U.S. Government Information: U.S. Documents at the University of Delaware Library

U.S. Government Information: U.S. Documents at the University of Delaware Library

Collections

The University of Delaware Library is a Federal Depository Library (Depository number 0087), one of more than 1,350 depository libraries in the country. The Federal Depository Library Program is a national resource network for providing public access to government produced information. The United States government is one of the largest publishers in the world, producing thousands of publications each year. Government information is a rich source of statistics on almost every imaginable topic, as well as information on many topics, ranging from gardening to economics to highly technical scientific research. Government documents are the primary source material for the history and activities of the United States government. To identify depository libraries, see Locate Federal Depository Libraries and Depository libraries in Delaware.

The University of Delaware Library was designated as a depository in 1907 and has a rich historical collection. The Library currently receives most of the publications distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program (about 70%). The government documents collection consists of more than 410,000 items, including books, periodicals, pamphlets, microfiche, maps, and CD-ROMs. The majority of the collection is located on the lower level of the Morris Library; paper documents in the U.S. Documents collection, microfiche in cabinets in the Microforms Area, and CD-ROMS in the Microforms Area. Some government documents are in the Reference Department, the main stacks, or in one of the branch libraries.

Most government publications received before July 1994 are not listed in DELCAT, the online catalog of the University of Delaware Library. For materials prior to this time, consult with the Reference Desk staff for assistance in using specialized indexes or consult the research guide “U.S. Government Information”.

About half of all federal government publications are now released only in electronic format, most of these available on the World Wide Web. These resources include texts, tables, photographs, digitized maps, and sound. Many government publications on the Web are in PDF format.

PDF stands for “Portable Document File” and means that the publication as you view it or print it is an exact facsimile of the original, including the page numbers, tables, columns, and footnotes. To view these documents, you need to have a special software program/helper application on your computer. An example of this type of program is the Adobe Reader from the Adobe company. This software is available free from the company's website Download Adobe Reader.

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The Call Numbers (SuDocs Call Numbers)

Government publications in the U.S. Documents collection (both paper and microfiche) use a special call number system specifically designed for federal documents, called the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) call number system. These call numbers indicate the agency which released the document, unlike other call number systems, such as the Library of Congress system which indicate the subject. For example, publications from the Department of Agriculture have call numbers beginning with “A”, such as “A 1.114:92” and those from the Department of Labor have call numbers beginning with “L”, such as L 2.70: C 4. Agencies or bureaus under Departments have the letter or letters for that department (the “parent agency”) and a number unique to the sub-agency or bureau. For example, “A 13” is the Forest Service and “A 93” is the Economic Research Service, both of which are agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

The next part of the call number identifies the series or type of publication. “A 93.10/2:” identifies the Agriculture Outlook series from the Economic Research Service. “L 36.114/3:” identifies the Facts on Working Women series from the Women’s Bureau under the Department of Labor. The remaining parts of the call number identify the individual publication. “A 93.10/2:225” identifies issue number 225 of Agricultural Outlook. “L 36.114/3:94-1” identifies the first issue of 1994 from the Facts on Working Women series.

SuDocs call numbers are arranged alphabetically by the letters indicating the agency, then numerically by the first number, then the next, etc. All numbers are treated as whole numbers, unlike the Library of Congress call number system. There are no decimals.

The following sequences illustrate the shelf order of some SuDocs call numbers:
HE 3.3:994/1 HE 3.19/2:44 HE 20.6202:H 34/4/980 HE 20.6202:H 34/5
L 2.3:2466 L 2.3/3:M 52/3 L 2.3/4:994/95 L 2.3/38:987

For more information, see An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents Classification System.

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Guides

Research Guides

Contacts

Contact the Reference Desk on the main floor of the Morris Library for general questions involving government information. Call (302) 831-2965 or go to Ask a Librarian.

More specialized questions should go to:

Rebecca Knight
Federal and state information Subject Specialist
Reference Department
302 831-1730
e-mail Rebecca

John Stevenson
Coordinator for Government Documents and Maps Processing
Acquisitions Department
302 831-8671
e-mail John

Tom Melvin
Patents Subject Specialist
Reference Department
302 831-6230
e-mail Tom

Shelly McCoy
GIS and Digital Mapping Specialist
Digital User Services Department
(302 831-6363)
e-mail Shelly

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Location

Hugh M. Morris Library
University of Delaware Library
University of Delaware
181 South College Avenue
Newark, DE 19717-5267
302 831-2965

The U.S. Documents collection (paper and microfiche) is located on the Lower Level of the Morris Library. Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk, main floor.

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This page is maintained by Rebecca Knight, Reference Department.

Last modified: 06/18/09