Introduction

Public trust in the government has reached historic lows.^[1] Nevertheless, the public relies on government information to comply with laws and regulations, to participate in government, and to find data that is not available elsewhere. How do people look for government information? While many use an internet search engine to locate specific resources, crowdsourced answers obtained from social media are becoming increasingly popular. Both of these methods are flawed because members of the general public may not be attuned to the fake news, imposter websites, and bogus information hubs that purport to link to legitimate government information. 

Librarians are a vital link between governments and the public. We are trained to seek authoritative information from legitimate, authentic sources. In addition, librarians can help users to analyze, interpret, and use the information they find. Librarians adhere to professional standards and principles in the provision of services. Among these is the following: “Access to government information is a public right that must not be restricted by administrative barriers, geography, ability to pay, or format.”^[2] Librarians who work with government documents are committed to promoting free, permanent access to  government information, wherever it resides. This text aims to equip the reader with the knowledge and skills necessary to comply with the established government information competencies. It also introduces some of the emerging issues related to shifts in publication practices and philosophical differences about the role of government.

What Do Governments Publish?

There are many different ways to introduce the scope and content of government publications. Some authors like Boyd and Rips have discussed government publications using an A-Z list of agencies, under which they described each agency’s publications.^[3] Sears and Moody and Hartnett, Sevetson, and Forte used topical approaches to explain government information.^[4] Schmeckebier and Eastin discussed government publications using a typology.^[5] In order to understand what kinds of information governments produce, it is necessary to employ all of these methods in combination. To begin, let’s examine some categories of publications that are common to many government entities. The following list is adapted from Boyd and Rips, who outlined 17 basic types of publications.

Administrative reports

Administrative reports are periodic reports on the activities of the agency, bureau, or office. These reports may highlight significant achievements, detail budget performance, provide productivity statistics, or discuss strategic initiatives.

Statistical reports

Agencies compile statistics from surveys such as the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System of the Centers for Disease Control or using administrative records like tax forms. Agencies monitor prices, weather, industrial activity, agricultural production, graduation rates, and so forth.

Committee or commission reports

Special committees or commissions created by legislative bodies or government executives may conduct investigations (e.g., Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident) or make recommendations to the president about a social issue or national concern (e.g., President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders).

Reports of investigations and research

Government agencies conduct or sponsor research on a wide range of topics. Results of research may be published in serial publications such as technical memoranda, open-file reports, or research notes. Federal agency employees also publish research in scholarly journals. While the federal government formerly published a number of journals, increasingly these publications have been transferred to commercial publishers. For instance, Public Health Reports is the official journal of the U.S. Surgeon General of the Public Health Service (PHS). From 1878 to 1998 it was published by PHS, but since 1999 it has been published by a commercial publisher.

Subject

Sometimes, it is necessary to analyze a question and break it into smaller components. For example, a patron involved in government contracting for the Department of Defense asked,

I would like to ask a few questions regarding PPE handling. The customer is the USG. 1) Are employees recently laid off allowed to mail PPE via APO? I cannot find the statement where it shows it is prohibited. 2) Is exemption 22CFR 126.4(c) appropriate to use for M8 paper and Decontamination kit? 3) Is a DSP 73 the most efficient way to export PPE in support of a USG/Defense program?

A jargon-heavy question like this may require searching just to understand the area of inquiry. In this example, we can determine the subject matter of the inquiry by delving into the abbreviations:

• PPE = Personal Protective Equipment
• USG = United States Government
• APO = Army/Air Post Office
• 22CFR 126.4(c) = Code of Federal Regulations, Title 22, Part 126.4(c)
• M8 paper = M8 Chemical Agent Detector Paper
• DSP 73 = Application for license for temporary export

We can then restate the question: “What are the requirements for shipping personal protective equipment, decontamination kits, and chemical agent detector paper to a military base abroad? Which shipping methods are allowed and what paperwork is required?” Now that we understand the question, we can consult Department of Defense procurement regulations and export regulations for defense contractors. Remember that as librarians, we cannot give legal advice, and that includes interpreting government regulations. So, we might need to refer this patron to the Defense Contract Management Agency or the office listed on the contract or bid announcement for further assistance.

Agency

We can also use the “agency approach” by determining which agency regulates, collects data about, or sponsors research on a topic. Using an endangered species in Hawaiʻi, the palila bird, as an example, we might ask: Which agency administers the Endangered Species Act? For land animals, it is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Who collects data on the palila? Is it solely a federal responsibility, or does the state have some involvement? As it turns out, the State Department of Forestry and Wildlife is responsible for maintaining the bird’s critical habitat and has published a fact sheet about the bird. The U.S. Geological Survey has also published research about the palila.

Jurisdiction

Another dimension of government information is the political or legal jurisdiction. Is the matter under federal, state, or local control, or are multiple jurisdictions involved? For instance, you might guess that state harbors are solely under the jurisdiction of the state. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers enforces the federal Rivers and Harbors Act and must issue permits for harbor construction. In addition, the Coast Guard regulates navigation and inspects vessels for safety measures. Additional questions to consider: Is the matter covered by laws, regulations, policies, and/or international agreements? Could the issue fall under an industry standard or best practice rather than a government regulation?

Time

The currency or time period of the desired information is critically important. Does the patron want the current regulation or the one that was applicable in a particular year? Another aspect of time is managing expectations. Data can take years to compile, so the most current data available may be four or five years old. Yet, the patron expects to have access to last year’s data. Some publications, like congressional hearings, are discretionary, meaning that they may not be published immediately—or ever. Declassification can take decades due to backlogs, so some government records or publications may not be available in a reasonable amount of time.

Publications or Records?

Knowing whether the desired information is available in published material or unpublished records is necessary to locate the material and manage patron expectations about ease of access. For example, a patron wanted a copy of the Alien Property Custodian’s release of a particular company’s seized property during World War I. However, the APC’s published reports do not contain copies of releases, so we must look to archival records to find them. Similarly, aggregate census survey data is available, but patrons wanting individual census forms have to wait 72 years for their release. Responses to medical surveys may never be publicly available due to privacy laws. As we will see later, court decisions are not always published, and transcripts may only be available online under limited circumstances and are not always free.

Government vs. Non-Government Resources

Finally, it’s important to be aware that government resources may not be the best source of information about government activities. Bearing in mind Ranganathan’s fourth law, “Save the time of the reader,” a librarian should strive to find the shortest route to satisfying the patron’s need. Government-produced resources, while they are closest to the source, may not be the most reliable or authoritative, and many are certainly not easy to digest. Secondary sources such as newsletters or law review articles are sometimes more useful than primary sources.

Where to Get Help

It is not uncommon for a librarian to reach the limits of his or her ability to help a patron or to run out of time. In such instances, librarians can rely on colleagues for assistance or refer the patron to another library with specialized resources. Here are some resources for “stumper” questions:

E-government and Civic Engagement

What is e-government? Broadly speaking, it refers to a variety of methods through which government entities interact with the public. Increasingly, governments encourage or even require members of the public to use computers to accomplish tasks such as applying for jobs, requesting government assistance, or applying for citizenship. Libraries have become essential hubs for e-government services because they have internet-enabled computers. Even when a library does not offer public computers for e-government services, it’s a good idea for librarians to be familiar with nearby agencies that provide computers for the general public. Legal Aid societies, law schools, and social services agencies sometimes have public computers for defined uses and may assist individuals with access to services like Social Security and Medicare. Federal depository libraries play an increasingly important role in providing places for people who lack access to internet-enabled computers to interact with government because many libraries restrict computer access to cardholders and often impose a time limit. Depository libraries must provide equal access to computers for both affiliated and unaffiliated users of federal government information.

Benefits.gov is a one-stop gateway for members of the public and librarians to find both federal and state government benefits. It covers social services, benefits for special populations like veterans or seniors, tax credits, and many, many other programs. For instance, an important government service is disaster assistance. Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, many public libraries opened their doors to individuals who needed disaster recovery assistance, including applying for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Benefits.gov’s disaster relief section lists a number of programs for individuals and businesses covering loans, crisis counseling, and family registry and locator services.

Public libraries sometimes partner with state or federal agencies or nonprofits to develop or expand e-government services. For instance, the Fort Worth Public Library has partnered with the Tarrant Area Food Bank to help register individuals and families for Children’s Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Examples of other government services available in public libraries include passport acceptance services and the IRS’s Tax Forms Outlet Program and its state equivalents.

Libraries also promote civic engagement by providing information about contacting public officials, voting, and elections. These services are covered in Chapter 10.

Citing Government Documents

Teachers, professors, and even librarians lack confidence when it comes to citing government information, but it is not so different from citing other sources. As with any source, the objective of creating a citation is to provide as much information as needed for someone to retrieve the item. In terms of government publications or records, another principle is that you should give as much information as possible simply because the information might be useful for another researcher down the road.

Most guides to citation format, such as APA and MLA, do not give much guidance on government documents. Some authors recommend the Blue Book, which is useful for legal materials, but it does not cover all types of government publications. Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources by Debora Cheney is the most complete guide for citing all types of government documents, but sadly it is out of print and the publisher has not issued a new edition.^[8] Cheney recommends the following basic format:

Government author. Title. By corporate or personal author (report number). Date. Available at: URL.

Thus, the citation for an environmental assessment is as follows:

Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority. Kalaeloa Heritage Park, ‘Ewa, O‘ahu: Final environmental assessment. By Townscape, Inc. for Kalaeloa Heritage and Legacy Foundation. Sept. 2014. Available at: https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hcda/files/2014/09/KHP-Final-EA-w-Appendices_to-OEQC.pdf

Of course, one must modify the order of elements depending on which citation format is required. Using this format as a guide, you are giving the reader some additional important information—not only the document’s preparer, but also the name of the organization that commissioned the study.

For cartographic information, Cartographic Citations: A Style Guide is the best resource.^[9] It offers citation formats for maps, aerial photographs, geospatial data, globes, and other cartographic resources.

Insider’s Library

Books

Boyd, A. M. & Rips, R. E. (1949). United States government publications (3rd Ed. Rev.). The H. W. Wilson Company.

Commonly referred to as Boyd and Rips, this volume was intended to be a bibliographic guide to acquisition of government publications. It explains the purpose, history, and major publications of the main government agencies that existed at the time of its publication and gives particularly good coverage of agencies created during World War II. The second edition, published in 1941, covers New Deal agencies of the Depression Era.

Brown, C. C. (2020). Mastering United States government information: sources and services. Libraries Unlimited.

Brown, a documents librarian at the University of Denver, has produced a comprehensive guide to federal government information that is particularly strong in its discussion of congressional publications and general search strategies.

Hartnett, C. J., Sevetson, A., & Forte, E. J. (2016). Fundamentals of government information: Mining, finding, evaluating, and using government resources (2nd Ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.

This important textbook for students of government information provides an in-depth look at the major types of government publications, with an emphasis on training all librarians to “think like a government documents librarian.” It rightfully takes its place as the successor to Morehead’s classic text.

Latham, B. (2018). Finding and using U.S. government information. Practical guides for librarians no. 41. Rowman & Littlefield.

Latham, a librarian at Jacksonville State University in Alabama, covers the basic knowledge needed to help users find government information. The book introduces resources by subject area and covers collection development and continuing education.

Morehead, J. (1999). Introduction to United States government information sources (6th Ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

Morehead, a longtime professor at State University of New York at Albany, wrote the definitive text for government documents courses in LIS programs. In addition to clearly explaining different types of federal government information, Morehead provides background and context for the various publications discussed.

Schmeckebier, L. F. & Eastin, R. B. (1969). Government publications and their use (2nd Rev. Ed.). Brookings Institution.

Laurence Schmeckebier wrote many books about federal government agencies for the Brookings Institution. This book provides a solid overview of the major types of government information and how they are interrelated.

Periodicals

American Library Association. Government Documents Round Table. DttP: Documents to the People. ALA, 1972-

The Government Documents Round Table, or GODORT, came into existence in 1972. Its journal DttP: Documents to the People publishes articles about federal, state, local, foreign, and intergovernmental government publications. It is especially important for learning about state government publications, which are barely covered in other journals.

Digital Government Society of North America. Government Information Quarterly. Elsevier, 2010-.

Formerly Journal of Government Information and Government Publications Review, GIQ is an academic journal that publishes articles about access to government information, information policy, and e-government, among other topics.

United States. Office of the Federal Register. United States government manual. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/GOVMAN

The annual publication U.S. Government Manual lists all current federal agencies, departments, offices, bureaus, etc., their organization charts, leadership, and any reorganizations. Information is provided for all three branches of government.