Research Guides: AAM 2800 / CCJ 2930-01: Making the Carceral State: The History of Mass Incarceration: Government Information

Specific Policy Areas

Each policy area page includes relevant organizations, statistical sources, reference sources, and government entities that collect and produce relevant information on the area. These pages are by no means comprehensive, but they will give you an idea of where you might start. Any web search can help you find additional organizations, and a search of usa.gov will help you find relevant government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels.

Finding aids

Use these tools to identify and locate government documents.

A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, September 5, 1774- March 4, 1881.
This is one of the few sources for identifying very early publications. All entries are listed and described in chronological order. No Sudocs numbers are given. Ames continues this title. Online resource available through the digitized Serial Set.
Catalogue of the Public Documents of the Congress and of All Departments of the Government of the United States, 1893-1940
Know as the “Documents Catalog,” it is a dictionary catalog listing subject, author and some title entries. This catalog provides complete bibliographic information, but does not list Sudocs numbers.
Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909
The Checklist is a simple listing of congressional and executive publications printed between 1789 and 1909. The congressional publications are listed first, chronologically by Congress. The executive documents are listed by department. Within each department or bureau, the publications are arranged according to Sudocs number. This is one of the most useful reference tools available for the time period it covers.
Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government
This set continues where Poore’s volume ends
Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1900-1971
This 15-volume set is the first cumulative subject index to the Monthly Catalog.
Cumulative Title Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1789-1976.
This is a 16-volume set that gives a Sudocs number if the title of the document is known.
Government Publications and Their Use
Provides detailed descriptions of most indexes published before 1969.
Guide to U. S. Government Publications
This is a guide to government series and periodicals. It includes both agency and title indexes. Often referred to as "Androit."
Locating United States government information : a guide to sources
A practical how-to guide for locating United States Government publications.
United States Government Publications Monthly Catalog
This is the most frequently used reference tool for government documents. It provides monthly listings of government publications. Catalog entries may be accessed by the following indexes: author, title, subject, serials/report, contract number, stock number, classification number, and title keyword.