Federal Government Resources
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Federal Depository Program
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The Washington State Library has participated in the Government Publishing Office's (GPO) Federal Depository Library Program since its inception over 100 years ago. The State Library was designated as the Regional Depository Library for Washington and Alaska on May 10, 1965. Since that time the library has received most federal publications distributed by GPO through the program. The requirements for the program are in Section 19 of Title 44 of the U.S. Code. The formats distributed through the program include printed reports, microfiche, CD-ROMs, DVDs, and maps. The Washington State Library provides public access to this material as well as online publications and services.
Washington and Alaska Depository Libraries:
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Hidden gems in State Library’s federal collection February 1, 2016
Popular Topics
- The FDLP Basic Collection is collection of core resources about the workings and essential activities of the U.S. Government.
- Congress.gov is the official website for U.S. federal legislative information. The site provides access to accurate, timely, and complete legislative information for Members of Congress, legislative agencies, and the public.
- govinfo is a service of the Government Publishing Office and provides free online access to official federal government publications.
- Historical Topographic Maps High resolution scans of historical USGS topographic maps, some dating as far back as 1884, are now available online from the US Geological Survey (USGS). All scales and editions of US topographic maps are available as a georeferenced digital download or as a printed copy from the USGS Store.
- Digital Topographic Maps Digital maps, arranged in the traditional 7.5-minute quadrangle format, are now available for Washington and other states. Click on "Downoad Maps (map store)" to be taken to a map interface where you can either zoom in to the area you are interested in or do a word search for a particular quad in a state.
Federal Government Resources Online
Search Engines and Portals
- USA.gov Official multi-topic portal to U.S. government information, linking to various federal government agencies and commissions
- govinfo Provides free online access to official federal government publications
- Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) GPO's finding tool for federal publications
- Documents Data Miner 2 A website for people who work with and manage federal publications
- YouTube USA.gov and U.S. Government Channel Find the latest videos covering government information and hot political topics
- Federal Websites - Native Americans Useful guide to federal resources with information on Native Americans
- Office of the Federal Register Provides access to the official text of federal regulatory material, federal laws, and presidential documents
- MetaLib Retrieve reports, articles, and citations by simultaneously searching across multiple federal government databases
- ScienceCinema Find scientific videos highlighting research and development sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy
- OSTI.gov Portal to free, publicly-available Dept. of Energy-sponsored R&D results from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information's (OSTI)
- Railroad Retirement Board Publications The Railroad Retirement Board is an independent agency in the executive branch of the federal government serving the nation’s railroad workers and their families. The agency’s enabling statutes, the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, grant the RRB the authority to administer comprehensive retirement, survivor, and unemployment-sickness benefit programs. Pursuant to Executive Order 13891, Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents, this is an indexed and searchable collection of final agency decisions and published agency guidance documents.
Government Mashups, Blogs, and Social Networking
- OpenSecrets.org Website from the Center for Responsive Politics that tracks campaign donations and political spending
- Programmable Web Dashboard for government mashups and APIs
- The Hill The official blog of Congress
- Free Government Information Blog that promotes free access to government information
- Twitter Fan Wiki: U.S. Government Fairly comprehensive listing of U.S. government agency twitter feeds, with links to individual feeds for U.S. Congress members. Last updated May 25, 2010 so watch out for outdated information.
Economy and Finance
- Money Matters Federal Trade Commission website that provides links to consumer finance issues for financial educators, students, friends, family, coworkers and neighbors
- One-Stop Economic Resource Center Economic resource links for Washington residents provided by Sen. Patty Murray's office
- Economy Track Use this resource from the Economic Policy Institute to track the recession at national and state levels
More Government Services and Information Resources
- Internal Revenue Service Forms and Publications
- U.S. Tax Code Online Tax Code
- U.S. Government Manual Comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches.
- USA.gov Contact information for Congress, Agencies, Commissions and Elected Officials
- MedlinePlus Health information from the National Library of Medicine
- PubMed Access to over 12 million medical citations. Some full text
- GovSpeak A guide to government acronyms & abbreviations of the United States
- Sessions of the Congress of the United States Congressional sessions listed in chronological order
- The National Map USGS source of topographic intermation
- Salmon Recovery Columbia River Basin Federal Caucus information about what the federal agencies and their partners are doing to restore habitat, improve hatcheries, manage predators and improve dam passage for Columbia Basin fish
- Window to My Environment Environmental Protection Agency's federal, state, and local information about environmental conditions and features in an area of your choice
- National Weather Service Weather forecasts for the Western United States
- USAID Online resource for USAID-funded international development documentation
- FedFlix Browseable movies from the federal government with restriction-free use
- Data.gov Searchable database providing a plethora of data sets and tools on many types of information collected by federal agencies
- DisasterAssistance.gov Register here for federal disaster aid and find information about local assistance
- National Mine Map Repository Use this search tool to find maps of abandoned mines at the state or local level
- C-SPAN Find all C-SPAN footage of Congressional and Presidential events from 1987 forward -- television, radio and video
- FedSpending.org View spending data collected from the Federal Procurement Data System for federal contracts, the Federal Assistance Award Data System for federal financial assistance (grants and loans), and other U.S. government sources
Statistics
Calculators
- MyMoney.gov Find calculators to figure out out how long it will take to pay off a credit card, estimate your Social Security benefits, and more
- Inflation Calculator Determine how much a dollar in years past - dating back to 1913 - would buy you in today's market
- Healthfinder.gov Find health information from government and nonprofit sources, including calculators to help with assessing and tracking health and fitness
- Health Check Tools Find a variety of calculators, quizzes, and assessment tools presented in an A to Z list of topics
- Energy Calculators Evaluate energy usage for your home, buildings in general, industry, or vehicles
- Home Energy Saver Use your zip code to find a profile of yearly energy costs for an average energy-efficient home in your area or enter in your full address and fill out a questionnaire to calculate your home energy consumption
- Carbon Footprint Calculator Get an estimate of your footprint in three areas: home energy, transportation and waste
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