Federal Government

The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) is the search tool for print and electronic titles of the National Bibliography of U.S. Government Publications. The National Bibliography is made up of publications from across the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. Government.

In this resource you will find bibliographic information about publications and links to digital publications when available. It is important to remember the CGP is a bibliography, not a document repository. The CGP will only provide links to full-text resources that are the official, authoritative copy of an electronic resource.

Scope

• Bibliographic information for new and historic Government Publications dating back to the late 1800s
• Over one million bibliographic records generated since July 1976
• Over 290,000 links to official full-text electronic titles
• Updated daily

History

Originally launched online in the mid-1990s, the current CGP came online in 2006. The CGP was originally the online counterpart of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. Commonly referred to as the Monthly Catalog, or MoCat, it lists all of the publications produced by the U.S. Government Printing Office from 1895 to 2004. The MoCat was discontinued with the December 2004 edition; now the continuously-updated CGP serves as the official record.

Data.gov is the federal government’s open data site and aims to make government more open and accountable. Opening government data increases citizen participation in government, creates opportunities for economic development, and informs decision-making in both the private and public sectors.

Data.gov implements The OPEN Government Data Act (Title Ⅱ of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, Public Law 115-435). The OPEN Government Data Act makes Data.gov a requirement in statute, rather than a policy. It requires federal agencies to publish their information online as open data, using standardized, machine-readable data formats, with their metadata included in the Data.gov catalog.

Data.gov is working with an expanded group of federal agencies to include their datasets in Data.gov as they implement the law. In addition, the law requires that GSA work with the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Government Information Services to establish an online repository of tools, best practices, and schema standards to facilitate the adoption of open data practices across the Federal Government. That repository can be found at resources.data.gov.

Data.gov was built with open-source software. Anyone, especially local, state, and foreign governments, is welcome to borrow the code behind Data.gov.

GovInfo is free U.S. Government information for all.

GovInfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a federal agency in the legislative branch.

GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

GovInfo replaced the FDsys website in December 2018.

GPO launched GovInfo in February 2016 as a beta website to replace its predecessor, GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys). Learn about the transition.

GovInfo is more than a website.

In addition to providing an advanced, metadata-powered search experience, GovInfo also includes a content management system and a standards-compliant preservation repository.

These three components comprise GPO’s world-class system for the comprehensive management of electronic information:

1. Public access—GPO combines modern search technology with extensive metadata creation to ensure the highest quality search experience. Users can easily access documents for free by searching or browsing the mobile-friendly website.
2. Content management—GPO securely controls digital content throughout its lifecycle to ensure content integrity and authenticity. This includes the application of digital signatures to PDF files so users can verify documents have not been altered and are the official versions.
3. Digital preservation—GPO’s ISO 16363-certified Trustworthy Digital Repository ensures content is preserved for future generations despite technical failure, aging of hardware, or technological change.

What can I find on GovInfo?

See what’s available, including information on individual publications or collections of content, or view an alphabetical list of collections, publications, other resources, and external partner sites.

Why select this database?

• GPO Monthly Catalog contains more than 600,000 records for documents printed by the U.S. government.
• It covers all types of U.S. government documents, including Congressional reports, hearings, debates, and records; judiciary materials; documents issued by executive departments (Defense, State, Labor, Office of the President, etc.).
• Each record contains a bibliographic citation.
• It is produced by the U.S. Government Publishing Office.

Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military, this database offers a thorough collection of periodicals, academic journals and other content pertinent to the increasing needs of those sites. The Military & Government Collection provides cover-to-cover full text for nearly 300 journals and periodicals. The database also offers indexing and abstracts for more than 400 titles. Some publications covered in this database include Air Force Comptroller, Defence Studies, JFQ: Joint Force Quarterly, Military Technology, Combat Edge, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Foreign Affairs, Naval Forces, and many more. Many full-text titles are available in native (searchable) PDF or scanned-in-color.