United States Documents

The United States Government is one of the most prolific publishers in the world. Its various agencies and departments publish a variety of materials, including citizen and consumer guides, compilations of statistics on nearly any aspect of American life, guides to foreign countries and foreign data, records of all public hearings of the Congress, and legal documents that record legislative histories and the legislative process in the United States. Much of the publishing has traditionally been handled through the United States Government Printing Office and has focused on traditional print publishing. As the volume of information has increased and citizen access to the Internet has also expanded, the government has moved heavily into also providing information via its various websites. For example, the Census Department provides a searchable database of information that it has gathered on the population of the United States and on U.S. industry and commercial activity. The Library of Congress maintains a massive website that not only provides access to historical materials that help to define the American experience but to a fully searchable system of legislative materials produced as a part of the Congress's routine business. The Thomas website provides access to Congressional hearings and reports going back many years.

As a part of its responsibility to keep the public informed on its activities, the federal government makes its publications available to libraries across the country through its Depository Library program. Some libraries serve as full depositories and receive all publications of the federal government while some libraries serve as selective depositories. The Thomas G. Carpenter Library is a selective depository and receives those publications of the federal government which fit its profile.

Superintendent of Documents Classification

U.S. documents housed in the Thomas G. Carpenter Library are cataloged according to the Superintendent of Documents Classification System or SuDocs. This system organizes materials by the issuing agency or department rather than by subject matter.

The Superintendent of Documents classification system was developed in the Library of the Government Printing Office between 1895 and 1903. It was first described in October 1903 by William Leander Post, then in charge of the Library, in the preface to List of Publications of the Agriculture Department 1862-1902, Department List No. 1, issued by the Superintendent of Documents in 1904. Mr. Post gives credit for the foundation of the system (classification by governmental author) to Miss Adelaide R. Hasse, who used government organization authorship to assign classification numbers to a List of Publications of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1841 to June 30, 1895. Miss Hasse prepared the list while assistant librarian in the Los Angeles Public Library. It was published by the Department of Agriculture in 1896 as its Library Bulletin No. 9. This system has expanded as the Federal Government has grown. Though still retaining the principles upon which it is based, it has changed in some details and methods of use. Because the classification system is based on the current organizational status of the government author, it changes as the organizational structure of the federal government changes. Thus, publications of some issuing agencies may be located in as many as three different places in the system. (Source: Government Printing Office Website, http://www.gpo.gov/su_docs/fdlp/pubs/explain.html)

The following table provides an overview of general classification categories currently in use.