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Looking for government information? Start here.

Introduction

As a participant in the Federal Depository Library Program, Bierce Library at the University of Akron provides public access to publications of the United States government in print, microform, audio-visual, CD-ROM, and electronic formats.  Documents are distributed to Depository Libraries located in 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Federated States of Micronesia and U.S. territories at no charge. In return, these libraries make the documents available to the public. Federal government publications include official documents from Congress and the President, brochures and research papers on a wide range of current interest topics, scientific and technical studies, statistical publications and data sets, and detailed, authoritative works on nearly all aspects of American history.

Bierce Library also serves as a depository for the State of Ohio.

Reference and Research Assistance

For reference and research assistance, please contact the Government Documents Librarian.

Item Locations

Not all of our government documents are listed in the catalog. For assistance in retrieving and using any materials, including older U.S. government publications and State of Ohio pamphlets, please contact the Government Documents Librarian.

Federal documents in print, microform, and CD-ROM formats are shelved by SuDoc numbers, and can be accessed at the back of the ground floor (basement level) of Bierce Library, behind the Curriculum Center collection. The User Support Services desk, located on the first (main) floor, can provide assistance in discovering and locating these materials.

• For microforms: Reader/printers with scanning capabilities for materials on microfiche, microfilm, and microprint (opaques) are located on the ground floor of Bierce Library. 
• For CD-ROMs: CD-ROMs are kept in locked cabinets against the wall in the documents print collection, near the Tutoring Services. Please ask for assistance at the reference desk. CD-ROMs and other media may be loaded on laptops or the Maps computer.
• For audiovisual materials: Audiovisual materials are located in the shelf outside of Government Documents Processing, near room 77B.
• For maps: All maps are located in the second floor Map Room. The Maps Librarian is available for assistance with these materials.
• For electronic materials: Clicking the link in the library catalog under "Connect to" should immediately open the electronic document on your computer. Please contact the Library Service Desk or the Government Documents Librarian if you are unable to connect to a resource via PURL.

Most documents from the State of Ohio are assigned Library of Congress call numbers and shelved with the main collections at Bierce Library. Smaller pamphlets are not cataloged, and are filed in the documents processing area on the ground floor.

Some government documents are currently held in our shared storage at the NE Regional Depository in Rootstown, OH. To obtain these materials, click on "Request" from the item record and enter your UANet ID and password. The Government Documents Librarian can request this material on your behalf.

The Law Library at the University of Akron School of Law, located in the McDowell Law Center, also serves as a Federal Depository Library. Contact the Law Library with questions about materials in the School of Law collection.

About this Collection

Bierce Library has been a selective depository of U.S. government publications since 1963. Currently, the Library receives about 60% of the government publications that are distributed by the Government Printing Office (GPO), including electronic items. The emphasis of the collection is on statistics, business, education, applied science, social and political science, and history. Other sources of government publications are the Educational Resources and Information Center (ERIC), National Technical Information Service (NTIS), and documents available in databases such as ProQuest Congressional.

Contact Us

As a Selective Depository Library in the FDLP, our Depository Coordinator is:

Susan DiRenzo Ashby
Associate Professor, UL Faculty
Coordinator, Library Services
330-972-8284
Bierce Library 374a
Email: ashby@uakron.edu
The University of Akron
Akron, OH 44325-1712