Federal Government Depository Program

The Law Library of Howard University School of Law was designated a U.S. Federal Depository Library in April 1998. The Law Library is committed to providing free public access to Government information for our primary patrons and for all public patrons. As a selective depository, the Library receives 7% of all government documents available through this program. In accordance with the mission of the law library, most depository selections cover a broad range of law related materials in many formats, concentrating on hard copy materials. Since many government documents are available in CD-ROM and microfiche, some of our selections are in those formats. Also, the Federal Depository Library Program is increasing the number of documents available in electronic format, and the Internet will continue to be a major source of government information.

ACCESS | REFERENCE SERVICE | CIRCULATION | INTERLIBRARY LOAN | STAFF| WEB RESOURCES

ACCESS

All depository documents are cataloged into the Daniel WebCatalog. The majority will be integrated in the general collection using the Library of Congress classification scheme. Hearings and Reports are shelved by Superintendent of Document (SuDoc) classification numbers. (See An Explanation of the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Classification System). All documents will be clearly stamped "Depository Document" and clearly marked in Daniel. In addition to standard searches, Daniel offers the ability to search by GPO item numbers and SuDoc numbers, using the "gov doc number" button. The Library provides a Selected New Depository Documents list on a monthly basis.

There are public online catalog terminals available to patrons on every floor. Patrons may request assistance in using government document-related Internet resources from any of the depository staff (listed below).
Check the current Operating Schedule to see when the Library is open.

REFERENCE SERVICE                           

Reference service is available according to the following schedule:

Reference staff may be available to assist patrons during other hours, if needed.
Note: The library owns and will continue to purchase all useful digests, indices, citators and other tools which assist in access and interpretation of government documents.                   

CIRCULATION
Depository documents are subject to the same circulation policies as the rest of the collection (See the Library Guide for more information). Please note that public patrons are allowed in-house use of the collection only. Photocopy machines are available for use on each floor of the library.

INTERLIBRARY LOAN
Depository documents are subject to the same interlibrary loan policies as the rest of the collection. (See ILL Policies for more information). Please note that the Library does not borrow materials for public patrons. However, library staff will make referrals to local depository libraries for any documents the Library has not selected.

STAFF                                                          

WEB RESOURCES
Government Information - A collection of sites for federal, state, international, and foreign levels of government, plus statistics and other resources.

FINDING AIDS AND FDLP INFORMATION

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Thursday October 14, 2004