Library:

Researching Topics In Government

Reference Books
Databases
Web sites


Reference Books

Reference books are found in the physical Library and in our e-book databases, netLibrary and Books 24x7. A reference book is a work, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia, containing useful facts or information. Because these books are consulted for brief information and not read all the way through, they do not leave the library. They are located in the reference section, that is, in the first couple rows of books in the Library. Here's some that might be helpful (though, this is not an exhaustive list):

  • R 320.0973HIS Historical Guide to the U.S. Government
  • R 320.973 SHA-a Harper Collins Dictionary of American Politics
  • R 328.73 CON-2 Guide to Congress
  • R 328.73 KRA Congressional Quarterly's American Congressional Dictionary
  • R 342.7308 LEV Origin of the Bill of Rights
  • R 347.7326 WIT Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court
  • R 353.003 CON Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Presidency
  • R 353.003 CYC Cyclopedia of American Government
  • netLibrary Bill of Rights
  • netLibrary Facts about the Presidents

Often, books that you can check out are published about specific companies and/or industries. Use the Library's catalog to search for such titles.


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Databases

(I need help accessing the databases)
The Library subscribes to--that is, pays for--a number of databases that contain articles, books and other information for you to use for your government research. The most useful databases for this subject are:

  • Academic Search Elite (EBSCOhost): This is a great place to find magazine and journal articles about govenment. Remember that you must use Boolean operators when searching any EbscoHost database. If you need a quick tutorial in Boolean, see the Library tutorial or click "help" in EbscoHost.
  • Academic Universe: Use this to find news, television and radio transcripts, court cases and state, national and international law.
  • netLibrary: netLibrary has hundreds of books on the political, cultural, historical and legal aspects of government.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer: Use this to find news coverage of local, national and internation government. Provides access to all articles published in the Philadelphia Inquirer since 1984.
  • New York Times: Excellent coverage and in-depth analysis national and international governments.Provides access to all articles published in the New York Times since 2000.

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Web sites

(I need help choosing quality websites)
Because anyone can publish anything they want on the Web, you need to be cautious about which sites you choose to use. Here are sites we recommend for researching this topic:


General

  • FedStats
    (http://www.fedstats.gov)
    "The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. federal agencies." The U.S. government collects data on just about everything, so this is the best place to start when looking for statistical information.
  • FirstGov
    (http://www.firstgov.gov)
    This is "the official U.S. gateway to all government information." The U.S. government collects data on just about everything, produces millions of documents on just about every topic, and then makes quite a lot of it freely accessible via the web. What a treasure!
  • Project Vote Smart
    (http://www.vote-smart.org)
    PVS is a citizen's organization that provides unbiased information about "your candidates and elected officials in five basic categories: biographical information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances and interest group ratings."

Legislative

  • U.S. House of Representatives
    (http://www.house.gov)
    The official site of the U.S. House of Representatives provides links to the representatives, committees, hearing schedules, voting records, bills and laws.
  • U.S. Senate
    (http://www.senate.gov)
    The official site of the U.S. senate provides links to senators, voting records, committees, hearing schedules, treaties, bills, resolutions, information about the legislative process, legislative statistics, and quite a bit more.
  • Library of Congress
    (http://www.loc.gov)
    The LOC is the research arm of Congress and the oldest federal cultural institution in America. The amount and variety of information available at the LOC site is staggering: you have access to Thomas: the legislative search engine; The American Memory Project providing "free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience," and too many other resources to list here.

Executive

  • White House
    (http://www.whitehouse.gov)
    Official site of the White House with links to pages for the President, First Lady, and Vice President, as well as video and transripts of White House press briefings, Presidential Proclamations, Executive Orders, and news covering a variety of issues.
  • FirstGov: Federal Executive Branch
    (http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/
    Executive.shtml    )
    Provides links to all executive departments (e.g., Homeland Security, Commerce, Interior, Defense, etc.), agencies (e.g., EPA, CIA, AMTRAK, etc.), boards, and commissions.

Judicial

  • U.S. Supreme Court
    (http://www.supremecourtus.gov)
    The official site of the Supreme Court of the United States provides access to dockets, oral arguments, briefs, and opinions, as well as information about the justices, and the history of the court.
  • Federal Judiciary
    (http://www.uscourts.gov)
    Provides links to the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, U.S. District Courts, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. In addition there is and online library that contains court publications, reports, statistics, manuals/policies and forms.

State


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