected online full-text of CRS Reports:
   
  • Congressional Research Service: Search all CRS reports on the web.
  • U.S. Department of State
  • Federation of American Scientists: Reports on military and national security, intelligence, secrecy and security, etc.
  • National Council for Science and the Environment
  • OpenCRS: Congressional Research Reports for the People
  • U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Italy: U.S. policy issues.
• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
  Current Congressional information: major legislation, floor activities, roll call votes of the current Congress, bills from previous Congresses back to 1973, text of the Congressional Record back to 1993, and more.

Other Online Document Sources

• Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
• Cold War International History Project
• Council on Foreign Relations
• DDRS (Declassified Documents Reference System)
  Contains previously classified government documents covering major domestic and international events since the end of World War II. Documents include cabinet meeting minutes, correspondence, diary entries, intelligence reports, political analyses and technical studies from the White House, State Department, National Security Agency, FBI, and CIA.
• Digital National Security Archive
  Significant primary documents central to US foreign and military policy since 1945. Policy documents including presidential directives, memos, diplomatic dispatches, meeting notes, independent reports, briefing papers, White House communications, email, confidential letters and other material. See also the National Security Archive website.
• Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
  FRUS volumes have only been published covering declassified documents up to 1976. Selected volumes are online. Other volumes in print or microfiche. Check the Vassar online catalog under Foreign Relations of the United States.
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
  Available full-text in
  • Expanded Academic Index
  • GPO Access
  • Check E-Journal Finder for other online sources.
  • In print in the Government Documents collection (US Docs AE 2.109)
• Treaties Database (THOMAS)
  Treaties back to the 90th Congress.
• Treaties in Force
  Treaties and other international agreements of the United States on record in the Department of State.

Foreign Countries

• Background Notes (State Dept.)
• Country Profiles and Country Studies
  Part of the Library of Congress Country Studies/Area Handbooks Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. Country Studies were produced between 1988 and 1998. Country Profiles are more current.
• Europa World Year Book (Ref. JN 1.E85) and Europa World Plus
  Also see other Europa publications for specific regions for overviews of foreign relations with various countries and historical background.
• Portals to the World (Library of Congress)
• World Factbook (CIA)

Statistics

• FedStats
  Gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies.
• Statistical Universe
  Statistical data from federal agencies, U.S. Congress, state governments, United Nations, international organizations.

News

• CQ Researcher
  Reports on political and social issues currently in the news.
• FBIS Publications (Foreign Broadcast Information Service)
  Non-U.S. originated information from newspapers, journals, speeches, and broadcasts selected and translated by the U.S. Govt. To 2003. On CD-ROM in Gov. Docs. Room.
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
  Legal news, international news in English and some foreign newspapers and news services.

Web Sites for Government Info

• USA.gov
  Official U.S. Govt. portal to government information, services, and online transactions.
• INFOMINE Scholarly Internet Resource Collections: Government Information
• United States Foreign Policy (Univ. of Michigan Documents Center)

Citing Government Information

• Citing Government Information Sources Using MLA (Modern Language Association) Style
• How to Cite Government Documents