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An Overview of U.S.Government Information 
in Maag Library
Youngstown State University
A Federal Depository Library since 1973
Welcome to the world of government documents! Government publications are a valuable resource for papers and research projects. They are timely, authoritative, and diverse--covering topics from business, energy, drug abuse, education and civil rights, to many other political, scientific, and social areas of study. Documents are predominately published on the web and are easily accessible with an internet connection. 


About the Collection
A selective depository for federal documents since 1973, Maag Library currently selects about 48% of the publications available through the Federal Depository Library Program.  Documents are selected which support YSU’s curricula, research, and programs as well as documents of general interest to residents of the 17th Congressional District.    

Documents from the following departments and/or agencies are collected most heavily:
 
 

Commerce (especially Census Bureau) Energy
Labor Environmental Protection Agency
Congressional publications  Health and Human Services
Defense Justice
Education Interior

Our selected print collection is located on the third floor.   Maag Library is also a depository for selected Ohio documents. Public access is available to the latest information on the Internet such as federal regulations and census data.

Locating Government Documents

MaagNet
A good place to begin is by searching the library’s online catalog--MaagNet.  Search by subject, author, title or keyword. MaagNet includes almost all of the documents currently held in our collection.  Titles available on the Web now have a direct link in our online catalog.  (See: full-text on the internet.)

Finding older documents (those published prior to 1976) involves using print indexes such as the Monthly Catalog.    Our print holdings of the Monthly Catalog begin with 1948.  The Monthly Catalog is shelved in the Documents  Reference section on the Third Floor of Maag Library.    

The Monthly Catalog is also available in two electronic versions:

HINT:  When searching any version of the Monthly Catalog, keep in mind that Maag Library is a 48% selective depository, which means that we do not have ALL the documents listed, especially older documents.   Documents not owned by Maag may  be borrowed from other OhioLINK libraries.

Finding Documents on the Shelf

Superintendent of Documents Classification System (SuDoc)
Government documents have their own unique identification system known as the Superintendent of Documents Classification System (SuDoc).

Helpful overviews of the SuDoc system:

  • SuDocs Basics (an excellent tutorial for introducing the basics of the SuDocs system)
The SuDoc system follows the organizational structure of the federal government. Publications are grouped according to departments or agencies (i.e. C for Commerce, L for Labor). Other letters and numbers are added to further identify bureaus, type of publication, series or title:

An actual SuDoc number may look something like this:

L 2.44:46/3

L = Department of Labor

L 2. = Bureau of Labor Statistics

L 2.44: = Compensation and Working Conditions

L 2.44:46/3 = Volume 46, issue no. 3 of Compensation and Working Conditions, a series
produced by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics

Resource lists for agency designations:

When using MaagNet, government documents in print are identified by the notation Govt Docs. Microfiche documents are identified by the term Micro Docs. Examples:

Govt Docs J 29.9/2:993 Criminal Victimization in the United States 1993
 

LOCATION CALL # STATUS
Maag Third Floor Govt Docs J 29.9/2:993 Check Shelves

Micro Docs A 93.21:1848 Estimating the Opportunity Cost of Unpaid Farm Labor
 

LOCATION
CALL #
STATUS
Third Floor Micro Docs A 93:21 LIBRARY USE ONLY

Full-text on the internet

Most  documents are now published only on the internet.  MaagNet is still a good starting point for your search as it will lead you to documents in all formats. .  Shown below in an example of a title that is full-text on the web.

Federal Death Penalty cases: recommendations concerning the cost and quality of defense representation.
 
Click on the following to:
Connect to the online document

OHIO Documents

Maag Library receives a variety of publications from state agencies such as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

All of these documents are shelved at the very beginning of the collection on the Third Floor.  Ohio documents use a classification system beginning with O.  For example, OH is the designation for the Ohio Department of Health; OHS is Ohio Department of Human Services.

Many, but not all, Ohio documents are cataloged and can be found by searching MaagNet.   Most Ohio agencies are also publishing documents full-text on their websites.

For more information, consult Finding Ohio Documents.   Another helpful source is the Cumulative List of Ohio Publications issued by the Documents Department of the State Library.  A good place to begin is with the listing of departments and agencies on the State of Ohio web site.

Hours and Services

The collection is open for use during all Maag Library hours which includes Saturdays from 9:00 - 5:00 and Sundays from 1:00 - 9:00 during the regular academic sessions.  For current information regarding hours, see Maag's hours.

For assistance, ask at the service desk on the Third Floor, or at the Reference Desk on the main floor.

Circulation policy

The collection is open for use by all residents of the 17th Congressional District, but borrowing material is limited to patrons who qualify for a library card or a Friends of Maag Library card.  Reference materials, such as Census data, must be used in the library.  The circulation policy of the Government Documents department reflects the general circulation policies of Maag Library.