Government Documents

Southwestern has been a selective depository for United States government documents since 1975. Government documents are useful in many areas of legal research, as they include administrative decisions, agency publications, and congressional hearings, reports, and bills. Although some of the library's documents have been integrated into the main cataloged collection, most of the print documents are shelved on the lower level (shelves 1-6). Materials in this area are arranged according to the Superintendent of Documents classification system. A large portion of the collection, including most congressional publications, is in microform, housed in the Microform Room on the first floor.
     
Serial titles and recent documents are reflected in the online catalog, and a project is underway to add earlier materials. Access to documents not included in the online catalog can be accomplished in a variety of ways. The Congressional Information Service (CIS) Index is the most helpful source for congressional publications. The CIS Index is available in book form as well as electronically using the LexisNexis Congressional link from the library's database list. For other types of documents, use the Marcive link on the database list. Government statistical information is available in the ASI Index and LexisNexis Statistical. For assistance in using any of these sources, please ask a Reference Librarian.