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Government Documents

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  • Census Bureau Data.gov Provides data and publications from the decennial census of population and other Census Bureau programs.
  • Census of Population and Housing Reports - 1790 to 2010
    Includes PDF files of printed reports from the decennial censuses from 1790 to 2010.
  • Congress.gov
    Provides legislative and member information about the United States Congress. 
  • Govinfo (US Government Information)
    Provides access to information from all three branches of the federal government, including popular sources such as the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, United States Code, congressional hearings, Budget of the United States, and more. This U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) authenticates and preserves these digital files for public use.
  • FindLaw
    A searchable database of the Supreme Court decisions since 1893; part of the free legal information on the Internet provided by Thomson Reuters [not an official U.S. government web site].
  • Grants.gov
    Official web site of the U.S. government for finding and applying for federal grants.
  • Library of Congress
    Provides access to the Library's catalogs, collections, digital content, and other information and links.
  • National Archives and Records Administration
    Provides catalogs and tools for searching NARA's collections, access to NARA's digital content and databases, and links to other archival resources.
  • National Center for Health Statistics
    Provides links to data, publications, and other information on health care, vital statistics, health expenditures, and other related topics.
  • National Library of Medicine
    Provides access to NLM catalogs and publications, data and statistics from NLM programs, and other links and information on medicine and health. PubMed is a service of NLM.
  • Regulations.gov
    Official web site of the U.S. government for public participation in the federal regulatory process. Allows users to search for proposed regulations and comment directly.
  • Supreme Court of the United States
    Provides the text of Supreme Court opinions from October 1991 (volume 502) to the present. Also provides the text of oral arguments (2000 to the present), docket information, biographies of the Justices, and other information about the Court.
  • USA.gov (Official Guide to Government Information) We create and organize timely, needed government information and services and make them accessible to the public anytime, anywhere, vial their channel of choice.
  • White House
    Provides information from the White House and executive branch agencies, including blogs, photos/videos, speeches, reports, and other information. Provides links to presidential memoranda, executive orders, and proclamations.
  • World Factbook (CIA)
    Provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for countries around the world.

General

  • Govinfo (US Government Information)
    GPO's Federal Digital System provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government. Most content is recent, with some going back to the 1990s.
     
  • Catalog of Government Publications (CGP)
    The main catalog of federal government publications produced by the GPO.
     
  • Connecticut State Library   The Connecticut State Library is a regional depository library, which means their collection is far larger than our own selective collection.
  • Digital National Security Archive (DNSA) is an independent non-governmental research institute and library located at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The Archive collects and publishes declassified documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Wesleyan currently has access to all 45 collections, each of which is compiled by top scholars and experts, and exhaustively covers the most critical world events, countries, and U.S. policy decisions from post World War II through the 21st century.The database includes more than 100,000 declassified documents regarding critical U.S. policy decisions.
  • National Security Archive
    Based at George Washington University, the National Security Archive advocates for freedom of information, and they analyze and publish previously secret government documents.  Free access to some DNSA items.
     
  • ProQuest Congressional
    Information on the US Congress: access to abstracts and indexing for Hearings, Reports, Documents and Committee prints from 1970-present (there are links to HTML text from approximately the mid-1990s); bill tracking & profiles, bill text, members and committee coverage, the Daily Congressional Record and the Code of Federal Regulations and Federal Register, and political news. Formerly known as: Congressional Information Service (CIS)
  • Official Journal of the U.S. Public Health Service
  • U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1993
    Offers access to a massive collection of reports and documents published by the House and Senate from 1817 onward; a uniquely rich and wide-ranging collection of documents on American history. It also includes special reports to Congress, communications from the president, and reports from executive branch agencies, as well as the American State Papers, 1789-1838.
     
  • U.S. Congressional Serial Set Maps
     A dynamic collection of 50,000+ maps ranging from the great atlases to small individual maps clarifying very specific land questions.

Transparent Government

Open Secrets --  The Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more transparent and responsive government

Sunlight Foundation -- A national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses the tools of civic tech, open datapolicy analysis and journalism to make our government and politics more accountable and transparent to all. Static archive ending Sept 2020.

Comparative Agendas Project-- assembles and codes information on the policy processes of governments from around the world