The Library will be closed on Monday, October 14, 2024, in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Government Document Locator

federal depository library program logo

Los Angeles Public Library's Central Library is a depository site for government information published by:

  • U.S. Government Publishing Office
  • U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
  • United Nations
  • State of California

The Library also provides access to selected publications of:

  • City of Los Angeles
  • County of Los Angeles

These publications are received in a variety of formats including electronic, print, and microfiche. Many government documents can be found in the LAPL Catalog and are searchable by author, title, or keyword. Once located in the catalog, the subject department where the actual document can be viewed is indicated. You'll find that most government documents can be found in the following subject departments: Business & Economics; Social Science, Philosophy & Religion; Science, Technology & Patents; and History & Genealogy.

Additionally, selected documents are available from LAPL Databases and the LAPL Web Pages lists. Databases are available at LAPL’s Central Library and Branches, and in some cases from personal computers with an LAPL library card. Web Pages are available from any computer with Internet access.

The Federal government is dedicated to moving its publications to electronic format.  As a result, many documents are available on the Internet. Use the gateways to locate your information.


Gateways


Govinfo

  • Govinfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government, such as federal laws, regulations, budget, court opinions, and Congressional hearings and documents.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

  • The Federal government’s own catalog to its publications both in print and online.
  • Migration of information from GPO Access to Fdsys (Federal Digital System) should be complete in 2010, and will manage government information from all three branches, and ensure public access even as technology changes.

GPO Bookstore

  • The Government Publishing Office has an online store where you can purchase many of its items.

Library of Congress

  • U.S. Government library of resources useful to the Congress and the American people

MetaLib

  • A service of the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, the federated search engine searches seventy federal government databases to retrieve reports, articles, and citations.

NARA - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

  • Archive of documents created by the U.S. Government important for legal or historical reasons to be kept forever.

Science.gov

  • This is Firstgov for science and is a gateway to science and technical topics.

Ben’s Guide

  • The Federal Government’s website to finding information for students and teachers from K-12.

USA.gov

  • The Federal Government's official portal to web sites.

Three Branches of the Federal Government


Congress.gov

  • Legislative information provided by the Library of Congress.

U.S. Courts

  • Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts, Bankruptcy Courts information provided by the Office of the United States Courts.

White House

  • Executive branch information provided by the Executive Office of the President.

Selected Federal Websites by Topic


Benefits
Census
Citizenship/Immigration
Consumer Information
Crime
Drugs (Pharmaceuticals)
Environment
Forms
Grants
Laws
Loans
Maps
Military
Statistics
Veterans


City of Los Angeles Web Resources


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