U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT COLLECTION PROFILE

• OVERVIEW OF DEPOSITORY PROGRAMS AND POLICIES
• FINDING AIDS
• CONGRESSIONAL BRANCH PUBLICATIONS
• LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS
• PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS
• JUDICIAL BRANCH PUBLICATIONS
• EXECUTIVE BRANCH PUBLICATIONS

I. OVERVIEW OF DEPOSITORY PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

U.S. Government Printing Office

Yale University Library has been a selective depository for U. S. Federal government publications since 1859. Selections are made by item numbers representing a category of publication or title from the List of Classes of United States Government Publications Available for Selection by Depository Libraries. Currently the Government Documents and Information Center selects approximately 83 percent of the more than 7,000 item numbers offered.

The Yale Law School Library was designated as a Federal depository library in 1981; the Law Library selects approximately ten percent of the item numbers offered.

Other local Federal depository libraries in the Greater New Haven area include the University of New Haven (designated a depository in 1971) and Southern Connecticut State University (designated a depository in 1968).

The Connecticut State Library was designated as the Regional Depository Library for the State of Connecticut in 1967. As a regional depository, the State Library receives all materials offered for selection and retains them permanently. It also serves as a resource for all selective depositories in its region, including interlibrary loan.

Atomic Energy Commission

Yale University was a depository for the Atomic Energy Commission from the late 1940s through 1969. The historical collection includes scientific research and development of the national atomic energy program from the major research centers operated by the Atomic Energy Commission. The reports received through this program are located in the Government Documents and Information Center; the format is mixed, some paper, some microform.

The Atomic Energy Commission was abolished in 1974; its functions were transferred to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Energy Research and Development Administration (now the Department of Energy). Selected series from each of these agencies are collected and housed in the Government Documents and Information Center; the primary format is microfiche.

U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines

The Geology Library receives publications directly on exchange or as gifts from the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines and maintains a historical collection of all major series from both agencies.

NON-DEPOSITORY PUBLICATIONS

The Government Documents and Information Center subscribed to the Documents Expediting Service, located at the Library of Congress, until the service ceased in 2004. As a subscriber the Center received regular shipments of federal publications, some non-depository and some second copies, and requested publications on a title-by-title basis. A small portion of the collection was acquired in this manner, but this service was always an option for locating fugitive publications (those that evade the regular depository channels).

The Government Documents and Information Center also purchases nondepository statistical publications, declassified materials and Congressional Research Service issue briefs.

The majority of depository publications are now issued in online format only or in dual formats (online and tangible - paper, microform, or CD-ROM/DVD-ROM). Before the advent of online documents, the Center elected to receive depository publications in paper whenever possible; some materials were available in microform only, however. The Government Documents and Information Center continues to select tangible formats when available.

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II. FINDING AIDS

The Government Documents and Information Center collections that were published prior to 1977 are not represented in Orbis, Yale's online catalog. The primary access to these collections is still the printed or electronic indexes listed below, all of which are housed at the Center.

Since 1989 currently received serial titles and issues have been entered into Orbis. In May 2000 bibliographic records for all U.S. Federal depository materials received at Yale were entered into Orbis, a total of 240,000 records.

General Indexes - Comprehensive

1774-1881	Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, Sept. 5, 1773 - March 4, 1881. (Poore's)
1881-1893	Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government. (Ames)
1893-1940	Catalogue of the Public Documents of the (53rd-76th) Congress and of all departments of the government of the United States for the period March 4, 1893 to December 31, 1940. (Document Catalogue)
1895-2004	Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications
1994-present	Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
1975-present	Lexis-Nexis Statistical (limited to Yale IP addresses)

General Indexes - Congressional

1789-present	Lexis-Nexis Congressional (limited to Yale IP addresses)
1789-1969	CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, 1789-1969.
c.1830-1969	CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Prints Index through 1969.
c.1833-1969	CIS US Congressional Committee Hearings Index
c.1823-1964	CIS Index to Unpublished US Senate Committee Hearings
1965-1968	CIS Index to Unpublished US Senate Committee Hearings
l969-1972	CIS Index to Unpublished US Senate Committee Hearings
c.1833-1936	CIS Index to Unpublished US House of Representatives Committee Hearings
1937-1946	CIS Index to Unpublished US House of Representatives Committee Hearings
1947-1954	CIS Index to Unpublished US House of Representatives Committee Hearings
1955-1958	CIS Index to Unpublished US House of Representatives Committee Hearings
1959-1964	CIS Index to Unpublished US House of Representatives Committee Hearings
c.1817-1969	CIS Index to US Senate Executive Documents and Reports covering documents and reports not printed in the Serial Set
c.1970-present	CIS Index to Publications of the United States Congress (CIS Index)

General Indexes - Executive

1789-1909	CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909; Guide to Documents Listed in Checklist of U.S. Public Documents, 1789-1909, Not Printed in the U.S. Serial Set, Parts 1-6. These records are also included in Orbis.
1910-1932	CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1910-1932; Guide to Documents Not Printed in the U.S. Serial Set, Parts 1-7.
c.1945-1997	Declassified Documents Quarterly Catalog
c.1945-present	Declassified Documents Reference System Online
c.1946-1996	Government Reports Announcement and Index (scientific and technical reports)
1964-present	National Technical Information Service (limited to Yale IP addresses)

Special Catalogs and Indexes

Retrospective and comprehensive agency-produced catalogs and indexes are available for some agencies. Some of the most comprehensive include those produced by the U.S. Bureau of Education, U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Mines, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Some Federal libraries have catalogs which are available for searching electronically, i.e., the National Agricultural Library, the National Library of Medicine, the Library of Congress or the Environmental Protection Agency.

The U.S. Government Periodical Index (1993-2003) and its predecessor, Index to U.S. Government Periodicals (1970-1987), indexed the contents of approximately 175 U.S. government periodical titles.

The American Foreign Policy and Treaty Index, 1993 to 1999, provides access to the full range of information on American foreign policy and foreign relations and for information on the economic, social and political conditions in foreign countries. The full text of all publications included in this index are available in the AFPTI microfiche collection housed in the Government Documents and Information Center.

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III. CONGRESSIONAL BRANCH PUBLICATIONS

The Government Documents and Information Center has a comprehensive collection of congressional debates, hearings, committee prints, reports, and documents. Most current congressional publications received through the depository program, except bills and resolutions, are in paper format and/or available on the Internet. The collection includes:

• Congressional Record and its predecessors (paper)
• American State Papers, 1789-1838 (paper and fiche; online by subscription [Yale access only])
• Congressional Serial Set, 1817- (paper, 1789-present, fiche for 1789-1969; online by subscription [Yale access only])
• Congressional committee prints, early 1800s-1969 (fiche), non-depository, 1970-1990 (fiche), 1978-present, paper; online by subscription [Yale access only]
• Congressional hearings (1833-1934, fiche), 1935-present (paper)
• Unpublished Senate hearings (1823-1972, fiche)
• Unpublished House hearings (1833-1964, fiche)
• Senate Executive Reports (1817-1969, fiche, online by subscription [Yale access only])
• Bills and Resolutions (98th Congress-present, fiche)
• Office of Technology Assessment publications
• Congressional Budget Office publications
• Congressional Research Service major studies and issue briefs, 1916-present (film, online by subscription [Yale access only])
• General Accounting Office reports (collection not comprehensive, paper and fiche)

The Center selects all depository Congressional publications in paper, except bills and resolutions, which it no longer selects in tangible format. Beginning with the 104th Congress, bills and resolutions, documents and reports, the Congressional Record, and the General Accounting Office "blue books" are available from GPO Access. All Office of Technology Assessment, Congressional Budget Office and General Accounting Office publications are selected; a complete archive of Office of Technology Assessment publications is available electronically.

LexisNexis Congressional

Indexing and abstracts for congressional hearings (published and unpublished), prints, bills, reports and documents, and Serial Set. Full text of congressional bills and resolutions (1989-), reports (1990-) and documents (1995-), and Congressional Research Service reports (1916-2003). Includes legislative histories for enacted laws, and biographical and voting information for members of Congress. Full text of Federal Register (from 1980), the Congressional Record (from 1985) and the National Journal (from 1977). Especially useful help screens and guides to the legislative and regulatory process.

GPO Access

Full-text congressional and executive agency documents, including Congressional Record, Federal Register, bills and resolutions, congressional documents and reports, General Accounting Office "blue books," and Economic Indicators (Joint Economic Committee). Includes Catalog of U.S. Government Publications. Federated search of GPO Access is through FirstGov.

Library of Congress THOMAS

Text of congressional bills and resolutions, bill status and summary information, public laws, roll call votes, the Congressional Record, schedules and calendars, committee reports, and information on the legislative process.

Titles listed above provide comprehensive indexing for congressional publications. In addition, print indexes are available for the Congressional Record. The congressional materials received at the Center prior to 1977 are not reflected in Orbis.

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IV. LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS

The Government Documents and Information Center's collection includes the following resources:

• U.S. Code (1946-present)
• Statutes at Large (nearly complete, missing a few early vol.)
• Federal Register, 1936-present (paper) and 1936-1965 (fiche)
• Code of Federal Regulations (current edition only)

The Center maintains collections of administrative decisions from the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Maritime Commission, Interstate Commerce Commission, Federal Power Commission, and the National Labor Relations Board. Many federal agency administrative decisions are also available online.

The Center elects to receive administrative regulations with general applicability to the safety and health of the citizenry, such as those from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Health Care Financing Administration (HFCA - now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Each of these agencies have issued many of their regulatory publications on CD-ROM; these are available for searching at the Government Documents and Information Center. Also, recent regulations may be available from the agency web sites.

The Center elects to receive all major legal and regulatory resources in coordination with the Law Library. Generally, the goal is to avoid duplication. In practice, the division follows established collection development patterns within the two collections.

LexisNexis Congressional

Lexis-Nexis Congressional provides access to the full text of the Federal Register from 1980 to the present and the current edition of all Code of Federal Regulation titles.

GPO Access

The full text of the Federal Register from 1994 and the current edition of most titles of the Code of Federal Regulations are available through GPO Access. The List of CFR Sections Affected is also available through GPO Access. Specialized search guides are available for both of these titles.

HeinOnline

The full text of the Federal Register, volume 1 (1936) - present; the Federal Register indexes 1939-present; the Compilation of Sections Affected (1949-2000).

The Center relies upon the indexes published by the agency for each title for access. The materials published prior to 1977, (Federal Register excepted), are not represented in Orbis.

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V. PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS

Public Papers

The Government Documents and Information Center holds the following resources:

• A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1897.
• Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States.
  • Includes presidential papers and messages, covering Hoover's administration and from Truman to the present. (Papers privately published, many of which are published in microform, are in Sterling Memorial Library, including Franklin D. Roosevelt's.)
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1965-present. Contains presidential addresses, appointments and nominations, communications to Congress, Executive Orders, and press conferences.

Proclamations, Executive Orders and Presidential Directives.

The Center's collection includes a comprehensive collection of published and unpublished Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations. These resources include:

• Presidential Executive Orders 1-7403, 1862-1936. (film)
• Title 3, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Compilation of Presidential Documents (1936-75, continued by annual compilation)
• Presidential Executive Orders & Proclamations, part I: April 30, 1789 to Mar. 4, 1921 (fiche)
• Presidential Executive Orders & Proclamations, part II: Mar. 4, 1921 to Dec. 31, 1983 (fiche)
• Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3, President (annual compilation), 1977-present
• Presidential Directives on National Security from Truman to Clinton, guide and index (directives on fiche)

Presidential Commission Reports

The Center has a collection of Presidential Commission Reports; it holds most of the reports included in Popular Names of U.S. Government Reports.

Archives and Manuscript Sources.

Additional archival resources, including many from the National Archives and Records Administration, are located in the Sterling Memorial Library, Manuscripts and Archives Department.

The Center makes a concerted effort to collect all published presidential papers and reports, either through the depository program or by purchase.

The public papers of all of the presidents are available for searching and displaying the full text on the Original Sources. The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents includes full text of Presidential documents, including speeches and executive orders released from 1993-present. Connections to other web sites that provide Presidential documentation are available from the Center's presidential information page.

The microfiche collections of the Presidential Executive Orders & Proclamations, part I and II and the Presidential Directives on National Security, from Truman to Clinton have comprehensive indexes with a number of access points.

Presidential publications produced after 1976 may be identified in Orbis.

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VI. JUDICIAL BRANCH PUBLICATIONS

This branch of government produces the smallest number of publications. In general, the Center selects the major resources that are offered through the depository program, such as the U.S. Supreme Court Reports.

The Center selects the U.S. Supreme Court opinions and reports, major statistical compilations, and directories.

Bibliographic information and abstracts of the statistical publications from the judicial branch are available through LexisNexis Statistical. The full text of many Supreme Court decisions are available on the Internet. Access to the various sites is provided from the Center's judicial information page.

Titles published after 1976 are represented in Orbis; earlier titles are not. Access to statistical publications is through either American Statistics Index or LexisNexis Statistical.

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VII. EXECUTIVE BRANCH PUBLICATIONS

Annual reports/reports of operations

The Center's holdings include a comprehensive and historical collection of the annual reports or reports of operations from all federal agencies. Nineteenth-century annual reports were included as a part of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set; some of the more recent reports are held as a part of the American Statistics Index non-depository microfiche collection.

The Center elects to receive all annual reports offered through the depository program; an effort is made to acquire those which are not routinely distributed.

Access to annual reports and reports of operations is provided by the American Statistics Index and online through LexisNexis Statistical. All currently received annual reports are entered into Orbis. Some agencies include the annual report on their web site.

Statistical Compilations/Statistics

The Center has a comprehensive and historical collection of statistical publications including the areas of education, agricultural production and trade, foreign trade, labor and employment, vital statistics, government revenue and commerce.

Standards and Specifications

The Center does not collect standards and specifications. It does receive the Department of Defense's Index of Specifications and Standards. The Connecticut State Library, the regional depository, receives those standards and specifications distributed through the depository program, but it is a very limited collection.

Some standards and specifications are available on the Internet; connections to these sites as well as information about ordering standards and specifications is available on the Center's standards and specifications web page.

Scientific and Technical Reports

The Center has a collection of scientific and technical reports produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics; the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the earlier Atomic Energy Commission. Most of the reports are in microfiche.

Currently the Center receives in microfiche all major series from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

At the Center early reports are accessed through either the Monthly Catalog of U. S. Government Publications or the Government Reports Announcement and Index and its predecessors. Currently, access is also available through National Technical Information Service.

At Kline Science Library access to these reports is available through the Nuclear Science Abstracts, the Energy Research Abstracts, and the Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports. See also the Science Libraries' guide to technical reports.

FBIS/JPRS Translations

The Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) published in its Daily Reports translations of news service and newspaper articles; they began in 1946. They were published as eight geographic reports (Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, East Europe, West Europe, Central Eurasia (Soviet Union), People's Republic of China, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Near East and South Asia). With the exception of the period from 1948-1952, the Center has a complete collection of the Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports from 1946 to 1996. Also available in the Center are the Joint Publication Research Service translations, which were translations of journal articles and monographs. The formats include microcard, microfilm, and microfiche.

The paper/microfiche editions of the FBIS Daily Reports ceased in 1996. In its place is an online service entitled World News Connection. It provides indexing and the full text of the translated news transmissions.

The FBIS Daily Reports have been indexed by geographic area since 1978 in the Index: Daily Report. The Center has a complete set of these indexes in paper copy. An electronic index to the FBIS Daily Reports that includes indexing from 1983 through 1996 is available.

The JPRS Translations are indexed in TRANSDEX, available at the Center from 1971 through 1996 when the JPRS Translations ceased.

Maps/Geographic Information

In 1983 the map depository programs of the U.S. Geological Survey, Defense Mapping Agency and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration were folded into the U.S. Government Printing Office's depository program. The depository selections offered from these three agencies are housed in either the Geology Library or the Sterling Map Collection.

Prior to 1983 Yale had been a depository for the U.S. Geological Survey. Both the Geology Library and the Sterling Map Collection hold USGS topographic maps; in general, the Geology Library maintains only a current collection; and the SML Map Collection retains a historical collection.

The Center also receives maps from the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the Census Bureau. Several other agencies produce an occasional map.

The Center coordinates the selection of maps from the three principal mapping agencies: U.S. Geological Survey, the Defense Mapping Agency, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration which are housed in the SML Map Collection and the Geology Library. The SML Map Collection maintains comprehensive and historical topographic maps for the New England States, plus New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Index maps which provide topographic quadrangle names are the principal means of access for the topographic and geologic maps. In recent years cataloging records for each sheet map are included in the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Some maps are available on the Internet. Connections and more complete information about the Sterling Map Collection may be obtained from the Map Collection web page and the Center's map information page.

Agriculture and Food

The collection includes information on agricultural production and trade, the history of agriculture in the United States, and rules and regulations pertaining to food and agriculture. The holdings include complete collections of the Agriculture Department's annual report, yearbook and other serial titles. Also included are a nearly complete set of the Soil Conservation Surveys for the entire United States.

Communications and Transportation

Information from the Federal Communications Commission, the Civil Aeronautics Administration, as well as the various agencies within the Department of Transportation are represented in the Center's holdings. Emphasis is on collecting statistical, historical and regulatory information. The collection also includes regulations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Coast Guard.

Education

The Center has a strong collection of materials that provide information on the history and development of education in the United States. Current emphasis is on collecting statistical information and studies and evaluations of educational programs and policies for both public and private schools at all levels, preschool through postdoctoral as published by the Department of Education.

Energy Resources and Demand

Yale has strong collections in the area of energy resources and demand. The agencies which are now represented include the Geological Survey, the Energy Department, the Energy Information Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as well as earlier agencies, such as the Atomic Energy Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Foreign Relations and Policy

Foreign relations and policy is one of the collection strengths of Yale's documents collections. The Center collects comprehensively, through both purchases and the depository program, publications from the U.S. Department of State and all congressional committees that consider foreign relations policies. A complete collection of the Foreign Relations of the United States and the United States Treaties and International Agreements are available at the Center. In addition, a nearly complete set of the FBIS Daily Reports and the JPRS Translations are available as well as several commercial sets of declassified and unpublished materials.

The American Foreign Policy and Treaty Index, published from 1993 to 1999, is an index and microfiche collection of key documents from official government sources, including executive branch departments and offices, independent federal agencies, and the U.S. Congress, that make American foreign policy and conduct U.S. foreign relations; copies of the index are located in both the Government Documents and Information Center and the Law Library. The accompanying microfiche collection is housed in the Government Documents and Information Center.

Geography and Climate

The Center has a comprehensive collection of the Climatological Data series published for all states by the U.S. Weather Service as well as compilations of world weather records. A comprehensive and historical collection of topographic maps for the New England States, plus New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, are available in the Geology Library and/or the SML Map Collection.

Government and Defense

The history and organization of the U.S. government and its budgets, revenue and expenditures are covered comprehensively in the Center's collections. Annual reports and reports of operations of congressional, judicial, and executive agencies are collected comprehensively; all censuses of governments are among the holdings. The major sources for administrative law, including the current edition of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Register, and the various regulatory manuals from the major agencies are collected.

The history of and statistics relating to the defense of the United States are among the strengths of the Center's collections. Publications of the Naval History Division, the United States Air Force Historical Division, the Office of the Chief of Military History (Department of the Army) and the History and Museums Division (U.S. Marine Corps) are collected comprehensively. The Center has a complete collection of the War Department publications (1789-1909) that were not included in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set on microfiche. The collection includes such historical materials as the War of the Rebellion: compilation of official records of Union and Confederate Armies.

The Center also holds complete runs of most of the major defense and military journals published by the various military branches. Handbooks and fields manuals published by the Department of the Army are not currently collected although the collection does include some of these from earlier years.

The Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals, has been published since 1949. It is available online from 1990. It indexes both government military periodicals and nongovernment military newspapers and journals.

Health and Vital Statistics

The Center's collections include a comprehensive set of the Vital Statistics of the United States, the Public Health Reports, and extensive holdings of statistics and the history and development of health care policy in the United States. Health care and hospital utilization statistics are included, as are the more generally applicable handbooks and guides, such as the Social Security Handbook. More specialized medical and health care indices, bibliographies, reports and manuals are selected and housed in the Medical Library. Demographic and health survey data also are available in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health Library.

Housing and Construction

The Center has a complete collection of the housing censuses and surveys published by the Bureau of the Census. It also houses an extensive collection of construction statistics, both current and historical. The collection includes extensive reports on housing development and policies.

Industry and Commerce

The Center's collections include censuses of business and manufacturing and surveys of business, manufacturing, retail and wholesale trade. The Center has a strong collection of trade and industry statistics and information on the history and development of industry and commerce in the United States. Also, included are rules, regulations and classifications for importing and exporting goods and services. Some publications relating to industry and commerce are available as full-text documents on the National Trade Data Bank available on the Internet as part of the STAT-USA subscription (limited to Yale IP addresses).

Labor and Employment

Labor history, development, and statistics are strongly represented in the Center's collections. The holdings include runs of the Monthly Labor Review, the Labor Statistics bulletins, the Women's Bureau bulletins, and the Labor Bureau bulletins as well as actions and decisions of the National Labor Relations Board.

Natural Resources, Environment and Pollution

The Center has strong collections from the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency. However, its collections are not comprehensive, especially from the Environmental Protection Agency. The collection includes many, but not all, environmental impact statements prepared by the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior. Statistics showing pollution and its costs are heavily represented in the collections.

Topographic and recreation maps for the national park system and the national forests are received from the Forest Service and housed in the Center's collections.

Science and Technology

The Center's collections contain most major reports on science and technology policy as well as statistical and historical information. In addition, the Center's holdings contain scientific and technical research from the Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and reports from the Atomic Energy Commission published between the 1940s and the late 1960s, some in paper and some in microfiche.

Bibliographic information for all of the publications noted above is through the various finding aids produced by the U.S. government and/or commercial firms. Current bibliographic information is provided primarily by Orbis, LexisNexis Congressional, LexisNexis Statistical and National Technical Information Service (Yale IP addresses only).