The mission of the Government Documents Library is to facilitate access to all formats of government information both for supporting the general research and teaching needs of the University in a wide variety of disciplines, and also for providing access to the general public by means of the depository programs.
Government publication and information depository libraries agree to provide access and reference help to the general public free of charge . All information in paper or electronic format obtained through the depository programs are open for use by both University of Illinois affiliated, as well as non affiliated users. For more information on the services we offer for information in electronic formats, see our Public Service Policy for Electronic Government Information.
Most of the circulating government publications in the University Library are housed in the Main Stacks. For users of the Government Documents Library who do not automatically have access to the Main Stacks (see Bookstacks Access for a list), permission to enter the Main Stacks for use of government information can be obtained in Room 203 or at the Main Circulation Desk, or specific items can be requested at the Main Circulation Desk.
Materials checked out from the Main Stacks should be returned to them, or to the Main Library book drop. Fines and lost books from the Main Stacks should be dealt with through the billing office of the Central Circulation Department.
The Government Documents Library does not circulate microfiche, DVDs, CD-ROMs, or materials in the reference collection. Items checked out from the Government Documents Library should be returned to the library to ensure proper discharge. Those with fines and lost books from the Government Documents Library should contact our circulation assistant at (217) 333-8521.
We catalog the collection using the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc), United Nations documentation, Canadian catalogue numbers, and Dewey classification systems. Early U.S. Federal materials were classified in Dewey with a switch to SuDoc occuring around 1979. SuDoc and UN documentation organize the publications by using a mix of letters and numbers. The initial letters in SuDoc indicate the publishing agency, e.g. A=Department of Agriculture; ED=Education; Y=Congress. The letter is followed by a number, which can indicate a department within the agency, e.g. A 13.=Forest Service, which is under the Department of Agriculture. For a complete list visit our U.S. SuDoc Virtual Shelf List. Similarly, UN documentation uses a letter to signify various bodies and subsidiary bodies followed by a succession of letters and numbers. See Document Symbols: United Nations Documentation for a more complete research guide. Canadian and State of Illinois documents are cataloged using the Dewey classification system with the exception of Canadian publications and information in CDROM and DVD format, which are cataloged using the Government of Canada Catalogue Numbers.
The location of the Government Documents collection is housed primarily on the 5th floor west of the Main Stacks. However, a significant reference collection including many new documents from each depository program, Decennial Censuses 1790-1990, United States Code, U.S. Statutes at Large, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Illinois Compiled Statutes, UN Reports, and important reference and index materials for the collection are housed at the south end of the reference room of the Main Library.
A government documents librarian is available to answer reference questions Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are located at 200D Main Library (MC-522), 1408 West Gregory Drive in Urbana, Illinois 61801 in the southeast corner on the second floor. Metered parking is available in the lot west of the Main Library Building and on the street. Meters are enforced Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Click here for a map of the University of Illinois campus. ADA accessibility information is also available. Our telephone number is (217) 244-6445.
Location: Government Documents Library (Main Library, 2nd Floor, Room 200D)
Time: Wednesdays 1:30-4:30pm
Data Services @ The
University Library
Need help finding or downloading statistical and spatial data? Stop by the Data Services Office Hours in the University Library. Dawn Owens-Nicholson (Data Archivist, ATLAS) and librarians with a wide range of expertise will be available to help you locate relevant data sets in opinion polls, election studies, social surveys, census, education, and health data and prepare them for analysis in SPSS, SAS, STATA and ArcGIS.
Ask a Librarian service is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Like our other reference services, chat reference is available to anyone with a question about government information whether or not they are affiliated with the University of Illinois. Reference librarians from other departments are available throughout the day and evening, so someone may be available to answer your question if we are not.
Government Information Online (GIO) is a free national online information service supported by nearly thirty public, academic, and state libraries throughout the United States. Participating librarians specialize in finding government information sources of all kinds, and will try to answer your questions through chat or email. All the participating institutions are official depository libraries who participate in the U.S. Government Printing Office's Federal Depository Library program, and many are also official depository libraries for their respective state or local governments.
You can email your reference question (include name, email, and question and/or description of research) to gdoclib .at. library .dot. uiuc .dot. edu . To assist us in answering your query, please provide as much information about the question as possible. We will respond to you within one or two business days.
For more time-intensive questions/research, or individual instruction in using government information sources, you can request a personal consultation by calling (217) 244-6445 or emailing gdoclib .at. library .dot. uiuc .dot. edu . Please describe the question or topic of your research and provide your schedule availability. We can prepare to have the necessary resources and information available for your visit.
We provide a wide range of instructional services to assist students, faculty and staff in learning how to take advantage of rapidly changing government information resources and research tools. Librarians work with faculty to tailor library and information resources instruction to specific courses and to assist in creating workable library assignments. You can request a library instruction session by filling out a Instruction Form or by contacting the Government Documents Library at our email gdoclib .at. library .dot. uiuc .dot. edu or by telephone (217) 244-6445. Please provide a detail description of your instruction needs and allow 2 to 3 weeks for preparation. Examples of previous instruction and course Web guides may help in formulating an assignment.
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Government Documents Library
Last modified by: Leo Dion on 3/16/09