Gov Docs
Some notes on our Government Documents:
Collection strengths:
▫ Congressional records (dates back to the Annals of Congress beginning March 4, 1789, in New York)
▫ Articles of Confederation (located in the stacks)
▫ McCarthy hearings
▫ US Census* (conducted every 10 years; most detailed accounting of the US population and a great source of statistical info)
▫ Foreign policy materials
Collection weakness: technology patents
Organized using the SuDoc (Superintendant of Documents) classification system:
▫ Based on the US Government agency that released the document.
A = Agriculture
C = Commerce (includes Census Bureau*)
D = Defense
ED = Education
GA = General Accounting Office
GS = General Services Admin
HE = Health and Human Services
I = Interior (includes US Geological Survey)
J = Justice
Ju = Judiciary
L = Labor
LC = Library of Congress
NAS = Nasa
S = State
SI = Smithsonian Institute
T = Treasure (includes IRS)
X, Y = House and Senate Publications
Y4 = Congressional Committees
*Note: The Census Bureau’s decennial publications from 1790 to 2010 are located in a separate section next to the locked shelves.
▫ 3 basic rules for locating Gov Docs by the SuDoc call number:
§ Rule #1: The SuDocs system is NOT a decimal system. Numbers on either side of the decimal are whole numbers, for example…
Correct SuDocs Order Decimal Order
D 1.1: D 1.1:
D 1.3: D 1.12:
D1.12: D1.122:
D1.33: D1.3:
D1.122: D1.33:
§ Rule #2: Remember Date, Number, Letter*. If the SuDocs number is the same up to a certain point and then varies, the order is determined by Date, Number, Letter, for example…
A 1.35:993 (993 = the year 1993. Before 2000, the first digit “1”of years dropped. After 2000, all 4 digits used)
A 1.35:321 (321 = a 3-digit number)
A 1.35:R 42 (R = a letter)
A 1.35:R 42/995 (995 = the year 1995)
A 1.35:R 42/2 (2 = a number)
*Note: Emory deviates from SuDoc convention here. The real rule is Years, Letters, Numbers. We use Date, Numbers, Letters. How do you remember that? Think Did Not Learn.
§ Rule #3: Base number first, then numbers slashed onto the base in order, and then numbers/letters dashed on in order, for example…
C 3.186: (base number)
C 3.186/2:
C 3.186/7:
C 3.186/7-3:
C 3.186/7-A:
C 3.186/9:
Circulation policy: Most US Gov Docs circulate, with the following exceptions (which have been stamped with a “No-Circulating Government Documents” stamp):
▫ Items published before 1950
▫ Items that are mostly statistical in nature (e.g. Census volumes)
▫ Items that are small or contain fewer than 15 pages
▫ Microfiche, microfilm, CDs, and DVDs
▫ Any special location items (maps, reference materials, items kept in the locked shelving)
▫ Selected other important and/or reference type publications (e.g. Foreign Relations of the United States and the US Serial Set)