Law Library / Special Collections / Government Documents  
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Government Documents

"This library is a congressionally designated depository for US Government documents. Public access to the government documents collection is guaranteed by public law. (Title 44 United States Code)"


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Government Documents Collection
Golden Gate University Law Library has been a selective Federal depository since 1979, as well as serving as a depository for selected California government publications. The majority of our government documents are integrated into our general collection and are fully cataloged in our online catalog. Our catalog also links to many other government documents and agencies available online. Reference assistance for government documents is provided by all members of the reference staff at our Reference Desk.

The law library currently selects approximately 10% of the items available to depository libraries. Documents are collected in print, microfiche and electronic formats. The majority of those items selected are currently available online. The law library selects items that meet the research and curriculum needs of law students and faculty. Our in-house collection includes federal codes, regulations, Administrative decisions, and documents published by the judiciary, the Department of Justice, Executive agencies, and agency publications dealing with environmental law, intellectual property, taxation, international trade, employment discrimination, immigration and human rights, as well as others.

Golden Gate University Law Library complies with Title 44, §1911 of the United States Code by allowing the general public entrance to the law library without charge to use the depository materials. All members of the community including students, faculty, staff, local attorneys and judges, and members of the public may use documents at all times the library is open. Members of the public seeking entrance to the Golden Gate University Law Library for the purpose of accessing government documents must sign a log-in binder at the Circulation Desk.

The law library was designated a depository for California state publications on March 1, 1973. The law library receives the chapter statutes, various committee reports, state budgets, tax tables, as well as links through our online catalog to many state sites.

Below are links to primary government sites and documents, as well as links to other sites of interest to researchers of government information. The following list suggests the best sites to find government information available online for federal, state, international, and foreign levels of government.
Government Documents Work Station
Selected government publications are available via hot links in our online public access catalog. The referenced links are available to any person with Internet access. The law library also provides a dedicated government documents work station from which the general public may access these sites free of charge. Printing is available for a nominal fee per page. There is a time limit of 20 minutes when others are waiting to use the government documents work station. The law library does not use filtering software.

Some government documents are distributed in electronic formats such as CD-Roms and DVDs. The law library has a small collection of these materials. Patrons have free access to these materials and may ask the library staff to unlock the cabinet in which they are stored. The materials may be used at the government documents work station. Patrons may email large files to their own email box using a web-based email service (e.g., Hotmail, Yahoo mail, etc.) and may temporarily save such files to the hard drive of the government documents workstation for this purpose. Saved files are removed regularly from the hard drive.

Some government documents are distributed in microfiche. The law library provides a microfiche reader and printer to use these documents. Printing is available for a nominal fee.
Homeland Security Digital Library
"The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) is the nation's premier collection of documents relating to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management. The HSDL supports federal, state, local, and tribal analysis and decision-making needs, and assists academics of all disciplines in homeland defense and security related research." This site is available to all users within the law library. It is not available to the general public from off-site.
Law Library Resources in print and online
You can search our catalog for Government Documents from the following governmental agencies and departments. This is a select list; many more Government Documents are available. Please ask a Reference Librarian for assistance.
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