LSU Libraries - Government Documents Tutorial

CONTENTS:

Introduction
What are Government Documents?
US Government Documents
State Documents
UN Documents

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Louisiana State Publications

What are they?
Materials issued by the various agencies of the Louisiana State Government. Other states have similar document systems, but you won't find many of their documents at LSU. This includes reports, pamphlets, and legislative documents.

Where are they?
The state has its own depository system, which is separate from that of the federal government. Hill Memorial Library is a state depository library. Middleton Library also has many state documents in the reference and regular collection.

How are they arranged?
In both Middleton and Hill Libraries, state documents are given Library of Congress call numbers, just like books, and are shelved with the regular collection.

What are they good for?
The state government puts out a great deal of information on:

Business: The state puts out directories of area businesses, studies and statistics on industry and labor, and other business-related information.
Agriculture: The Cooperative Extension Program puts out reams of documents on all aspects of agriculture and farming, and a good bit about nutrition as well.
Legal Research: If you need to track state legislation or look up state court cases, then you'll be using state government documents.
Culture and Tourism: the State Office of Tourism puts out a respectable number of directories to cultural events, and produces materials for tourists.
Professional Codes: Professional ethics codes, requirements for professionals, and documents for licensing are all state documents.

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Last Updated: 2008