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Southern Methodist University
Central University Libraries
Government Information And Map Resources Department
Getting Started With Government Documents
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Organization Of Government Documents : Government Documents Formats
4 major formats for government documents
- Paper
Many older publications and "substantial publications" (Country Studies / Area Handbooks) -- also includes maps -- preferred format for many titles in Underwood -- several government documents serial titles are available in the Fondren Library Center Newspaper & Periodicals Reading Area, such as the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and Monthly Energy Review
- Microfiche
Became the "format of choice" in the 1970's and 1980's -- Fondren Library has extensive microfiche holdings, particularly Congressional publications (Congressional Record), ERIC [Education Resource Information Center] Reports, GAO [General Accounting Office / Government
Accountability Office] Reports
- CD-ROM / DVD-ROM
Both raw data such as Decennial Census statistics and multimedia products such as USGS Historical Reprints and Patent information
- Online Resources
Might be an online-only resource or a Web-accessible version of an existing / established publication -- former = publications of the President's Council on Bioethics -- latter = Decennial Census data available via American FactFinder -- although SMU does not "own" these titles, we do receive records for them, and they can be found in PONI
