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HIST 3301 (Dr. Elizabeth Clark): Historical Methods (Govt. Docs)

Historical Methods - Research U.S. Government Documents

Searching Online Catalog

All Texas depository items in the Government Documents unit are cataloged.

All U.S.  items published since 1995 are in the library's online catalog.

Search Online Catalog - By Keyword

Step 1: Go to the Library's Catalog

  1. Go to the Cornette Library Homepage
  2. Change the option from:   Articles, Books, and more
  3. Instead, select the Books+ (catalog) option
  4. Optional:  click on the Advanced Search link

Step 2: Enter Your Search Terms

Be flexible with your search terms.

Type your search terms into the search box and click the Search button. For instance, search cuba politics goverment.

Can also search by author or  title.

Note: Search a phrase in quotation marks. For example: "Cuban Missile Crisis"

Step 3: Limit Your Search to Government Documents

Under "Tweak My Results" column, scroll to  "Shelving Location" and click on "Government Documents" to only see the items shelved there.

Search Online Catalog - By Subject

Step 1: Getting to the Library's Catalog

  1. Go to the Cornette Library Homepage
  2. Select the "Books+" tab
  3. Click on the "Advanced Search" link

Step 2: Enter Your Search Terms

Be flexible with your search terms.

Select "Subject" from the dropdown. For instance, you could search cuba sources instead of a keyword search for cuba missle crisis

Note: To conduct a phrase search within the Advance Search, change the "contains" dropdown to "is (exact)".

Step 3: Limit Your Search to Government Documents

Under "Tweak My Results" section, limit "Shelving Location" to Government Documents

Monthly Catalog - Print (1913 - 2004)

The print edition of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications began in 1895 and ended in 2004.

It is the oldest continuously published catalog of U. S. government publications. The Monthly Catalog includes both Congressional and government agency publications.

While it was a sales catalog, it can be used to find that certain older documents were published.

  • Cornette Library has print editions from 1913 – 2004
  • Most annual editions have a subject index
    • editions are “fiscal year” from 1913 to 1934
    • (i.e., July 1913 through June 1914 = “14”)
    • 34A indicates July-December 1934
    • No annual subject index for June 1906 – December 1908
  • Beginning in July 1924, items were listed with SuDoc numbers
  • Beginning in January 1974, three separate indexes were published: author, title, and subject.
  • After 1995, better to use the database GPO Monthly Catalog

When a similar publication (the Documents Catalog) was discontinued, the following supplements to the Monthly Catalog were published. They filled in a gap from 1940 to 1947. Declassified publications were included.

  • S42 = 1941-42 Supplement
  • S44 = 1943-44 Supplement
  • S46 = 1945-46 Supplement
  • These are bound in one volume: Supplement 1941-46

Monthly Catalog - Print Indexes (1900 - 2004)

The Monthly Catalog indexes are located near the “Shelflist” card catalog.

  • Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Govt Publications, 1900-1971
  • “Decennial Digests”
    • 1941-1950
    • 1951-1960
    • 1961-1965
    • 1966-1970
    • 1971-1976
  • Annual editions of Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications
    • each edition has an annual subject index
    • published 1913 – 2004
    • no SuDoc numbers listed before July 1924

Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog - Quirks

Entries from September 1947 and On

Entries for items printed after September, 1947 show entry/item numbers, such as this example: (62)24093:

  • (62) = year 1962
  • 24093 = item number 24093 in the 1962 Monthly Catalog

Entries before September 1947

Entries for items printed before September, 1947 show page numbers, such as this example: (26)638:

  • (26) = for fiscal year 1925-1926 Monthly Catalog
  • 638 = information about item is somewhere on page 638 of the 1925-1926 Monthly Catalog

Tips and Warnings

Tip: An entry in the Subject Index is informational—it is NOT the same as the title of the item in the Monthly Catalog

Warning: sometimes there are typos in the Cumulative Subject Index!

Shelflist Card Catalog: Items Published Before 1995

If you read about an item and it included a SuDoc number:

  • Items older than 1995 may not be in library's online catalog
  • You may look it up in the old Shelflist Card Catalog in Government Documents
  • Shelflist is an inventory of items as they appear, in order, on the shelves
  • Look up item by SuDoc number—no cards for subject or title
  • If there is a card, it will indicate where the item is located (US Docs, microform, etc.)
  • Even if there is no card, double-check for the item on the shelf!

GPO Monthly Catalog - Online (July 1976 - )

You may search for U.S. documents published since 1976 in the database GPO Monthly Catalog. It is an online version of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications from the Government Publishing Office (GPO).

Type in search words, such as cuban missile crisis. Search options include subject, title, etc.

On a results list, items the library definitely has are displayed with a logo:  West Texas A&M University, Cornette Library

The library may or may not have other items on the list.  So your next step may be to search for items in the shelflist card catalog or the actual shelves.  You can find the SuDoc number by clicking on the title of the item and reading the Class Descriptors information.

Some items may be available for free online:

The GPO Monthly Catalog database is also available for free from the GPO as the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP).

Subjects: Course Guide, History