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collections: government documents -- overview.

The UNO Library participates in depository library programs sponsored by the U.S. Government Printing Office and the Nebraska Library Commission. These agencies provide copies of government documents to libraries which agree to provide space, technical support, and staff to assist the public in using them. One of the nation's Founding Fathers expressed the fundamental purpose of a depository library:

A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. -- James Madison, Letter to W.T. Berry, August 4, 1822

Each year the Federal Depository Library Program sends the UNO Library about 4,000 documents created by Congress and the Executive departments and agencies of the Federal government. The documents arrive as paper, microfiche, or CD-ROM copies. Those received since 1976 have been recorded in the Library Catalog, and researchers may search for them in the same manner they search for books or other library materials. The documents staff continues to work toward cataloging older Federal documents, and in time we expect to add records for documents which were published as long ago as 1802.

The Nebraska Library Commission began distributing microfiche copies of state documents through its depository program in 1976, and over 35,000 documents have been received. With few exceptions, the Nebraska documents have been recorded in the Library Catalog.

The UNO Library's commitment to providing access to government documents extends beyond the federal and state depository programs. In order to build a comprehensive historical collection of Federal documents, the library purchased several large microfiche and microfilm archives, which extend back in time to 1789 and stand among the more extensive to be found in the Midwest and Great Plains states.

In 2005, the UNO Library purchased an online account for the American State Papers, 1789-1838 and the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980. These digital archives complement the library's historical collections and provide new ways to search through thousands of Federal documents. The Serial Set database remains under construction, with time coverage at the time of this writing extending into the mid-1870's. We anticipate that most, if not all, future efforts to build the Federal archives will be directed toward acquiring online collections.

Many government documents are now published via the Internet, with an ever-increasing number having no equivalents in paper or other tangible formats. We monitor this situation closely, and we add Internet addresses to catalog records to link researchers to online versions. We also add records which describe and link to online government documents that are not available in the library. Online access has joined paper, microfiche, and CD-ROM as a standard way to distribute government documents.

The Nebraska Library Commission discontinued microfiche documents in 2005, and the distribution of state documents will continue only in electronic formats. We will record future Nebraska documents in the catalog and link to them as they are available on servers at the Nebraska Library Commission or at other state agencies.

The UNO Library welcomes anyone who would like to conduct research using government documents, but we also recommend casual browsing among the shelves to explore the range of subjects and time represented in the collection. Government documents provide a large, clear window through which to view the trajectories of American life and history.

James T. Shaw
Government Documents Librarian
September 2005