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Research Guide
Federal and State Government Information
Scope: This guide is designed to help customers locate needed information available through government publications and online sources. It is not intended to be giving legal advice, but is only describing items that are located in the Metropolitan Library System or are readily available on the suggested Internet sites. To aid in your search, log on to CyberMars to find titles that interest you, or ask a librarian for assistance. Most of the materials are located in the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, but some titles are also in other MLS locations. To return to the Research Guide page, click here.
A. Introduction

The Metropolitan Library System was designated as a part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in 1974. The FDLP is part of the Government Printing Office, which has produced Federal government information products for almost 150 years. MLS has currently chosen 11% of the 9722 available items in the FDLP. More and more items are online only, so not all of these are print sources. MLS is also part of the Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse (OPC), which is a unit of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. Agencies of the State of Oklahoma publish consumer, educational, regulatory, and recreational information; copies of all published items are sent to the OPC, which in turn sends them to each of our 17 state depositories, including MLS. Some of the state publications are published online only.

B. Subject Headings and Shelf Numbers   
  • Law
  • Law—Oklahoma
  • Administrative law—Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma—Politics & government
  • Legislative journals—Oklahoma
  • Statutes
  • Browse Call Numbers 328 through 348
  • Other subjects of many topics not related to law are under various shelf numbers
   
C. Frequently Mentioned Texts
D. General References, e.g. Guides, Encyclopedia, or Dictionaries   
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States: The National Data Book, R317.3/ST797s, http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS2878     
  • Congressional Directory, R328/UN5o
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook, R331.702/OC15o (also available as circulating copies),  http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS51754  
  • Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation, R342.73023/UN5co/2002
  • United States Government Manual, R353/UN5u, http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS2410
  • Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, R353.008/UN5cf, http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS1729
  • Social Security Handbook, R364.400973/SO678s (also available as circulating copies), http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS3017
  • Public Papers of the Presidents [Ronald Reagan, George Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush (through Vol. 1, 2003)], R353.03/UN58p
  • Oklahoma Executive Budget, R353.9766/OK41eh
  • Oklahoma Directory of Manufacturers and Processors, R338.4767/OK41o
  • Oklahoma Geological Survey(various titles—do an Advanced Search, Series Index, with search words “Oklahoma Geological Survey”), R522 through R557
  • Housing for People with Disabilities in Oklahoma: A Resource Guide, R363.59/H8426hI/2006
  • ABC: Oklahoma State Agencies, Boards, and Commissions, R353.9766/OK42osa (also available as circulating copies), http://www.odl.state.ok.us/sginfo/abc/index.htm
  • Handbook of North American Indians, R970.00497/H236h (also available as circulating copies)
  • U.S. Army in World War II (various titles—do an Advanced Search, Series Index, with search words “United States Army in World War II”), 940.542/H319c (and many others)
  • U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf (various titles—do an Advanced Search, Series Index, with search words “U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf”), 956.70442/ST799t (and others)
  • The Oklahoma Aviation Story, 629.1309/OK414o
  • Out of the Dust: The History of Conservation in Oklahoma in the 20th Century, 333.720976/P559O
  • Starting Points for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Resource Guide with Information and Services for Grandparent Caregivers; and Other Relatives, Too, 649.1024/ST796s
  • Safe Schools Guide: Selected Strategies and Resources, 371.78/SA1281s2
  • There are many more circulating titles to be found with Keyword or Subject searches.
E. Magazines or Newspapers
F. Internet Resources
  • http://www.usa.gov/ ; the newly-revised official web portal of the United States government.  The Home page gives “Government Information by Topic.”  Also, on the bottom right-hand side is a list of “Government Agencies” links: A-Z Agency Index; Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Governments.  The four tabs under the search box give numerous links to government information: For Citizens; For Businesses and Nonprofits; For Government Employees; For Visitors to the U.S.
  • http://www.consumer.gov/ ; “Your resource for consumer information from the federal government.”
  • http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/ ; there are many “Free Publication Offers” listed.
  • http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ ; Free Application for Federal Student Aid
  • http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis ; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
  • http://health.nih.gov/ ; National Institutes of Health
  • http://www.cdc.gov/ ; Center for Disease Control
  • http://medlineplus.gov/ ; MedlinePlus—“the web site created for consumers by the U.S. National Library of Medicine”
  • http://www.ok.gov/ ; “Oklahoma’s Official Web Site”—Agency Directory in tabs at the top is a good place for locating information about the numerous state agencies.  Also, the “How do I…” on the right side toward the bottom has quick links to needed topics.
  • http://www.legalaidok.org/ ; Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma
  • http://www.oscn.net/ ; Oklahoma State Courts Network—use the small tabs under the web site title.  The Legal Research tab gives “The Electronic Law Library for Oklahoma.” One of the items, the “Oklahoma Statutes Citationized,” allows a person to search within each Statute, view each Statue in its entirety, and view the Historical Data, provided by the “Citationizer Summary of Documents Citing This Document.”  There is also a link to “Oklahoma Legal Forms.”
  • http://www.odl.state.ok.us/ ; Oklahoma Department of Libraries.  The “State Gov’t Info” link on the left side gives convenient groupings of “Oklahoma Reference” and “Archives & Records.” 
  • http://www.crossroads.odl.state.ok.us/ ; Oklahoma Crossroads: Documents and Images—“consists of selected digital collections of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries spanning more than 100 years of rich, vibrant history.”
G. Other Media, e.g. Video, Audio
  • Agricultural Statistics, R630.21/AG278a/CD-ROM
  • Budget of the United States Government, R353.00722/B927b/CD-ROM
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook, R331.702/OC15oo/CD-ROM
  • United States Code, R348.7323/UN5un/CD-ROM
  • Topographic Maps produced by the U.S. Geological Survey.  The Downtown Library has many Topo maps of the state of Oklahoma and of our contiguous states; we also have some maps of other states.  The maps do not appear in our catalog but may be viewed on our second floor and checked out as other materials are.  The online source is http://topomaps.usgs.gov/ .
S. Bish
June 2007