DOCUMENTS TO THE PEOPLE!


Government Publications at the
New Mexico State University Library
Las Cruces, New Mexico  88003
(505) 646-3737


A VARIETY OF INFORMATION

Imagine a library that collects the publications of every agency of the United States government, the most prolific publisher in the world.  Imagine the timeliness, scope, and variety in the subject matter of such a collection. Imagine computerized access to this world of information. It's all available at the New Mexico State University Library in Government Documents, your library within the library.

Located on the second floor of Branson Library, the Government Documents collection contains the latest information on trade, federal regulations, weather, federal grants, and patents, as well as science and technical publications, agricultural statistics, census data, and a wide variety of additional data.

The general index to the collection is the MONTHLY CATALOG OF UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS.  The CONGRESSIONAL INFORMATION SERVICE (CIS) INDEX provides access to Congressional hearings, prints, documents, reports, and special publications, and the AMERICAN STATISTICS INDEX identifies statistical information from over 500 sources within the federal government.


COMPUTERIZED ACCESS

The MONTHLY CATALOG (1976-present) and many other government indexes and full-text publications are available in convenient CD-ROM  format which gives you the ability to combine search terms, unlike the singleterm approach of paper indexes.  In addition, current documents are included in the library's online catalog (OLE).  The Documents staff will be happy to assist you in your search.


LOCATING DOCUMENTS

Government documents do not have the same type of call number as other materials in the library.  They are organized by the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification system.  Government books, periodicals, microfiche, pamphlets, maps, and posters are organized and shelved according to the issuing agency.  For instance, the (SuDoc) number for Soil and Water Conservation News is A57.9/2:10/7. This translates to:

          A = Agriculture Department
          57 = Soil Conservation Service
          9/2 = Soil and Water Conservation News
          10 = Volume 10
          7 = Number 7

The Documents staff can help you locate documents by number according to the signs posted on the ends of each shelf and the labels on the microfiche drawers.


HOURS AND SERVICE

Specialized documents reference service is available from 8-5 Monday through Friday.  The collection is open to the public the same hours that the library is open.

All patrons may borrow three documents for two days. Some publications of reference value may be used only within the library. A photocopy machine and microfiche reader/printers are available for your convenience.

A selective depository for government documents since 1907, the library receives approximately 66% of the publications available through the depository program.  Publications not owned by the library may be borrowed  through the Interlibrary Loan Office.

Visit us on the second floor of Branson Library, or call 646-3737, and discover for yourself the constantly changing and growing world of government publications!

Contributed by Jeanette C. Smith, New Mexico State Univ.

03-29-95