Overview
Government Information includes documents, data, information and publications produced by governmental agencies. Many of these resources can be found online and at the U of A Library in various formats.
Starting Points
Prior to the widespread use of the internet, in the mid-1990s, government documents were primarily made available in print and often provided to libraries through depository services programs. From the 1990s on, government information was primarily, and now is almost exclusively, available online. For this reason, the time period from which you are looking for government information impact where you should start your search.
The following are recommend as best bets to begin searching for government documents and information:
Pre 1990s Government Documents
Government documents were primarily produced in print and micro prior to the 1990s, so physical and digitized library collections are the best bet to search.
Note: When searching library catalogues and digitized collections, it is recommended to use advanced search functions, and to use the jurisdiction in the author field.
- EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)EDS provides cross-searching of all subscribed EBSCO content (database, journals, ebooks etc.) as well as many other UofA databases, including the UofA Libraries physical and electronic holdings.
- NEOS Library Consortium CatalogueCatalogue of the holdings of the University of Alberta and other libraries in the NEOS Library Consortium.
- Canadian Government Publications Portal - Internet ArchiveInternet Archive Canada, with advice and assistance from government and university librarians across Canada, have digitized more than 70,000 Canadian Government publications and made them freely available online. This page is meant to serve as a portal for discovering publications digitized by Internet Archive Canada, to be a reference for future digitization initiatives and provide incentive to grow the list of titles that have been preserved and dedicated to the public domain.
- Digitized Government of Alberta PublicationsThis collection contains government publications created by the Government of Alberta’s ministries and agencies. Documents from most ministries and agencies are included, however the collection heavily features content related to education (Alberta Education, Alberta Learning, Student Evaluation Branch, etc.) as well as resources and the environment.
- Government of Canada PublicationsCatalogue of over 275,000 Government of Canada publications, with 150,000 free electronic publications available for download.
Post 1990s Government Documents & Information
After the mid 1990s, government documents and information were primarily made available online. For this reason, searching government websites and archived versions of these websites is the best bet to start your search.
- Government of Canada Web ArchiveThe Government of Canada Web Archive provides access to Canadian web content collected and preserved by Library and Archives Canada. Including Government of Canada information published since 2005
- Archived Government of Alberta Ministry and Agency Websites - Archive-ItGovernment of Alberta Ministry and Agency Websites archived by the University of Alberta semi-annually.
- Wayback Machine - Internet ArchiveMore than 824 billion web pages saved over time.
- Google Custom Search of Canadian Federal, Provincial, Territorial, and Municipal government websites. (code courtesy of MacOdrum Library, Carleton University)
