Government Documents

  • Federal Documents

    Core Documents of U.S. Democracy and Government

    Articles of Confederation Emancipation Proclamation
    The Bill of Rights The Federalist Papers
    The Constitution of the United States (and annotated) The Gettysburg Address
    The Declaration of Independence More Documents and Resources from the Government Publishing Office

    100 Milestone Documents
    Contains digitized images of 100 milestone documents, compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration, and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings. The documents chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965.  Besides offering such founding documents as the Articles of Confederation and The Declaration of Independence, the site also includes the Treaty of Paris, The Marshall Plan, the Voting Rights Act, several notable Supreme Court Cases (Dred Scott v. Sanford, Gibbons v. Ogden , etc.) and more. 

    Library of Congress Digital Collections 
    Formerly called The American Memory Project, this collection contains multimedia collections of digitized documents, photographs, recorded sound, moving pictures, and text relating to the history and culture of the United States.

    US Congressional Serial Set
    The Serial Set is comprised of the numbered Senate and House Documents and Senate and House Reports, bound by session of Congress. The contents of the Serial Set have varied throughout the publication’s history, and at times have included House and Senate Journals, and the reports of executive departments and agencies.

    Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government
    A service of the Government Publishing Office (GPO), Ben's Guide is designed to inform students, parents, and educators about the Federal Government, which issues the publications and information products disseminated by the GPO’s Federal Depository Library Program.

    Executive Branch

    U.S. Federal Agency Directory 
    A-Z list of Federal agencies from USA.gov.

    Budget of the United States Government
    Budgets online from 1996 to the present.  Downloadable as a single document or by individual sections. Many of the tables are downloadable as Excel spreadsheets.  Full text searching of the budget is available. Also available in the library in hardcopy and CD ROM beginning with the call number PREX 2.8: back to 1961.

    U.S. Government Manual
    As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, and boards, commissions, and committees.

    The Plum Book (United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions).
    Published alternately after each Presidential election, the Plum Book lists over 7,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment, nationwide. Data covers positions such as agency heads and their immediate subordinates, policy executives and advisors, and aides who report to these officials. The duties of many such positions may involve advocacy of Administration policies and programs and the incumbents usually have a close and confidential working relationship with the agency or other key officials. Online beginning with 1996.

    The White House
    Besides information about the President, current issues are covered here as well as news, speeches, executive orders and proclamations. Past Presidents' websites can be found here.

    Executive Orders and Presidential Documents
    Sources and explanations compiled by the Law Librarian's Society of Washington, D.C.

    Legislative

    Congress.gov
    Provided by the Library of Congress, this resource offers access to legislative information including bills, public laws, the Congressional Record, House and Senate Committee reports, proposed legislation, roll call votes, treaties, histories, and much more. Some information dates from the 93rd Congress (1973-74) onwards. Legislative histories going back to 1952 can be found in the U.S. Code Congressional and Administration News (latest in reference, older in stacks) KF 63 .U53. The Congressional Record can also shed light on the history of a bill, although not in as much detail.

    Legislative Tracking via GovTrack, BillTrack50, OpenStates, StateScape, and LegiScan (these also track state legislation).

    GovInfo search. 
    Free public access to the full text of official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Begin searching immediately or browse a specific collection.

    Regulations.gov.
    This website, which began in 2002, allows you to find, view, and comment on regulations for all Federal agencies. In December 2007 it was revamped. And from the government side, a similar site: Reginfo.gov. The public can use this site to search the the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and Regulatory Plan, as well as current and past Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) regulatory reviews. The White House Office of Managament and Budget has a webpage with more information regarding regulatory matters.

    Law Librarian's Society of Washington, D.C.
    Webpage with legislative resources including the publications Drafting Federal Law, and A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as additional links to regulatory information.

    Earmarks database from Legistorm.

    Michigan's U.S. Representatives [See also State of Michigan representatives]

    Jack Bergman (R) 
    House representative for the 1st Congressional District.

    Gary Peters (D) 
    Senate representative. 

    Debbie Stabenow (D)
    Senate representative.

    Directory of the U.S. House of Representatives
    Locate House representatives in Michigan or other states.

    Directory of U.S. Senate Representatives
    Locate Senate representatives in Michigan and other states.

    Judicial Branch

    Supreme Court of the United States 
    The official site for the U.S. Supreme Court.  Included on the site are transcripts of oral arguments made from the 2000 term to present, court rules, opinions (from 2000 to present), slip opinions, speeches given by Justices, year end reports, etc. Findlaw offers a searchable database of all Supreme Court decisions since 1893. Print version of Supreme Court decisions can be found on the third floor in the Supreme Court Reporter vols. 1-94 (1882-1973) KF 101 S9 and United States Reports v. 389- (1967-present) KF 101 A3.

    U.S. Courts 
    Links to the official sites for the Courts of Appeal, District Courts, and other specialty courts (e.g. Tax Court, U.S. Court of International Trade, etc.). Many of court sites will include written opinions, although the dates of coverage vary with each web site. Also provided is a link to a library of various publications, statistical reports, and official forms relating to the court system. Michigan is in the 6th District Court; Wisconsin is in the 7th District Court.

    OYEZ
    "The OYEZ Project is a multimedia archive devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. It aims to be a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. The Project also provides authoritative information on all justices and offers a virtual reality 'tour' of portions of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of some of the justices."

    ​Military Science Resources

    The resources selected here are intended to support the mission of the the ROTC program and the Military Science Department at NMU.

    Military Websites: Specific Branches of the Service

    The Department of Defense. Defenselink: The official web site for the Department of Defense and the starting point for finding U.S. military information online. News, images, video, publications, etc. You can link to the individual branches, or, go directly there: Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Marines. Also, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve.

    Military Publications and Databases

    The NCO Journal. Published 4 times a year, this journal supports training, education and professional development of the NCO Corps.

    U.S. Army War College. A very good resource. The links off this page include the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), the Center for Strategic Leadership, and the Military History Institute. Publications, photographs, archival materials, etc. are accessible. Click on Menu, then Research & Publications.

    Command & General Staff College. This is another very good resource for online publications and links to databases and other military websites. Of particular interest is their Combined Arms Research Library (CARL).

    National Defense University. Under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the NDU is " the premier center for joint professional military education." Click on NDU Press: across the top of that page will be Books, Other Publications, etc. NDU also has a database of digital collections.

    Army Publishing Directorate. Publisher and distributor of Army publications. Publications and forms can be searched by number, title, series title, or proponent collection. Many are available freely online but a few are not.

    Staff College Automated Military Periodicals Index (SCAMPI). Unfortunately, not all of the articles cited are available full text. In the event you find a citation to an article that interests you, it will probably need to be interlibrary loaned through NMU. That page is here.

    Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). Search scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information. Members of the military can register and have access to more resources.

    Digital Video & Imagery Distribution System. Military publications have always been hard to locate outside of the military. Even with the availability of so many online, it is still not easy. This website is one such portal to them. Publications can also be located via the Central Command website. "Other News Sources" from the DoD also contains a listing of publications. Registration may be required to view stories at some sites.

    National Intelligence University. As the name suggests, publications on many aspects of intelligence can be located here. Most are freely available for download.

    The Homeland Security Digital Library. The nation's premier collection of homeland security policy and strategy related documents. This database is available for NMU students and faculty.

    U.S. Army Heritage Collection Digital Archive. Collection includes manuscrpits, photographs, and publications.

    General U.S. Government (and other) Search Engines

    USA.gov Military Personnel & Veterans. Includes a variety of resources: current news, veteran information, family support, transition assistance, recruitment, reserves, etc.

    The Catalog of Government Publications. This resource resembles a library catalog, and includes links to online publications. Use these terms when searching:

    • Command of troops
    • Leadership (include the word “military” as well)
    • Soldiers—United States
    • Military Art and Science
    • Military Education

    Other Resources (selected)

    GlobalSecurity.org. Since 2000, this organization "is the leading source of background information and developing news stories in the fields of defense, space, intelligence, WMD, and homeland security." Of note is their collection of Army Field Manuals.

    Defense News. Part of the Army Times publishing group. The leading military and government news periodical publisher in the world, providing independant, professional news. NMU has a print subscription to the Army Times: we keep the latest 6 months.

    Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network. Nice central source for worldwide military information ranging from weapon systems to budget and policy analysis. This website is a good compliment to GlobalSecurity.

    Lists of private military companies can be found at the following selected sites: Global Security, privatemilitary.org, webcontactus, and Sourcewatch.

    History of War. Covers wars, batties, biographies, and weapons from Greco-Roman times to Gulf War I. This resource has a nice A-Z index (as well as indexes for [nearly] each category) as well as many images.

    NMU Library Resources

    PsycINFO (1805-present)
    This is the premier database in the field of psychology. Much more than journal articles are indexed, though. Books and their chapters, dissertations, reports, and other secondary publications are included. The military, as well as the functioning of small units, is studied under this field. Other databases will have resources, but I found this database to have the most. Search tips:

    • “Military Psychology” as either a descriptor or a subject heading.
    • “Industrial & Organizational Psychology” and the term “military” or “army”.
    • “Group Cohesion” and Military.
    • “Military Personnel” and leadership OR unit
    • A keyword search with terms such as Army or Military and then Leadership will return relevant articles or other references.

    When searching the NMU library catalog, it is helpful to use the same search terms as mentioned with the Catalog of Government Publications:

    • Command of troops
    • Leadership (include the word “military” as well)
    • Soldiers—United States
    • Military Art and Science
    • Military Education

    Oxford Reference Online Military History : Here you can find The Oxford Companion to American Military History, The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, A Dictionary of Contemporary World History, The Oxford Companion to Military History, The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military, and the The Oxford Companion to World War II.

    LearningExpressLibrary has the ASVAB Preparation, CFAT Practice Tests, Military Flight Aptitude Tests Preparation, Officer Candidate Tests Preparation, and a variety of resources that fall under the title Career Guidance.

    Tax Resources

    The library no longer receives any paper forms and instructions.

    Tax Information

    Current Tax Tips from the IRS (always updated)

    Internal Revenue Service
    The official site of the IRS. Contains important federal tax information, forms, and publications. Publication 17 is a yearly reference work published by the IRS that covers the general rules for filing a federal income tax return. It supplements the information contained in your tax form instructions. It explains the tax law to make sure you pay only the tax you owe and no more.

    Link to the Michigan Department of Treasury 
    Individual income tax forms (MI-1040), etc, are available at this link (including previous years).

    State Tax Forms.  Link to where the forms are for every state.

    ProPublica article How to File Your [2020] State and Federal Taxes for Free in 2020.  There are caveats, naturally.

    Quick Tax Links (most popular forms)

    Federal

    1040: [ form ] [ instructions ] 

    Form 8863 Education Credits [ form ]

    Pub 519 Tax Guide for Aliens [ guide ] 

    Form 1040NR [ form ] [ instructions ] (tax form for U.S. non-resident aliens. Accompanies forms 1040 or 1040A).

    All federal forms are listed here. 

    In the military? The IRS has a Armed Forces Tax Guide.

    Other Resources

    USAGov
    ”The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal”. On USAGov.gov, you can search more than 186 million web pages from federal and state governments, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and local governments. Most of these pages are not available on commercial websites. USAGov has the most comprehensive search of government anywhere on the Internet. In addition, USAGov.gov allows you to browse sites by topic and has a very handy A-Z agency list. Includes government domains other than .gov and .mil as well.

    Search across up to 71 government agencies with MetaLib. 
    Collections include Environment, Science & Technology, Agriculture, Recreation, Travel & Transportation, and Business & Economy. You can also narrow your search to specific resources within each topic.

    Catalog of Government Publications
    Updated daily. Search this resource for online publications.

    Homeland Security Digital Library . 
    The nation's premier collection of homeland security policy and strategy related documents from federal, state, and local governments. This database is available for NMU students and faculty.

    University of Michigan's Document Center 
    This site offers a browsable index to a wide range of governmental information and topics.  Headings exist for specific topics, e.g. abortion, and broad levels of government (federal, executive branch, etc.). All levels of government--international, federal, and local--are represented. This is a very good resource; can't duplicate it, so I'll point you to it.

    Access to government information: an overview  
    From the Congressional Research Service is this summary of the additional ways to get at federal government information.  The Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act of 1974, Government in the Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act; 5 U.S.C. §552b), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act are covered.

    Citing Government Documents 
    Collection of links and samples from the University of Nebraska.

    Additional Federal Government Resources

    There are several entities that collect information obtained from the U.S. Government produced outside of the Government Publishing Office. In particular, the National Security Archive (which collects and displays documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA]), and The Memory Hole, which has managed to capture online documents that have been removed and web images that have been changed. A November 2004 article in Wired (by Ryan Singel) highlighted several alternate sources of government information. Here are a few of them.

    Congressional Research Service Reports  
    "American taxpayers spend nearly $100 million a year to fund the Congressional Research Service, a "think tank" that provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events". The link above is hosted by the Dudley Knox Library; for another list of other sites that host these reports, go to the Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C. These online reports are now acquired and destributed through the GPO anc can be located in the Catalog of Government Publications.

    The National Security Archive   
    From George Washington University. Briefly, this is a physical and online collection of declassified U.S. documents that have been obtained by a variety of individuals and organizations through the Freedom of Information Act (FIOA).

    OpenSecrets.org.
    Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, OpenSecrets is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Our mission is to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis to strengthen democracy. 

    Project on Government Secrecy   
    From the Federation of American Scientists, the Project on Government Secrecy works to "challenge excessive government secrecy and to promote public oversight”.  Ceased in 2021, but the links on that page (and the resources on the website) are worth checking out.

    Sunlight Foundation   
    Stopped in 2020.  Making government transparent and accountable. Covering (and making understandable) stories such as earmarks, court cases, lobbying, legislative issues, etc. Website has a search feature.

    Center for Effective Government  
    Their website hasn't been updated since 2016. Their mission "is to build an open, accountable government that invests in the common good, protects people and the environment, and advances the national priorities defined by an active, informed citizenry. We conduct research and policy analyses; develop new policy and reform ideas; encourage citizen participation and government accountability; and build broad-based coalitions to advance these values. To ensure the American people understand the vital role of government, we produce and disseminate educational tools and materials. We are a resource for policymakers, the media, advocacy allies, community organizations, and citizens.".

    Project on Government Oversight  
    The Project On Government Oversight (founded in 1981) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms. POGO’s investigations into corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of interest achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government.

    Public.Resource.org

    Cryptome.org.
    Cryptome welcomes documents for publication that are prohibited by governments worldwide, in particular material on freedom of expression, privacy, cryptology, dual-use technologies, national security, intelligence, and secret governance -- open, secret and classified documents -- but not limited to those. Documents are removed from this site only by order served directly by a US court having jurisdiction.

    There was once a website called The Memory Hole. It is gone now. The links page from that has other resources on  additional websites that dig into FOIA requests. 

    The Government Attic.   
    "Provides electronic copies of hundreds of interesting Federal Government documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act." Military, FBI, Congress, National Security Agency, CIA: a mixed bag. Searchable. There is a lot at this site.

    Ernie Lazar FOIA Collection.  
    From the Internet Archive: For decades, Ernie Lazar has filed a large amount of requests under the Freedom of Information Act, related to FBI investigations of left and right wing groups, resulting in over 2,000 files, which have been scanned in and put into this collection.

    American Oversight  
    A nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog that uses public records requests backed by litigation to fight corruption, drive accountability, and defend democracy. We believe transparency is a critical tool to promote integrity in government and to protect justice, truth, and the rule of law. Since 2017.

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