Government Reference

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Government Reference

Government Reference

The Government Reference section includes reference books and Web sites with information on presidents, elections, Congress, state governments, state and country capitals, leaders of countries, images of country flags, government agencies, public records, international governments, chambers of commerce, the courts, and more. There are books with statistics on a variety of subjects, such as crime, education, labor, elections, and population. Census data from 1790 is available on microfilm, as is census data for Cuyahoga County from 1820 to 1920.

Books
General | Statistics

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance / Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget: The 1998 Catalog contains almost 1400 assistance programs administered by 57 Federal agencies. Individual agencies should be contacted for the latest information regarding a program before applying for assistance.
Congressional Quarterly’s Desk Reference on American Government: Gives answers to over 600 frequently asked questions on the Government, Presidency, Congress, campaigns and elections, and the Supreme Court.
Congressional Quarterly’s Desk Reference on the States: Gives answers to over 500 questions the states, governorship, legislatures, campaigns and elections, and state courts.
Congressional Quarterly’s Federal Regulatory Directory: Explains Government regulation and provides detailed information on various regulatory agencies.
Europa World Year Book, 2 Vols.: Lists over 1,650 international organizations and provides detailed information, including contact addresses, and telephone and fax numbers of the countries of the world.
First One Hundred Justices: Statistical Studies on the Supreme Court of the United States Albert P. Blaustein and Roy M. Mersky: Statistics on biographical information, ratings of Justices, opinions, and more. Useful for historical research.
Great American Trials: From Salem Witchcraft to Rodney King Edward W. Knappman, Editor: Overview of selected trials of historic, legal, and political significance. Trials involving famous people are also included. Arranged in chronological order.
Macmillan Color Atlas of the States / Mark T. Mattson: Includes maps of the states and information on each state’s culture, government, economy, and more.
Oxford Essential Guide to the U.S. Government: Includes more than 900 A-Z entries and has concise histories of the U.S. Presidency, Congress, Supreme Court.
United States Government Manual Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration.: Provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the Federal, Legislative, and Judicial branches.
World Chamber of Commerce Directory / U.S. Chamber of Commerce.: Contact information for State, U.S., Canadian, and Foreign Chambers of Commerce; State Boards of Tourism; Convention and Visitors Bureaus; Economic Development Organizations; American Chambers of Congress abroad; Foreign Tourist Information Bureaus; Foreign and Ethnic Chambers of Commerce in the U.S.; and U.S. Embassies and Foreign Embassies in the U.S.
Almanac of the 50 States: Basic Data Profiles with Comparative Tables.: Statistics on geography and the environment; population; vital statistics and health; education; social insurance and welfare programs; housing and construction; government and elections; governmental finance; crime and law enforcement; labor and income; economy, industry and agriculture; and communication, energy and transportation.
Business Statistics of the United States Courtenay M. Slater and Cornelia J. Strawser, editors.: Covers the U.S. economy, industry profiles, historical data, and state and regional data.
City Crime Rankings Kathleen O’Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, editors.: Statistics for various types of crimes in metropolitan areas and cities.
Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to U.S. Elections: Contains presidential electoral votes back to 1789, presidential returns back to 1824, gubernatorial returns back to 1787, congressional returns back to 1824, and major primary returns of the 20th century. A narrative chronology of presidential elections from 1789 to 1992 is available.
CQ’s State Fact Finder / Kendra A. & Harold A. Hovey.: Statistical data tables for the fifty states and District of Columbia in population, federal impacts, crime and law enforcement, economics, government, health, geography, revenues and finances, transportation, taxes, education, and welfare.
Crime in the United States / U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.: Statistics on types of crimes, offenses cleared, persons arrested, and law enforcement personnel.
Digest of Education Statistics U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.: Statistics on all levels of education, Federal programs for education, outcomes of education, international comparisons of education, and learning resources and technology.
Economic Report of the President / Council of Economic Advisors.: Discusses the economic policies of the Clinton Administration; technology and the American economy; work and learning in the 21st century; the changing American family; markets and the environment; and new opportunities for the future. Statistical tables relating to income, employment, and production included.
Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics / Edited by Eva E. Jacobs.: From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Includes employment, prices, spending habits, employee benefit programs, occupational injuries and deaths, and more. Focus on national data.
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.: Statistics on population, health and medical care, migration, labor, prices and price indexes, national income and wealth, consumer income and expenditures, social characteristics, land, water, and climate, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, minerals, and more.
State Rankings / Edited by Kathleen O’Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan.: Includes over 500 tables of state comparisons in many subjects.
Statistical Abstract of the United States / U.S. Department of Commerce.: Standard statistical reference source from the U.S. Census Bureau. Primary emphasis on national data, but some data is available for regions, states, metropolitan areas, and cities.
County and City Extra: Annual Metro, City, and County Data Book / Deirdre A. Garquin and Katherine A. DeBrandt, editors.: Statistical information for every state, metropolitan area, congressional district, and city in the U.S. with a 1990 population of 25,000 or more.

Web Sites

Abbreviations and Acronyms of the U.S. Government: An extensive list of government agencies, selected military institutions, and other organizations. Links to the organizations' Web sites are provided. The collection is from the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis University Library.
About.com: U.S. Gov Info/Resources: A good source for a variety of government resources; includes an index to Government Web sites on the Internet. There are resources for government jobs and government aid, links to important documents, news and current events, government contact information, and related links.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications: From GPO Access at the Government Printing Office's site. The Catalog provides bibliographic information about many government publications from 1994 to the present; has links to online publications; and locates libraries that have publications.
Citing Government Documents: Here is bibliography of guides to proper citation of government documents from the library at Columbia University.
GovEngine.com: Includes an extensive collection of links to government Web sites at the federal, state, and local levels.
Government Contacts: This Web page from FirstGov has contacts organized by topic and government agency; contact information for members of Congress; and links to contact other government officials.
Government FAQs: Frequently asked questions of the government are organized by subject and agency/program.
Government Printing Office: This site from the Government Printing Office (GPO) has a wealth of resources on administrative decisions, the legislative, executive, judicial, and regulatory branches, and more. A "Core Documents of U.S. Democracy" page has links to important government documents such as the Constitution, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Congressional Record, and Supreme Court decisions. Users can order government publications here.
Introduction to the U.S. Legal System and the Nation: An overview of the basic structure of government and the roles of the legislature, executive branch, and courts. There is a detailed analysis of the steps in the law-making process. From the Law Library of Congress Web site.
POTUS: Presidents of the United States: This site from the Internet Public Library offers information on each of the 43 presidents and their administrations with links to further resources on the Internet
Project Vote Smart: In 1992, forty national leaders formed Project Vote Smart to provide government information from a non-partisan viewpoint. The site has biographical information on politicians, campaign finance data, issue positions, voting records, public statements, and more.
Science.gov: In its own words, Science.gov is a "gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. Government agencies, including research and development results."
Declaration of Independence: This site from the National Archives and Records Administration includes a transcription of the complete text of the Declaration and an image of the original Declaration. There are links to sites with further information about the Declaration of Independence.
Articles of Confederation: This site from the Avalon Project at Yale Law School provides the full text of the Articles of Confederation.
Federalist Papers: The full text of the Federalist Papers is available, and is searchable by title or keyword. An introduction is provided.
Library of Congress: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1873: Selected documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention; Journals of Congress; Bills and Resolutions; Statutes at Large; U.S. Serial Set; and Debates of Congress.
Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders: From the National Archives and Records Administration site; coverage from 1945 to 1989.
State and Local Government on the Net: From Piper Resources, this page has links to state Web sites, and legislative, judicial, and executive branch information. Within each state, there are links to the Website of counties and cities. Dates of last update are included.
State Legislatures, State Laws and State Regulations: From the Law Librarians' Society of Washington D.C., Inc., this page brings together the Web sites for the state legislatures, along with links to state codes. Important phone numbers are provided, as are commercial sources for state legislative research.
Stateline.org: Operated by the Pew Center on the States, this site offers political news from each state. Users can search for news by state or by subject. There are links to full-text articles from online news sources.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: This site from the General Services Administration gives users access to a database of all federal programs available to state and local governments; Indian tribal governments; U.S. Territories, organizations, and individuals.
DisabilityInfo.gov: The "comprehensive Federal website of disability-related government resources."
GovBenefits.gov: The purpose of this site is to provide a list of benefits you may be eligible to receive, and then to provide information about how to apply for those programs. A FAQ is available.
Grants.gov: This site provides grant opportunities, application packages, and information for grantors. A tutorial is included.
Ready.gov: This site from the Department of Homeland Security advises how to make a kit of emergency supplies and an emergency plan. It also provides advice in the event of a biological threat, chemical threat, explosion, nuclear blast, or radiation threat.
Recalls.gov: Six government agencies combine to offer recall information, and the opportunity to report a product, in the areas of motor vehicles, boats, food, medicine, cosmetics, environmentals products, and more.
Right to Know: A compilation of links to public records at the local county, Ohio, and federal levels from Cleveland's Plain Dealer newspaper.
BRB Publications, Inc: Public Records: This site contains links to over 1,300 county, city, state, and federal court Web sites.
Internet Privacy: Personal Information on the World Wide Web: This research guide from the Cleveland Law Library provides links to various sites containing public records.
People Finder: Public Records: This page from the Virtual Chase Web Site has many sites with public record information throughout the U.S.
U.S. Census Bureau: This site has a wealth of statistics in areas such as population, housing, economics, and geography. Maps are available, as is some information from Census 2000. An A-Z index facilitates searching.
FedStats: Statistical data can be searched by subject (A-Z), geography, collections of statistics, and across agency Web sites.
International Statistical Agencies: A collection of links to statistical agencies worldwide compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Statistical Abstract of the United States: Presents a wide variety of statistical data on areas such as population, education, health, law enforcement, geography, goverment, employment, natural resources, and more.
Statistical Resources on the Web: The Documents Center at the University of Michigan has compiled statistics in many subjects.
BBC News: Country Profiles: The profiles "provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries." There are six categories: Africa, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle East, South Asia.
CIA World Factbook: A quality source of information on a myriad of countries. Geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues are examined.
Constitution Finder: This site maintains a collection of links to "constitutions, charters, amendments, and other related documents" from around the world. Its index is organized alphabetically by country name.
Council on Foreign Relations: According to its Web site, the Council is "an independent, national membership organization and a nonpartisan center for scholars..." The organization provides current information about U.s. foreign policy and world events. Full-text articles are available.
EmbassyWorld.com: "A directory & search engine of the world's embassies and consulates." This Web site also has a map search, international telephone directory, and information on visa requirements.
Foreign Government Resources on the Web: From the University of Michigan Documents Center, this Web page offers information on the governments of countries around the world. Not all of the Web sites linked to are in English.
Nations of the World: From the Law Library of Congress comes information about the governments of nations worldwide. The information is given through the categories of constitution, executive, judicial, and legislative.
Rulers: Contains lists of "heads of state and heads of government" often back to 1700. Users can search through countries and territories, international organizations, foreign ministers, and religious leaders. A month-by-month chronology of important political events since 1996 is offered.
Statistical Agencies: This page from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, includes links to statistical agencies from countries outside the U.S. Statistics from major U.S. agencies are also available. Not all of the links are to pages in English.
World Flag Database: Offers pictures of the flags of countries throughout the world. Basic information about the countries is also given: main cities, population, currency, languages, religions, capital city, location, and status.

Last Modified: October 18, 2004