Hofstra University received its designation as a federal depository library in 1964 from Congressman John W. Wydler.  In the 40 years of our existence we have built a very fine collection of materials, both current and archival.  The collection now numbers over 200,000 documents in paper format; 130,000 titles in microform; 1,400 titles in CD-ROM;  and over 50,000 USGS topographical maps.  In 1989, upon its 25th anniversary, the documents area was named for Congressman Wydler whose congressional papers were donated to the University.  In 2000, the depository library was moved to its present location on the second floor of Axinn Library and rededicated, affirming the University's commitment to providing easy access to federal and state information to the community.  The federal depository library has extensive holdings in the following areas: congressional committee hearings, Public Laws, the Congressional Record and it predecessor titles, Foreign Relations of the United States, the Census back to 1790, the Smithsonian Ethnology series and Supreme Court opinions.  There are several specialized finding aids such as the ASI, American Statistics Index, CIS, Congressional Information Service Index to the Working Papers of Congress, Marcive Web-docs, which is an online index to government documents published since July 1976 and updated weekly,  and the Government Periodicals Index.  There is also access to the electronic versions of these indexes.   In September 1998, the University also became a New York State Depository Library amassing a collection of over 3,300 documents by 2001, all of which are fully accessible through the Library's online catalog.
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Hours of Operation

For further information contact:

Georgina Martorella - Government Documents Librarian, Associate Professor
Axinn Library, Room 201A
Phone: (516) 463-4980
E-mail

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Government Documents in the News :
Click here for access to original reports covering a variety of issues from official government websites and other research institutions that have made recent news headlines.

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Major Research Sets Housed in Documents:

Code of Federal Regulations  - AE 2.106/3: 
The codification of all executive and administrative rules and regulations, originally published in the Federal Register, having general applicability and the effects of law.  It is arranged into broad subject groups similar to the U.S. Code.

Congressional Record - X.1.1:
A verbatim record of the proceedings of the House and Senate, it is published daily when Congress is in session.

Foreign Relations of the United States - S 1.1:
A collection of official papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States. 

Public Papers of the Presidents - AE 2.114:
This contains statements, messages, remarks, appointments, nominations, bill signings, executive orders, letters, memoranda, etc.

Smithsonian Papers on Ethnology - SI 2.3:
Publications for research in ethnology, archaeology, and general anthropology, particularly of the American Indian.

U.S. Senate and House Hearings - Y 4:
Transcripts of Senate and House hearings.

U.S. Treaties - S 9.10:
Treaties and international agreements.

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Major Finding Aids:

American Statistics Index - 1974-2001 in paper, continued online in Statistical Universe 2000
A source of government statistics on any subject.

Andriot, John L.  Guide to U.S. Government Publications
The arrangement of this book by SUDOC numbers both active and inactive.  The citations list agencies, series titles and cross references to earlier or later SUDOC numbers.  It contains agency and title indexes.
Doc Z 1223 .Z7 A5752 
annual

CIS Index 1980-2001 in paper, continued online in Congressional Universe 2000
The index to congressional reports, hearings, Public Laws and legislative history.

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Federal Government Information:

Agency Index (Washburn University)
Good source of federal agency information and publications.

FedWorld
A service of the Department of Commerce which serves as the online locator service for a comprehensive inventory of federal information, online to more than 60 federal agencies, bureaus, and programs as well as gateways to more than 40 government servers.

FirstGov 
A public/private partnership sponsored by the General Services Administration.  It is searchable by subject or governmental organization.  "FirstGov allows users to browse a wealth of information – everything from researching at the Library of Congress to tracking a NASA mission." It also enables users to conduct important business online – such as applying for student loans, tracking Social Security benefits, comparing Medicare options and even administering government grants and contracts.

GPO Access 
The official site of the Government Printing Office provides free access to government publications. Users can connect to more than 25 text and data resources such as congressional bills, calendars, directories, records, GAO reports, House and Senate manuals, Supreme Court decisions, and the U.S. Code.

University of Michigan Documents Center
The major university site providing access to foreign, international and Michigan documents as well as federal documents.

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Search Engines and Guides to Federal Sources:

Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information
The site sponsored by the Government Documents Roundtable of the American Library Association, it is searchable by levels of government or subject.

Google Government Search
The all-inclusive search engine for all types of government information and quasi-governmental information on all levels.  It searches down many levels into each site.

GPO Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP 1976-)
The government-produced catalog of federal publications.  It is arranged by department and bureau.

Infomine Government Information
Contains scholarly Internet research collection geared toward academics. It can be searched using keywords by title or subject.

Marcive Web-docs (available only to Hofstra students, faculty and staff)
An index of federal documents from 1976 to date, updated weekly.  It can be searched by title, author, subject, SUDOC number, etc.  All of the indexes include the keyword approach.

Migrating Government Publications (University of Memphis)
Contains federal government publications going from paper to electronic format.  It is indexed by SUDOC number and title.  It also contains unofficial sites.

U.S. Federal Government Agencies Directory
Contains list of federal agencies, boards, commissions and committees as well as quasi-official agencies.  Its structure is based upon the U.S. Government Manual and has keyword search capabilities.

Yahoo! Government
A popular site for all types of government information.  It is a good starting point.

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Legislation, Regulations and Court Cases:

Congress.org
A directory of Congress: officials, issues and legislation, and guide to the media.

FindLaw
A source for all types of legal information: statutes, codes, cases, jobs in law, etc.

GPO Access
The official site of the Government Printing Office.

Legal Information Institute (Cornell University)
Contains constitutions, codes, court opinions and a topical library.

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (Available only to Hofstra University students, faculty and staff.) 
A mega site containing federal and state legal information, congressional indexes, statistical indexes and the Index to Government Periodicals.  It contains many full-text documents on a variety of topics.  It is updated daily.

Thomas  
An inclusive site for legislative information, congressional records, bills, and historical documents from the Library of Congress to the 103rd Congress to date.  It also included the full-text document, "How Our Laws are Made."

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State and Local Information:

Local Government (Suffolk Cooperative Library System)
Links to local towns and villages within Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Nassau County
Contains current county news and general community information.

New York City Documents (Columbia University)
Has links to city agencies.

New York State Government Information Locator Service
The direct link to New York State agency, legislative and judicial information.

The New York State home page
The official home page of the State of New York.

New York State Library home page
Supplies access to the catalog of the New York State Library.

NYCLINK
The official city Web site supplying topical links to city departments.

State and Local Government on the Net
Contains governmental information for the 50 states.

Stateline.org
This is a resource for citizens who want to stay up-to-date about what is happening in their state.  It covers issues such as education, healthcare, taxes, environment and election reform.

Town of Hempstead
Contains departmental information from the township in which Hofstra is located.

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International Information:

Canadian Government Internet Information
This is the Internet access point to obtain information about Canada, its government and its services.

Country Studies (Library of Congress)
Contains the sociological, political, economic and military background of individual countries.

DOSFAN (University of Illinois-Chicago)
A partnership between the Government Printing Office and UIC providing an archival source for documents on foreign policy.

Foreign Governments (Northwestern University)
Documents from countries around the world.

International Agencies and International Information on the Web
Links to international organizations via University of Michigan.

International Treaties
Searchable by subject, (e.g., human rights).

Statistics Canada - Canadian Census Bureau
The source of Canadian demographic information.

United Nations
The official source for U.N. documents.  It contains links to U.N. activities around the world as well as a wealth of statistics on foreign countries.

United States Department of State
The official U.S. source for foreign policy documents.

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Statistics

Census Bureau
Primary source of demographic data.

FedStats
Gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. federal agencies.

Statistical Resources on the Web (University of Michigan)

Statistical Universe (available only to Hofstra students, faculty and staff)

Stat-USA (available only at terminal in the Documents room)
An excellent source of information on marketing outside the United States.

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Tax Forms

Federal Tax Forms and Publications

New York State Tax Forms and Publications

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Other Valuable Documents:

(Numbers in parentheses are the SUDOC numbers under which the paper document, if available, is filed in the Documents room.)
 

Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government for Kids
GPO site geared toward school-age students from elementary to high school.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Identifies types of federal assistance available and how to apply for specific types of assistance.  (Pr EX 2.20: yr)

Consumer Information Catalog
Provides an index of government publications on the buying, use and care of consumer products (GS 1.2: El 2:)

Digest of Education Statistics
Provides a compilation of significant materials pertaining to American education on such topics as schools, enrollment, teachers, graduates, educational attainment, finances and federal educational programs. (ED 1.326:, ED 1.310/2:)

Documents in the News (University of Michigan)
Contains documents on subjects currently in the news.

Economic Report of the President (latest edition)
As transmitted to the Congress. It is produced by the Council of Economic Advisers.

HotDocs (Columbia)
Full-text documents about major governmental activities which are featured in the news.

Maps (University of Texas at Austin)
Has maps and links to map sites, state and national.

National Atlas of the United States of America
Assists those needing to visualize countrywide distribution patterns and relationships between environmental phenomena and human activities.
(I 19.2: N 21a)

North American Industry Classification System (Pr Ex 2.6/2:In 27/2002

Occupational Outlook Handbook (L 2.3/4:)

Patents (New York Public Library)
Full text of U.S. and foreign patents.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (J 29.9/6:)

Standard Industrial Classification Search (Pr EX 2.6/2: In 27)

The Plum Book
List of government policy and supporting positions.  (Y4.G 74/7: P75/6)

United States Government Manual
Official handbook of the federal government containing sections describing the creation and authority, organization, and functions of the agencies in the legislative, executive and judicial branches.  (AE 2.108/2:)

United States Government Periodicals Universe (available only to Hofstra students, faculty and staff)
An index of articles appearing in U.S. Government periodicals.

World Factbook
Provides basic data with maps on land, water, people, government, economy, communications and defense forces of all countries of the world.  (Pr Ex 3.15/2:)

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Citing Government Information

Uncle Sam - Brief Guide to Citing Government Information
Offers links to citation forms for government publications as well as links to additional citation guides.

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