Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Harvey A. Andruss Library

Introduction to Government Documents 

for Geography

Prepared by Kathryn Yelinek

1. Print Reference Sources

For anything from basic to more in-depth research, these print resources will get you started.  

For help in reading a Sudocs (that is, a Government Documents) call number, go to Reading SuDocs Call Numbers.  

ITEM

ITEM LOCATION

CALL NO.

US Geological Survey Topographic Maps 

Map Collection, 2nd floor

I 19.81: 

Public Land Statistics (annual)

Government Documents Collection

I 53.1/2:[yr]

Minerals Yearbook (annual)

Government Documents Collection

I 19.165: [yr]

USGS Fact Sheets (covers wide variety of topics)

Government Documents Collection

I 19.127: 

Index, National Park Service (annual)

Government Documents Collection

I 19.103: [yr]  

Pennsylvania Geological Survey

Pennsylvania Documents Collection

PA Doc PYG 345/4.21/8

The Geology of Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania Documents Collection

PA PYG 345.2:G 345P 1999

Using Government Information Sources: Electronic and Print

Reference Collection

Z1223.Z7 S4 2001

PILOT Searching

The above and below resources are examples of the type of government information available.  There's a lot more out there!!  

When looking for government information in PILOT, you will want to limit your search by library location.  This type of search will allow you to bring back ONLY government documents.  

To limit your searches, click on SET MORE LIMITS:

Highlight the different Pennsylvania Government Collections choices and U.S. Government Documents Collections choices (hold down the CONTROL key while you do this).  Then click SET LIMITS.

 

If you are looking specifically for maps, limit by item type.

2. Electronic Reference Resources 
More and more government information is being made available electronically.  Just like the print resources, these documents will help you with everything from basic to in-depth research.  Most are available through PILOT; others you can find directly through the following links.  

Item

 URL

Endangered Species Bulletin (newsletter)

http://endangered.fws.gov/bulletin.html 

Water Resources Data for Pennsylvania

http://pa.water.usgs.gov/ar/index.html 

Mineral Industry of Pennsylvania

http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS50449 

Water Logs (newsletter)

http://nwql.usgs.gov/Public/news/news.html 
Natural Resource Year in Review http://www2.nature.nps.gov/YearinReview/ 
Volcano Watch (newsletter) http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/ 

New Publications of the Geological Survey

http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/index.html 

3. Databases for research
These databases are maintained by government agencies.  They are accessible from the government web sites or directly from the following links.

Database name

 Government Agency Responsible

Description with URL
Geographic Names Information System  US Geological Survey, in partnership with the US Board on Geographic Names Contains information for almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and its territories.

http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS1507 

Envirofacts Environmental Protection Agency Contains information having to do with environmental issues.   

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/ 

Dataweb

 Bureau of Reclamation

Contains information on dams, reservoirs, and power plants.

http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/ 

Agrimet

 Bureau of Reclamation

Contains agricultural and meteorological information relating to water use.

http://www.usbr.gov/ 

Hydromet

 Bureau of Reclamation

Contains meteorological information to provide streamflow forecasting and current runoff conditions for river and reservoir operations.

http://www.usbr.gov/ 

4. Internet Sites

As I mentioned above, more and more government information is located on-line.  The following sites will lead you to more information.  

Name of Site

Description and URL
Department of the Interior The Department of the Interior oversees public lands, natural resources, and Indian affairs.  Use this site as a portal to its many bureaus and offices.

http://www.doi.gov

United States Geological Survey The USGS acts as an independent fact-finding agency for issues relating to natural resource conditions, issues, and problems.  This is the agency that issues topo maps, monitors earthquake and volcano activity, and more.

http://www.usgs.gov 

Bureau of Reclamation This bureau of the Department of the Interior manages, develops, and protects water resources in the US.  Use their Dataweb, Agrimet, and Hydromet databases (see above) for statistics relating to water, dams, and reservoirs.  

http://www.usbr.gov 

Minerals Management Service This bureau of the Department of the Interior oversees development of the offshore oil and gas industry in Alaska, the Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.mms.gov

Office of Surface Mining This bureau of the Department of the Interior oversees coal mining.  Search the site for information relating to coal mining and the reclamation of abandoned mines.  

http://www.osmre.gov

Energy Information Administration This agency collects and makes public data on coal, petroleum, natural gas, electric, and nuclear energy.  The site includes some basic information on issues relating to energy, but you would use it mostly for hard numbers, forecasts, and statistics.  

http://www.eia.doe.gov

TerraServer USA Not strictly a government site, this site allows you to generate aerial and topographic images for any address in the US.

http://terraserver-usa.com

Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency works to develop and enforce regulations that implement environmental laws enacted by Congress. 

http://www.epa.gov

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA oversees scientific research having to do with weather, climate, fisheries, and the ocean.

http://www.noaa.gov

National Atlas of the United States This site allows you to custom make maps of the US.  

http://nationalatlas.gov/index.html 

TopoZone Not technically a government site, the makers of TopoZone worked with the USGS to make interactive topographic maps available on the web.

http://www.topozone.com

Online Soil Surveys From the US Department of Agriculture, this site provides soil survey information online from all 50 states.  

http://soils.usda.gov/survey/online_surveys/

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources The DCNR is responsible for maintaining Pennsylvania's state parks, state forests, and other natural resources.  

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/

If you have any other questions, please stop by the Government Documents Office (Andruss Library 235) or call 389-4228 for assistance. You may also contact me for help.

Kathryn Yelinek
Coordinator of Government Documents
Andruss Library 235
kyelinek@bloomu.edu
389-4228

Last updated: February 15, 2005