Publication Date

July 18, 2007

Thematic

Archives

You may have visited the Library of Congress’s web site, or even the National Archives online, but you’re missing out if you haven’t yet been to GPO Access. GPO Access is a site run by the U.S. Government Printing Office to “disseminate official information from all three branches of the Federal Government.”

On this web site you’ll find:

  • Core Documents of U.S. Democracy – Including not only the Articles of Confederation, The Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence, but also links to congressional bills, presidential inauguration speeches, and Supreme Court decisions.
  • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications – Use this page tofind descriptive records for both historical and current federal publications. Then, still through this site, access the publication online or find it in a local Federal depository library.
  • List of Federal Databases – An extensive alphabetical list of Federal databases and resources available online.
  • Congressional Record – Published daily when Congress is in session, this official record of Congress can be searched by keyword, most recent issue, and back issues.
  • Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States – While the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, has collected presidential writings, addresses, and remarks since the Hoover administration, this site only allows access to the papers of George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and George W. Bush.
  • Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids – Don’t think they forgot about the kids (or the parents and teachers teaching the kids). Ben’s Guide offers age-appropriate information for kids, and curriculum links for teachers.

While that is a lot to go through, there’s so much more out there. For a list of other government web sites (including the CIA Factbook, Students.gov, and NationalAtlas.gov) check out the LifeHacker blog’s recent post “U.S. government web sites you didn’t know you could use,” which was the inspiration for this post. Or, use Google’s U.S. Government Search to find the latest government related news from the White House, the military, and major newspapers.

This post first appeared on AHA Today.

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