How do I find government information on...?

UVA's Shannon Library recently completed a multi-year renovation.  Post-renovation, many of our government documents will remain in off-site storage, but can quickly be brought to grounds if requested through our online catalog.  Government Documents in the renovated library are located in room 130 (1st floor, in the north-east corner).  There are information desks on the 4th and 2nd floor that can help you navigate the space.

Use the Online Catalog, Virgo, to determine the location of documents and submit requests: https://search.lib.virginia.edu/

• The format filter can be used to limit your results to only government documents when using Virgo's advanced search or in the sidebar of the Virgo results page.
• You can find instructions for requesting materials through Virgo on this page: https://www.library.virginia.edu/services/request . 

If you have any questions, please use the Ask A Librarian chat function or e-mail library@virginia.edu .

• GovInfo.gov
  This database, maintained by the Government Printing Office, provides authenticated access to publications from all three branches of government. Coverage is strongest from the mid 1990s onwards, but older documents can be found here as well. New content is added daily. Use this database to find the text of legislation, bills, etc.

  Need help using this resource? Video tutorials and overviews can be found here: https://www.fdlp.gov/govinfo-tutorials-2
  GovInfo.gov replaces the FDSys platform, which was retired in Dec. 2018.
• U.S. Agencies - A-Z
  Find contact information for U.S. federal government departments and agencies including websites, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and more.
• US Government Information: Weekly Round-up - From UC San Diego's Library
  This page is an attempt to provide current awareness of federal government reports and activities. The page will be updated weekly to provide links to important, newsworthy, or interesting material published during the previous week. The goal is to keep the links to a manageable number for readers, not to be a comprehensive listing.

Subscription Databases
Remote access to these databases is restricted to current UVA students, faculty, and staff.  Community members are welcome to use them while visiting any of our library locations.  They can be viewed on a personal device (laptop, tablet, etc.) while connected to the UVA Guest wifi, or on our public guest computers (ask for assistance at the library's service & information desk).  If using a guest computer, visitors should plan to save any files to a flash drive or upload them to an online storage platform.

• ProQuest Congressional
  Information by and about the U.S. Congress: documents and reports, Legislative Histories, hearings, and members and committees. Search the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Federal Regulations, The Hill, and Roll Call. Formerly LexisNexis Congressional.
• Legislative Insight
  Federal legislative history service. Includes the Public Law, all versions of related bills, Congressional Record excerpts, committee hearings, reports, prints, Presidential signing statements, CRS reports, and additional background material.
• Hein Online
  Retrospective, full-text .pdf coverage of hundreds of legal periodicals, U.S. Supreme Court cases, the U.S. Statutes at Large, Congressional Record, hearings and other legislative history materials, Federal Register, U.S. Attorney General opinions, U.S. treaties and agreements, Foreign and International Law, Israel Law Reports, English Reports, Hague Academy Recueil des Cours, Parker School of Foreign and Comparative Law collection, and the Virginia Law Weekly archive. Searchable by citation, author/title, and keyword.

Government Documents are an unusual subset of library materials and can take many different forms beyond the items usually found on the shelf.  You may find these guides useful when navigating other formats in the collection or incorporating government information into your research.

• Citing Government Documents (Guide from Coumbia University Libraries)
• Maps
• Microforms