Research Guides: U.S. Government: Reference

General Reference

"Political Science" via Oxford Bibliographies

Popular Names of U.S. Government Reports: A Catalog, 1976
via HeinOnline, via HathiTrust
Bowdoin Govt Ref LC 6.2:G 74/984

FOIA

FOIA.gov
"The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government." Here you can search "agencies’ websites to see what is already publicly available online", collect data about FOIA requests, or make a FOIA request.

FOIA Libraries, Lisa DeLuca, University Libraries, Seton Hall. A list of over 3000 FOIA libraries and repositories.

General Political Reference

The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Political Thought by Roger Scruton
Call Number: Reference JA61 .S37 2007
ISBN: 9781403989512
Publication Date: 2007-02-07

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations (2018)
GovSpeak: A Guide to U.S. Government Acronyms & Abbreviations
The Almanac of American Politics
In print and online. A volume is issued for each Congress. Organized by state. It includes for each member: biography, political activities, committees, key votes, group ratings, National Journal ratings, election results, and for members of the House, description of the district and demographics. Also includes leadership, state profiles, campaign finance, etc. The entries for the chairs and committee members may include discussion of those individuals' roles and activities on the committees.

Oxford Reference Online
Search the Oxford handbooks of:
American bureaucracy
American elections and political behavior
Comparative Politics (also Main Libr JF51 .O94 2007)
Governance
International Relations
Law and Politics
Political Behavior
Political Institutions
Political Methodology
Political Theory (also Main Ref JA71 .O95 2006)
Public Policy

CQ publications (Congressional Quarterly)

Title	Location	Notes
CQ Magazine (formerly CQ Weekly)	Govt Index JK1 .C15, 1964-2012 online, 1983-present	Weekly. "In-depth reports on issues looming on the congressional horizon, plus a complete wrap up the previous week's news, including the status of bills in play, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, committee and floor activity, debates and all roll-call votes."
CQ Almanac	Govt Index JK1 .C66 (print), 1945-2020 online, 1945-2020 (ceased)	Annual. Exceedingly useful. Each volume summarizes selected Congressional action on a full range of topics: appropriations, defense, commerce, agricultural, health, economy, etc. Also includes congressional leadership, roll call votes, key votes, voting analyses (presidential support, party unity, voting participation), list of public laws passed, etc. For public laws, provides a brief history of a bill, including bill numbers, committee reports, date signed by the President, etc.
Congress and the Nation	Govt Index JK411 .C6 (print), 1945-present online, 1945-present	Every 4 years (presidential term).

Title

Location

Notes

CQ Magazine (formerly CQ Weekly)

Govt Index JK1 .C15, 1964-2012

online, 1983-present

Weekly. "In-depth reports on issues looming on the congressional horizon, plus a complete wrap up the previous week's news, including the status of bills in play, behind-the-scenes maneuvering, committee and floor activity, debates and all roll-call votes."

CQ Almanac

Govt Index JK1 .C66 (print), 1945-2020

online, 1945-2020

(ceased)

Annual. Exceedingly useful. Each volume summarizes selected Congressional action on a full range of topics: appropriations, defense, commerce, agricultural, health, economy, etc. Also includes congressional leadership, roll call votes, key votes, voting analyses (presidential support, party unity, voting participation), list of public laws passed, etc. For public laws, provides a brief history of a bill, including bill numbers, committee reports, date signed by the President, etc.

Congress and the Nation

Govt Index JK411 .C6 (print), 1945-present

online, 1945-present

Every 4 years (presidential term).

Directories

United States Government Manual via HeinOnline, 1935-2014 Best Bet
United States Government Manual (print and online)
United States Government Manual (latest)
Note: Even the current USGM may not be completely up-to-date.
Govt Index AE 2/108.2:date

A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies

Official register of the United States. Online via HathiTrust (1817-1921, with gaps) and govinfo.
Govt Doc S 1.11: (print; 1833, 1839, 1843, 1849, 1853, 1855, 1857, 1859)
Govt Doc I 1.25: (1861-1905, with gaps)
Govt Doc C 3.10: (1907-1932, with gaps)

Washington Information Directory (print, online)
1983/84-
Main Libr F192.3 .W33
Includes information on committee jurisdiction and committee and subcommittee membership.

List of historical offices in Federal agencies, Society for History in the Federal Government.
Some entries include a list of recent publications.

For more directories, see the Congress and Presidency tabs on this guide.