General Guides Subject Guides > Government, Law & Politics — How to Find a U.S. Government Publication

This is a guide on how to identify publications of the United States government and how to locate them at the University Library in Kingston.

---

Government publications published after 1976 |
Government publications published before 1976 |
How to read a SuDoc number | Checking out government publications

Government Publications published after 1976

top

To find a government publication that has been published after 1976, search the Government Publications Catalog Service, available to URI users at <http://catalog.gpo.gov/F>.

Following the directions on the screen, find the record of the desired government publication. Copy down the SuDoc number. This is the number used to arrange government publications on the shelf.

The University Library does not receive all of the government publications listed in the indexes above. To determine if the Library owns a particular government publication, consult the HELIN library catalog or the shelflist card catalog located in the Government Publications reading area. The shelflist is arranged by SuDoc number.

A list of book stack numbers and the SuDoc numbers shelved on each can be found in various locations in the Government Publications Area.

To search for government publications published before 1976, use the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, located in the wooden bookcase in the Government Publications reading area. This publication is indexed by author, title, and subject. Use the index of the Monthly Catalog to find a desired government publication. The numbers in the index refer to entry numbers.

Locate the entry number in the main body of the Monthly Catalog to find the   bibliographic information, including the SuDoc number, for that publication. For convenience, there are several 10-year cumulative indexes shelved with the Monthly Catalog.

Once you have found your government publication and its SuDoc number in the Monthly Catalog, consult the HELIN library catalog or the shelflist card catalog located in the Government Publications reading area to determine if the Library owns that publication. The shelflist is arranged by SuDoc number.

Please note: In the SuDoc system, all the numbers are treated as whole numbers. There are no decimal numbers. The period in the SuDoc number separates whole numbers and is not a decimal point.

Many government publications may be borrowed. The loan period is 28 days. Materials are checked out at the Circulation Desk of the Library.

For assistance
If you need further assistance, please contact the Government Publications Office, University Library, (401) 874-2606. If the office is closed, please consult the Reference Desk, which may be reached at (401) 874-2653. You may also contact the government publications subject specialist, Deborah Mongeau, at (401) 874-4610 or dmongeau@uri.edu.

D. Mongeau • rev. 1/99, 8/02, 9/02. S. Anderson • 2/07