Introduction to the Guide
The databases on these pages are a selected subset of freely-available US and state, with a focus on Texas, government databases. A few international databases are included as well. Databases are included on these pages only if they are substantial research sources; almost all have some kind of search capability.
Major US Government Portals
govinfo.gov is designed to allow the Government Publishing Office to manage information from all three branches of government in a comprehensive manner.
The system is committed to permanent public access, and contains a growing group of government databases. Access is through a sophisticated search engine, or, if a particular document is needed, through the browse feature.
- govInfo.govgovinfo is the portal to GPO hosted material. It provides access to U.S. government publications from the three branches of the federal government.
Other general indexes and services
- Catalog of Government PublicationsDatabase "for federal publications that includes descriptive information for historical and current publications as well as direct links to the full document, when available." It als included an option to find a nearby Federal Depository Library that has the publication.
- Data.govProvides public access to datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. View datasets by agency, or search by keyword or category.
- Science.govDatabase of "U.S. government science information" with "free access to research and development (R&D) results and scientific and technical information from scientific organizations across 13 federal agencies."
Blume Library
- Discover This link opens in a new window
Meta-search includes numerous US and state government publications. These are often listed by Source Type under Books or Reports.
CRS Reports
Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports cover all subject areas and are excellent overviews. The Library of Congress, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, is making recent CRS report available.
Major Collections
- CRS Reports - Library of CongressDatabases of Congressional Research Reports searchable via the Library of Congress. Offers faceted search, including by author. Only PDFs. Limited historical reports as of 2019.
Other Compilations
- CRS Reports - Federation of American ScientistsCompilation of CRS reports on a broad range of national policy issues like defense, nuclear and conventional weapons, terrorism, etc.
- CRS Reports - University of North TexasUNT's archive is searchable and contains as many different reports, and variations of reports. Mainly historical.
- EveryCRSReport.comCRS reports available as PDF and html. Links to historic reports made available by UNT. Shows revision history for each report. Authors have been removed,
Blume Library database with some CRS Reports
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowCRS Reports are location under the category US Congressional Documents. Search the category and then limit by Document Type to focus on CRS Reports.
- Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new windowTo see the CRS reports, look under Special Collections and the CRS Reports & Issue Briefs. You can then search by topic.
GAO Reports
The Government Accountability Office generates hundreds of reports each year on topics related to government agencies and actions. The Library has a limited collection of these reports in printed form (classification number is GA 1.13:). You can find them via the Discover or the Library Catalog.
Key Resources
- GAO Materials - Advanced SearchSearches all GAO publications and web pages including reports, testimonies, legal decisions, and bid protests. See the Help for search tips.
- GAO Reports & Testimonies - BrowseList of topics covered the the GAO. You can browse by topic, date, or agency.
- GAO Reports - govinfo.govReports from reports from 1994-2008. Check the GAO website recent content.
Blume Library database with some GAO reports
- Homeland Security Digital Library This link opens in a new windowThe Library's primary focus is security, but it is very broadly defined and makes a large number of GAO reports available and searchable. Some features of the HSDL are only available from on-campus computers, but the GAO reports are in their "limited collection," which is freely available to anyone.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress offers several major research services. Here are a few of the most used.
- Library of Congress (LOC)Main page of the Library of Congress. Includes links to the LOC library catalog, digital collections, US Copyright Office, their law library, etc.
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers"Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present."
- Library of Congress Digital Collections: Search"A gateway to the Library of Congress’s vast resources of digitized American historical materials." This portal includes the content from the old American Memory site and additional digital sources. LOC.
Citing government sources
- Citing Government Documentscollection of links to citation guides, from Columbia University