General Finding Aids for Government Information

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Find government reports distributed to depository libraries in print and on the Internet by title or keyword.  Coverage begins in 1994; for prior years back to the late 1970s and more search options, try the FirstSearch version of the Catalog (UIUC Subscription)

GPO Access

A portal to government information, especially legislative and regulatory information.

Firstgov

A consumer-oriented portal to government information on the Internet.

Google Uncle Sam

A search engine for government information on the Internet, including state and local information.

Finding Aids for Statistics

LexisNexis Statistical  UIUC Subscription

Limit your search by subject, title, geographic area, demographic characteristics, and economic characteristics.  Searches federal, state, international, and private sources. 

FedStats

Find statistics available on U.S. government web sites, either by topic or by agency.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (C3.134)

Use source notes at the bottom of each table to find more detailed statistics.

Finding Aids for Federal Legislation

LexisNexis Congressional UIUC Subscription

1789-present.  Some links to full text for more recent citations.

Thomas

Index available 1973-present.  Full text available 1989-present.

How Our Laws Are Made, Charles W. Johnson

This site by the Parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives explains the process of passing a federal law and the documents generated along the way.

Finding Aids for State Legislation

Illinois General Assembly

Access bills, laws, reports, and other information about the Illinois General Assembly at this site.  Some information available from 1997-present.

Researching Legislative History, Richard D. Edwards

This site from the Illinois General Assembly's Legislative Reference Bureau explains the process of passing a law in Illinois and how to find the intent of the General Assembly in passing a bill. 

Legal Information Institute: Constitutions, Statutes, and Codes

Access the legislative web pages of individual states as well as Uniform Laws as passed by the states and state laws by topic.

National Council of State Legislatures

This nonprofit organization reports on legislation across all 50 states on many topics. 

Sample Resources for Class Assignments

Slavery, Representation and the Constitution

Historical Census Data Browser

Find basic population data for African Americans from 1790 to 1970 in ten year increments, from U.S. Census data.  Slaves were included as a separate category during the 19th Century.  More detail is available in the print volumes, available in the Government Documents Library.   

U.S. Serial Set, Digital Edition

This link is for Congressional documents from 1817-1844.  Look at the Social Issues section for documents on slavery.  Later Congressional documents are available in print and microfiche at the Government Documents Library.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

This federal government agency monitors all kinds of civil rights issues, including race relations and voting.

Some subject headings that can be used in the online catalog for this topic:

Slavery United States (and subheadings)
Election Districts United States (and subheadings)
African Americans Politics and Suffrage (and other subheadings of African Americans)

Competing Electoral Systems

Center for Voting and Democracy

Contains concise pieces (see the right margin) on instant runoff voting (IRV), plurality elections, and related topics.

PR Library: Readings in Proportional Representation

Includes introductory readings, scholarly articles, bibliographies, and links to Web resources.

Proportional Representation in Local Elections: An Overview

In this state government publication, the author weighs the advantages and drawbacks of proportional representation and single transferable voting (STV) at the local level.

Electoral College Home Page

Explains the workings of the Electoral College system, outlines its history, and provides Electoral College statistics for all U.S. presidential elections.

Some subject headings that can be used in the online catalog for this topic:

Representative government and representation
Proportional representative
Single transferable voting

Supreme Court's Handling of Constitutional Cases

Analysis and Interpretation of the Constitution: Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States

This Congressional publication contains a history of each provision of the U.S. Constitution, as well as a brief description of the Supreme Court cases that have discussed the provision.  The print version is available in the Government Documents Library (call no. Y1.1/3:103-6).

Some subject headings that can be used in the online catalog for this topic:

United States Supreme Court (and subheadings)
Constitutional Law (and subheadings)

Help with Finding Government Information

UIUC Government Documents Library Reference Services

Chat with us online (weekdays 1-5), send us an e-mail, give us a call, or stop by the library for help.