Federal Publications Collection
Federal Documents Librarian
About the collection
The State Library is one of seven depository libraries in Alaska that receives Federal publications from the Government Publishing Office in Washington DC. Librarians select materials from federal agencies that have the greatest impact on Alaska. Federal publications are especially pertinent to state government. Many state programs are mandated by Congress and regulated by Federal agencies. In addition, the U.S. Government collects statistics from every state and subsequently creates standardized data comparisons between states.
All of the seven depository libraries in Alaska are part of the FDLP's West National Collection Service Area.
The Alaska State Library has been a Federal Depository Library since June 6, 1900, as a result of the passage of “An Act making further provision for Alaska” which became law as Public Law 56-786 as published at 31 Stat 321.
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(ALC) Alaska Library CatalogCheck the Alaska Library Catalog for all federal tangible publications at the Alaska State Library plus all online documents cataloged through December 2025.
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Digital Federal Collection at ASLAs of January 2026, online federal publications selected by the Alaska State Library can be found by browsing our online selections list.
Key federal information resources
These resources are vital sources of information about the workings and essential activities of the U.S. Government.
Executive
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Budget of the United States GovernmentContains the budget message of the President, information about the President's budget proposals for a given fiscal year, and other budgetary publications issued throughout the fiscal year.
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Code of Federal RegulationsThe annual edition of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by departments and agencies of the U.S. Government.
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Compilation of Presidential DocumentsThe official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary.
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Economic IndicatorsPublished monthly by the Council of Economic Advisors for the Joint Economic Committee, provides economic information on GDP, income, employment, production, business activity, prices, money, credit, security markets, Federal finance, and international statistics.
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Economic Report of the President to the CongressAn annual report, issued by the Executive Office of the President and the Council of Economic Advisors, providing on overview of economic progress, with extensive data appendices.
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Explore Census Data at data.census.govA source for population, economic, housing, and geographic information and data about the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas.
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Federal RegisterThe daily publication of the rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, along with executive orders.
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Occupational Outlook HandbookA resource for occupational and career information, providing profiles on a majority of jobs in the United States. Profiles describe the work environment, education and training needed, a ten year outlook, and median pay for workers.
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Public Papers of the Presidents of the United StatesOfficial publication of the President’s addresses, writings, and remarks. This series ended with the Obama administration. For post 2016 administrations, see Compilation of Presidential Documents listed above.
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Social Security HandbookResource for the most common questions about Social Security.
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United States Government ManualThe official handbook of the U.S. Government, providing information on the agencies from all three branches, quasi-official agencies, international organizations in which the United States participates, boards, commissions, and committees.
Legislative
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Congress.gov: United States Legislative InformationProvides information about legislative activities, publications, and other related materials for members of Congress and the public.
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Congressional Record: Daily EditionThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. This site contains Congressional record volumes from 140 (1994) to the present. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.
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Congressional Record: Bound EditionAt the end of each session of Congress, all of the daily editions are collected, re-paginated, and re-indexed into a permanent, bound edition. This permanent edition, referred to as the Congressional Record (Bound Edition), is made up of one volume per session of Congress, with each volume published in multiple parts, each part containing approximately 10 to 20 days of Congressional proceedings. The primary ways in which the bound edition differs from the daily edition are continuous pagination; somewhat edited, revised, and rearranged text; and the dropping of the prefixes H, S, and E before page numbers.
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Congressional Research Service Reports from Library of CongressLibrary of Congress first made this collection available in 2018. All new CRS reports will be added as they are published, and prior reports will be added over time. From LOC: "The reports present a legislative perspective on topics such as agriculture policy, counterterrorism operations, banking regulation, veteran’s issues and much more."
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The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and InterpretationAlso known as the Constitution Annotated, includes the U.S. Constitution and analysis and interpretation, with in-text annotations of cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States.
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Official Congressional DirectoryIncludes biographical and directory information about members of the House and Senate, committee memberships, terms of service, and related content.
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United States CodeThe codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States, divided by broad subjects into 53 titles.
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United States Statutes at LargeContains the permanent laws enacted during each session of Congress.
Judicial
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Supreme Court Slip Opinions (2018-2026)From the website, "Opinions are posted on the website upon release in slip opinion format. Slip opinions remain posted until replaced with opinions edited to reflect the usual publication style of the United States Reports, including final pagination that will carry forward unchanged in the corresponding preliminary prints and the bound volumes of the United States Reports."
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United States Reports (1991 - 2020)The opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States are published officially in the United States Reports. See 28 U. S. C. §411. In addition to the Court’s opinions, a volume of the U. S. Reports usually contains a roster of Justices and officers of the Court during the Term; an allotment of Justices by circuit; announcements of Justices’ investitures and retirements; memorial proceedings for deceased Justices; a cumulative table of cases reported; orders in cases decided in summary fashion; reprints of amendments to the Supreme Court’s Rules and the various sets of Federal Rules of Procedure; a topical index; and a statistical table summarizing case activity for the past three Court Terms. As of July 2026, the most recent US Report was v.592, 2020.
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United States Reports (1781 - 1990)Hosted by Government Publishing Office at Govinfo. Contains all Supreme Court decisions from 1781 through 1990. For current cases, see the Supreme Court website.
Additional finding tools
Below are just a few additional sources for full-text government documents. Many agencies include their publications in topic or agency-specific indexes and catalogs, and these are too numerous to list here. To find them, try using USA.gov at the bottom of this list.
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Catalog of U.S. Government PublicationsA finding tool for publications from all three branches of the U.S. government. Updated daily, it contains descriptive records for current and historical publications and provides direct links to those online.
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Congressionally Mandated Reports (GovInfo)Access to many reports that are required by statute to be submitted by Federal agencies to the Senate, the House of Representatives, or to congressional committees or subcommittees. Includes reports that are in scope of PL 117-263, sections 7241-7248. Browse by topic, department or download a spreadsheet of reports by Congress. For reports submitted to Congress after 2021.
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data.gov: U.S. Government's Open Data PortalIncludes data sets produced by federal agencies.
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DiscoverGovFrom the web site, "DiscoverGov provides simple, one-stop searching across multiple U.S. Federal Government databases including GPO's Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) and GovInfo."
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GovinfoA database providing authenticated access to official publications from all three branches of the U.S. Government.
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HathiTrust Digital LibraryFrom the website: "HathiTrust is a not-for-profit collaborative of academic and research libraries preserving 17+ million digitized items." Among the collaborative's missions is an effort to "expand and enhance digital access to U.S. federal publications including those issued by GPO and other federal agencies."
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Military & Government CollectionIncludes periodicals, academic journals, and other content pertinent to the military and many government agencies. Includes publications of the U.S. Government as well as non-govermental and private entities.
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Military Resources: Military History (NARA)Collection of resources presented by the Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) at the National Archives (NARA). Guide is divided into the sections General, Department of Defense, Aviation history, Army history, and Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard history. Mix of NARA and other resources.
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources (CRS, 2026)From the website, "This guide provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It also provides information on locating and replacing military awards and medals. Included is contact information for military history centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications, including related CRS reports."
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Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)From the website: "The Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL) identifies, acquires, catalogs, digitizes and provides unrestricted access to U.S. government agency technical reports."
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USA.govA subject-based portal to Federal services and resources online. A Spanish site is also available.