Search Engines
The United States Government is the largest publisher
of information in the world. While The
Government Printing Office (GPO) is the primary government
agency involved in coordination of government publication. The
GPO, and other federal agencies and organizations, have created
a variety of online finding aids to make finding government
information easier.
This webpage lists some of the most popular and/or
comprehensive resources. Before you try out the various resources
on this page, search catologUSMAI.
The Ort Library is both a federal and state depository for paper
and electronic resources, that are searchable in the catalog.
For more information about the Library's government documents
collection, see the home page.
Government Databases
GPO
Access. A collection of government databases and finding
aids.
EHP Online. Environmental
Health Perspectives (EHP) Online database that includes the
full-text of EHP magazine dating back to 1972, National Toxicity
Program Technical Reports, and the Ninth Report on Carcinogens.
Government Search Engines
Catalog
of U.S. Government Publications. Indexes both print and
electronic Government information products created by Federal
agencies from 1994 to current. Search by keyword on all titles
or just electronic titles. Many of the print titles are distributed
to depository libraries like ours. After you search click on
Locate Libraries.
GPO Monthly Catalog of U.S. Publications.
(Research Port access
only). Provides indexing and abstracts of all types of government
documents including Congressional Reports, hearings, debates,
and records; judiciary materials, and more.
FedWorld.
Provides access to a number of different government databases.
It is a good source for science and technical research reports.
USA.Gov. Search engine
for government websites. Searchable by federal, state or both.
Can be browsed by any topic.
Government
Information Locator Service (GILS). Identifies, locates,
and describes publicly available federal information resources.
32 federal agencies have mounted their GILS records on the GPO
Access server.
Other Search Engines
Google:
Uncle Sam. Searches all .gov and .mil sites.
INFOMINE:
Government Information. A virtual online library containing
information recommended by librarians from various universities
in California. Search by keyword, subject, title, or browse.
University of Michigan Documents Center. A reference and
instruction tool for government, political science, statistical
data, and news. It contains local, state (MI and others), federal,
foreign, or international government information.
Citing Government Sources
The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. REF
KF245.B58 1991. The authortative guide for citing legal materials.
Brief
Guide to Citing Government Publications.
Citing
Government Information Sources Using MLA Style.
DocsCite.
MLA and APA formats, an interactive form for generating citations
to government publications from the university of Arizona.
Online!:
A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources. APA, Chicago,
CBE, and MLA.
U.S.
Census Bureau's Suggested Citation Styles for Internet Information.
Legal Research Guide:
How Federal and State Laws are made: Statutory
Law
How
our Laws Are Made. (Federal) Includes complete text of booklet
by the same title. Includes a description of Congress, sources
of legislation, forms of congressional action, committees, reported
bills, calendars, measures, debates, amendments, presidential
action, and publication. Authored by Charles W. Johnson Parliamentarian,
United States House of Representatives.
The
Legislative Process: How a Bill Becomes a Law. (State) Comprehensive
outline of the MD legislative process. Site
produced by the Maryland State Archives.
Federal and State Regulations: Administrative
Law
Federal Regulations:
What are they?
All regulations result from laws enacted by Congress and signed
by the President. Regulations interpret laws. Federal Agencies
create regulations and announce them in the Federal Register
with a comment period for hearings. Regulations are also announced
via an
interactive site.
After consideration, final regulations are printed in the Federal
Register.
What is the Federal Register?
It is published by
National
Archives and Records Administration (
NARA).
It contains proposed regulations, final regulations, executive
orders, presidential proclamations, and meeting notices
,that
are arranged chronologically. An important feature of
a proposed regulation is the preamble which gives the underlying
reasons for the regulation, it includes a contact information
for the Agency proposing it. An index is published monthly and
is cumulative for the year (NOTE: Monthly issues and annual
index are slow in being released). Click
here
to access the Federal Register Online.
What is the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)?
The
CFR codes the regulations that appear
in the Federal Register. It includes 50 subject titles (NOTE:
The titles do not necessarily conform to the U.S. Code). Published
annually on a quarterly schedule. The index volume is an agency
index, not a subject index. Access the
CFR Online. The Library also
has the print edition of the CFR (REF KF70.A3).
What is COMAR?
The Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR)
is a permanent compilation of all Maryland agency regulations.
Started in 1977, COMAR is divided into 31
titles, with each title usuallycorresponding to a department
or agency within State government.COMAR regulations
affect situations like employee drug testing, home improvement
permits, boating speed limitations, food stamp eligibility,
or hunting and fishing restrictions This loose-leaf publication
is updated and supplemented annually. Access COMAR online. The Library also
has the print edition of COMAR in the Reference
Area on floor 2 (REF KFM1235).
What is the Maryland Register?
Contains the same type of information as the Federal Register.
Printed every two weeks and available online. Also includes judicial information such as appellate hearing
dates and changesto the Rules of Procedure (for the
MD General Assembly).
Federal and State Courts: Case Law
Before you begin looking for court cases:
You need to specify what jurisdiction you are interested in
state or federal. Within a jurisdiction there are different
levels in the court system. A court case usually begins in the
district courts, and if appealed the case goes to the appellate
courts, and if appealed again the case goes to the supreme court.
Typically, only cases that add something to the body of case
law are published. Cases that involve routine matters like drug
possession or speeding tickets are generally not published.
The nature of case law (law made by decisions
from court cases) is very fluid and is subject to change by
subsequent decisions. Lexis-Nexis Academic (Research
Port access only), provides Shepard's citatory for Supreme
Court decisions, which allows you to find subsequent cases that
have used the legal arguments of the original case, as well
as the prior history of the case.
Federal Case Law
The Supreme Court was organized in 1790 with judicial
power to review cases arising from the Constitution, the laws
of the United States, and treaties with foreign governments.
Statutory authority for the Court can be found in 28 U.S. Code
Sect. 1251 et seq. The hierarchical system which has evolved
is Federal District Courts (in each state) -> Courts of Appeal
-> U.S. Supreme Court.
Federal courts have limited jurisdiction in that they can only
decide certain types of cases as determined by Congress or defined
in the Constitution.
United
States District Courts
United States Courts of Appeals
United States Supreme
Court
State Case Law
The Maryland Court System consists of the Court
of Appeals, the Court of Special Appeals, the Circuit Courts,
the District Court of Maryland, and the Orphan's Courts. These
are supported by state commissions and offices. Click here for
a complete overview of the Maryland Court System.
District Courts
Court
of Special Appeals
Court of
Appeals
Circuit
Courts
Major Finding Aids
Electronic:
Findlaw
GPO Access
GPO Monthly Catalog
(via Research Port)
Thomas (a Library of Congress website)
Print:
CIS Index- PRINT Located at far end of gov. documents collection
1973-
Congressional Records Index- PRINT GOVDCOS X 1.1
Digest of Public General Bills and Resolutions- PRINT GOVDOCS
LC 14.6 1970-1990
Maryland Law Encyclopedia- PRINT REF KFM 1265.W4
