Government Information (United States)

You'll find our collection of tangible government publications on the ground floor of the Howe Library, one flight down from the library entrance. (Most of the government's current publications are available online.)

Access

• The collection is stored on tall, compact shelving.
• The collection is accessible any time the Howe Library is open. (Library Hours)
• If you need help finding and retrieving a document, please ask at the Reference Desk or the Circulation Desk on the main floor of the Howe Library.
• Some parts of the collection are located outside the library in the Library Research Annex. These materials may be requested to be brought to the Howe Library for use; please inquire at the Reference Desk on the main floor.

Arrangement

• Unlike the library's main collection, U.S. Government publications are arranged using SuDoc (Superintendent of Documents) call numbers, with publications grouped by the agencies that produced them (e.g., Agriculture, Interior, Defense). Information about this organizational system is available at "Structure of the Classification Number."
• Some sets of government documents are not shelved in SuDoc order. Find these on adjacent stacks.
  Annals of Congress
  Census publications
  Congressional Globe
  Congressional Record
  Foreign Relations of the United States
  Handbook of North American Indians
  Public Papers of the Presidents
  Register of Debates in Congress
  Smithsonian Bureau of Ethnology Reports
  Statutes at Large
  Trials of War Criminals (Nuremberg Trials)
  U.S. Congressional Serial Set
  United States Code
  United States Reports (Supreme Court decisions)

Borrowing Materials

• Many U.S. documents can be checked out to UVM students, faculty, and staff, as well as those who hold UVM guest borrower cards (see https://library.uvm.edu/about/information/library_cards). Please bring the item to the Circulation Desk on the main floor.

Microfiche

• Some materials are on microfiche, a format designed to save space.
• Microfiche cabinets are located around the perimeter of the print collection on the ground floor of the Howe Library, and also in a staff-only area. For assistance locating microfiche items, please ask at the Reference Desk on the main floor.
• Microfiche may be read and scanned using designated computer stations near the Reference Desk on the main floor.