Government Documents

What are government documents?

Government agencies collect, publish, store and maintain a wide range of information including statistical, industry, demographic, economic data, scientific, technical, historical, and agricultural information.

Where can I find government documents?

Many government publications are now available online, including historical documents. Some gateways to government documents online include:

Government Info on the Web

You can search government documents from California specifically using Google. By including the "site" command in your search, you limit your search to a particular site or range of sites.

For example:

There are exceptions to these rules for counties and cities. Your safest bet is to search site:.gov and include the name of the city in the search as well as your topic keywords.

Where are government documents at the Kennedy Library?

The Kennedy Library is an official selective depository for Federal, California State, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents.

Among these and other documents we have are municipal planning documents, agricultural experiment station bulletins, state budget projections, federal environmental protection guidelines, United Nations publications, and detailed USGS maps.

Federal documents: 3rd floor
These are located on the third floor of the Kennedy Library, near the large group study area to the left off the elevators. They are arranged by Superintendent of Documents numbers ("SuDoc"), explained in this guide from Miami University Libraries.
State of California documents: 3rd floor
These are located on the third floor of the Kennedy Library, near the large group study area to the left off the elevators. They are shelved at the end of the U.S. Federal documents section.
Agricultural Experiment Station Publications: 3rd floor
The Library acquires Agricultural Experiment Station publications that have a geographical and/or crop connection to Cal Poly's agricultural curriculum. They are located on the third floor of Kennedy Library, near the large group study area to the left off the elevators. They are shelved at the end of the State of California documents.
City and County documents: 1st floor
These are located on the first floor, in Room 111C (Maps and Microform Room), to the right as you enter the room. They are arranged by place name.