 What
are government publications?
Government publications are documents issued, published, or
financed by local, state, federal, or international government
agencies, such as the Department of Education, the Nevada Department
of Motor Vehicles, or the City of Henderson. Government publications
come in many formats, including books, maps, periodicals, microforms,
pamphlets, CD-ROMs, and Internet sites.
What
do government publications cover?
Government publications can cover virtually any subject, including
Congressional laws and hearings, nutrition, crime, diseases,
endangered species, and immigration. The U.S. federal government
is the world's greatest collector and publisher of statistics.
Where
are Government Publications located in Lied Library?
Most federal, state, and local publications are located in
the compact shelving on the east side of second floor of Lied
Library, behind the bound periodicals. Microforms and CD-ROMs
are located in cases on the second floor. Some titles are
kept in the reference collection near the second floor desk. Government
publications located in LASR (our automated storage and retrieval
system) are indicated as such in the online catalog.
Ask at the second floor Research and Information desk for
more assistance.
How
are Government Publications arranged on the shelf?
Federal publications are shelved according to the Superintendent
of Documents (SuDoc) Classification System, an alpha-numeric
system that arranges publication by author or issuing agency,
rather than by subject. For example, all publications beginning
with C originated in the Department of Commerce; all documents
beginning with ED originated in the Department of Education.
Following this are numbers, letters, and punctuation, all
of which are important in the location process.
State and local publications are arranged according to a
system called Swank. Each state is given a number—Nevada is
29. As in SuDoc, the following characters in the call number
are determined by the issuing agency. County and state publications
have "Co" and "Ci" added before the "29,"
and are shelved after the Nevada state publications. Publications
from some other states, mostly those surrounding Nevada, are
shelved after the Nevada state and local items.
Where
else can I find Government Publications?
· Catalog of U.S. Government Publications: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cgp/index.html
· Library of Congress: THOMAS: http://thomas.loc.gov/
· Impact/ACCESS: http://www.auto-graphics.com/cgipac/mmx/unlv/Access
Additionally, this website contains a host of online sources
of full-text government publications, divided by broad category (Federal, State/Local, Statistics, etc.)
and by subject.
Who
can use the government publications collection at Lied Library?
Access to the government publications collection is open and
free to UNLV students, faculty, and staff, as well as the general
public.
What
Government Publications are available at Lied Library?
· Federal Publications: As a selective federal
depository, Lied Library collects approximately 70% of
the publications distributed by the Federal Depository Library
Program. These have been selected to meet the needs of the UNLV
and Las Vegas communities. The Library receives these publications
free of charge and agrees to provide free public access to
them.
· State and Local Publications: Most of the Nevada
state publications, as well as many of those from county and city
governments, come to UNLV from the Nevada state depository program
administered by the Nevada
State Library and Archives (NSLA). As with the GPO federal
depository program, NSLA distributes these publications to state
depository libraries free of charge, while the libraries in turn
make them available to the public. Some state agencies and local
governments send us their publications directly through various
arrangements, and the library occasionally receives government
publications as gifts.
Can
I check out Government Publications?
Most of the U.S. and Nevada publications may be checked out at
the circulation desk. Reference resources must be used in the
library. If the publication is microfilm or -fiche, you may read
it in the library or use the microform scanners to make copies.
How
can I tell from searching the UNLV Libraries online catalog if
an item is a Government Publication?
Check under the Location box on our catalog for the following: UNLV Gov Pubs, UNLV Gov Pubs Ref, UNLV Gov Pubs Microforms,
or UNLV Gov Pubs CD-ROM.
What
about Pre-1976 Federal Government Publications?
Pre-1976 Federal publications must be accessed using a print index.
The Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications (Call
Number: GP 3.8:) is located in the Government Publications stacks.
What
types of maps are collected at Lied Library?
The Lied Library map collection contains a wide variety of maps,
including maps accompanying environmental impact statements for
federal and state land, U.S. Geological Survey, miscellaneous
maps treated as government publications, and CD-ROMs containing
maps that have been scanned or loaded as datafiles.
How
do I find a particular map?
The Map Cases are located on the second floor of Lied Library.
Our large flat maps are located in these cases, and are called UNLV Maps in the online catalog. Folded maps are in the
Government Publications stacks, and are called UNLV Gov Pubs.
Can
I check out maps?
Most maps may be checked out of the library for the same circulation
period as books.
How
do I cite Government Publications?
Information on citing Government Publications may be found here.
I need more help with Government Publications?
For further assistance in finding government information, contact
the 2nd floor Research & Information desk at (702)895-2200 OR contact Sidney Lowe, Government Information Librarian: sidney.lowe@unlv.edu, (702) 895-2134.
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