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help: frequently asked questions -- government documents.

Can anyone use the government documents?

Yes. The library welcomes any and all to the Government Documents Collection.

The documents are kept on open shelving or in self-service cabinets, and they are accessible whenever the library is open. The documents librarian and staff are happy to provide assistance, but readers may browse and work on their own.

May I check documents out of the library?

Yes. Borrowing privileges for government documents parallel those for other library materials. (Library Borrowing Policies)

Most U.S. and Nebraska documents may be checked out for 28 days. CD-ROMs and DVDs may be checked out for 14 days. Exceptions include several collections that are treated as archival or reference works; for example, the Congressional Serial Set, Congressional Record, and the decennial census reports must be used within the library. Photocopiers and microform reader/printers are readily available.

Does the library participate in Interlibrary Loan for government documents?

Yes. Our general policy is to lend government documents to libraries in Nebraska.

Researchers outside Nebraska should first consult depository libraries within their state. If these libraries cannot provide the necessary assistance, we will be happy to help as best we can. We have responded to requests from as far away as Orange County, California and Ithaca, New York. The Federal Depository Library Program maintains a nation-wide directory of depository libraries at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html.

Does the UNO Library receive copies of all federal government documents?

No. The UNO Library is a selective depository library for federal documents.

The Federal Depository Library Program maintains a list of categories in which the U.S. Government Printing Office expects to distribute documents, and each year selective depository libraries choose those categories that they consider locally important. The UNO Library selects about 4300 of the 7100 categories, or about 57% of documents available to federal depository libraries. We receive between 4000 and 4500 Federal documents each year.

The great majority of the 1200 Federal depository libraries are selectives, while 53 libraries have been designated regional depositories. These libraries receive the documents distributed in all categories, and they provide reference and interlibrary loan support to the selective depositories. Love Library at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln serves as the regional Federal depository library for Nebraska.

The Nebraska Library Commission maintains a list of the federal depository libraries in Nebraska at http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/docs/nefed.html. The website for the Government Documents Collections in Love Library at UNL can be found at http://www.unl.edu/libr/govdocs/docs1.htm.

Does the UNO Library also have city and county documents?

Yes, but city and county documents are cataloged and shelved with the general book collection on the 3rd Floor of the library.

Neither the Nebraska statutes nor city or county ordinances require that local governments send documents to libraries. As a consequence, we manage to collect local documents in a rather hit or miss manner. Researchers may search the Library Catalog using city or county names as authors; for example, enter Omaha (Neb.) or Douglas County as author searches. Researchers should note that the Douglas County Historical Society and the W. Dale Clark Library (downtown branch of the Omaha Public Library) both hold significant numbers of local documents.

The Historical Society website is at http://www.omahahistory.org/. The Omaha Public Library website is at http://www.omahapubliclibrary.org/.

Is the UNO Library a depository for the United Nations or other international organizations?

No.

The Government Documents Collections at Love Library at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln include documents from the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Their website may be found at http://www.unl.edu/libr/govdocs/docs1.htm.

We recommend two Internet directories to those looking for international documents which have been published online. Both directories are maintained by the libraries at Northwestern University:

Foreign Governments
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html

International Organizations
http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/igo.html

Does the UNO Library have collections of USGS topographic maps or aerial photographs?

Yes, and No. The UNO Library currently receives 7.5 minute topographic maps from the U.S. Geological Survey for Nebraska and Iowa. The library does not have a collection of aerial photographs.

For several decades, the UNO Library received USGS topographic maps for Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana; and these maps remain available in cabinets near the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor. However, the USGS has largely dismantled its 7.5 minute mapping program, and it prepares or revises few 7.5 minute maps.

The U.S. Forest Service continues to prepare 7.5 minute topographic maps for National Forests and National Grasslands using USGS maps for base maps. The UNO Library has copies of these maps for about twenty forests and grasslands filed in cabinets on the 1st Floor, but in 2005 we discontinued receiving new maps in this series.

The USGS maintains an Internet site providing information about ordering maps and aerial photographs at http://geography.usgs.gov/esic/to_order.html.

Can I find patent and trademark documents at the UNO Library?

No. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) sponsors a depository library program entirely separate from that of the U.S. Government Printing Office.

The Engineering Library at the University of Nebraska--Lincoln serves as the USPTO depository library for Nebraska, and information about its services may be found at its website: http://www.unl.edu/libr/libs/engr/. The USPTO now makes many documents freely available via the Internet at its website: http://www.uspto.gov.

Does the UNO Library have an extensive law collection?

Yes, and No. The University of Nebraska at Omaha does not include a law school, so our law collection is limited to a few key reference sources. The library owns the U.S. and Nebraska statutes and codes; the current year of the Code of Federal Regulations and Federal Register; the official United States Reports for the U.S. Supreme Court; and the official case reporters for the Nebraska Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

However, the library subscribes to Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw Campus Research, and these legal databases provide online access to the statutes and codes of all 50 states and all published Federal and state court decisions. These databases also include files containing online articles from over 700 law review journals. In addition, Westlaw Campus Research provides access to American Jurisprudence 2d and American Law Reports, which both serve as excellent legal encyclopedias.

All researchers may search Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw Campus Research on computers in the library, but off-campus access is restricted by license to currently-enrolled UNO students, faculty, and staff.

Researchers who require the collections and services of a comprehensive law library should consider the libraries of the Creighton University Law School in Omaha or the University of Nebraska Law School in Lincoln. Their websites are available at:

Creighton University, Klutznick Law Library
http://culaw2.creighton.edu/

University of Nebraska--Lincoln, Schmid Law Library http://law.unl.edu/schmid/index.shtml

Other questions?

Please contact:

James T. Shaw
Government Documents Librarian
Email Contact Form
Voice: (402) 554-2225

James T. Shaw
Government Documents Librarian
May 2006