Government Research Guide

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

Almost all government publications and information produced in the last decade can be found online through the following websites. It can be difficult to find exactly what you're looking for, though. If you get stuck, ask a librarian (401-847-8720 x208).

• GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to over 1,500 databases of Federal information, including the Budget of the United States, the Congressional Record, the Federal Register, the United States Government Manual, and the United States Code.

• Thomas provides access to the full text of House and Senate bills and resolutions from the current and previous sessions of Congress, searchable by keyword and bill number. Includes the full text of the Congressional Record, a daily account of proceedings on the House and Senate floor as well as bill summary and status. Also contains information on how laws are made, along with the full text of the Constitution of the United States.

• Usa.gov is the catch-all gateway to government information, including links to various agencies and departments. Also includes links to voter registration and disaster assistance applications.

• Grants.gov is a great new way to find and apply for government grants. Note: Grants.gov does not provide assistance for personal finance.

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS COLLECTION

Looking for the Rhode Island state budget? Reports on wildlife in the state or the nation? How about an exhaustive volume of education statistics, or environmental assessments from Naval Station Newport?

The Newport Public Library has all these and more in our wide range of state and federal government documents. You'll find these toward the back of our reference collection (see floor plan for a more detailed view). You can also search for them in the Library Catalog.

For more on local and state government, try this page.

OTHER WEB RESOURCES

Google Government Search Engine
Use Google to search only U.S. government web sites. Also features news feeds from the White House, defense department, and the Washington Post.

Govfresh
A live feed of official news from U.S. Government Twitter, YouTube, RSS, Flickr accounts and more, all in one place.

CIA World Factbook
View extensive information on foreign nations' governments, economies, military capabilities, and much more, all compiled by the CIA.

GovSpeak: A Guide to Government Acronyms and Abbreviations
This site lists abbreviations commonly used for many federal agencies, and provides links to each agency's web site.

GovSpot.com
Provides links to online government information, broken down by subject categories and frequently asked questions.

Tutorials for Patent Searching
From the University of Texas, a few step by step guides to help you start searching for patent information. Use Internet Explorer for these.