Main Library - Business, Law, and Government Services
DOCUMENTS GUIDE

Federal Documents

LINKS: [BLG Section Home Page]
[Government Home Page] [Federal Documents Home Page]
[Documents Guides Home Page]

Federal Documents

The Broward County Library has been a depository for federal documents since 1967. The BLG Section includes current documents made available from the Government Printing Office plus many extensive retrospective collections in microform.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged by a classification system known as the Superintendent of Documents classification system. It arranges publications by issuing agency. Thus, all publications of each agency are shelved together, regardless of the subject matter of the publications.

Bibliographic Control

Most of the BLG Section's federal documents are listed in the Broward County Library's online Library Catalog (LINK). The BLG Section also maintains a card catalog arranged in shelf order, with an agency index and a series-title index. Another important tool for accessing federal documents is GPO: Government Publications Online (LINK). Many of the more recent documents listed in this catalog include links to the full text of the documents.

Microform Formats

The BLG Section has many documents in microfiche and microfilm formats. Citations for many of these microform collections appear in the Broward County Library's online Library Catalog (LINK) and the BLG Section's card catalog, but many of the microform collections have their own special indexes, as well.

Electronic Formats

A great deal of government information has recently become accessible electronically, making it easier, quicker and more current. Many government publications are now available online through the GPO Access website (www.gpoaccess.gov) as well as the home pages of specific government agencies. The Federal Register, the Congressional Record, and the Statistical Abstract of the United States, as well as many other publications are available online.

Other Sources

By law, federal depository collections in libraries must be open to the public for use in the library. Documents not owned by Broward County Library may often be borrowed or photocopied through Interlibrary Loan from other depository libraries.

The Regional Depository for the State of Florida is the University of Florida Library in Gainesville. It has the most complete collection of federal documents in the state.

In addition to the Broward County Library, the following libraries, located in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties are selective Federal Depository Libraries:

Nova Southeastern University Law School Library
www.nsu.edu/library

Florida Atlantic University Library
www.fau.edu/library

Florida International University Library
www.fiu.edu/library

Miami-Dade Public Library
www.mdpl.gov

 University of Miami Library
www.miami.edu/library

University of Miami Law Library
www.law.miami.edu/library
 

LINKS: [BLG Section Home Page]
[Government Home Page] [Federal Documents Home Page]
[Documents Guides Home Page]