Government Information Research Guide
Library Catalogs

UMass Amherst Library Catalog
Search for books, journals, and other materials by author, title, subject, keyword, call number, journal title, etc.

Other Library Catalogs
To expand your research to other libraries, try the following catalogs. Ways to obtain materials not owned by UMass Amherst Libraries.

http://www.library.umass.edu/reference/othercat.html  (UMass Libraries, Research and Instructional Services)
Includes WordCat, Boston Library Consortium (BLC) Virtual  Catalog, Library of Congress Catalog, Center for Reasearch Libraries, Harvard College Libraries, and others

Government Documents Call Number Locations

 | Federal | |Massachusetts | | General Collection | | Reference |

Most government documents reside on Floor 6 of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library.

In the Library Catalog Location box, identify federal documents by "UM/Gov Docs," and Massachusetts documents by "UM/Mass. Docs."
Examples of Federal and Massachusetts call numbers follow:

Federal
U.S. federal documents shelve according to the Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification system, which arranges documents according to the issuing agency.

A = Department of Agriculture
EP = Environmental Protection Agency
Y4 = Congressional Committee hearings

For a hands-on explanation and tutorial of the SuDoc classification system, try Learning SuDoc Call Numbers (Michigan State University Government Documents Library).

In general, documents shelve in alphabetical and numerical order.
A 1.2:AC 4
A 1.2:B 7
C 3.186:
C 3.186/2:

VERY IMPORTANT: Read any number after a period as a whole number, NOT as a decimal:
C 1.1:
C 1.13:
C 1.2:
C 1.27:

Massachusetts
Massachusetts documents are on Floor 6, ranges 62-64. They shelve according to a system based on the issuing agency derived from the SuDoc classification system.

AF = Executive Office of Administration and Finance
ED = Department of Education
GC = General Court

"MASS." precedes Massachusetts documents call numbers.
MASS. AF 1.2:R 29
MASS. LC 2.3:

Find maps of the 6th floor on the walls around the floor, and at the Reference Desk on the Main Floor.

If you are unable to locate a government document on Floor 6, use search request forms in the Floor 6 elevator lobby. Follow instructions to fill out the form and you will receive a response within 48 hours.

General Collection
Some government documents reside in the General Collection according to the Library of Congress classification system, which organizes materials by subject. The Call Number Floor Guide identifies the floors where the call numbers reside.

J 11 R5 = Congressional Record
JS = Massachusetts town reports
KF = U.S. Statutes at Large
KFM = Massachusetts General Laws

Reference
Government documents reference books reside in the Government Documents Reference Collection on Floor 6, ranges 1-4 of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library.

Use the Library Catalog for more extensive retrieval.

Borrowing privileges extend to all Massachusetts residents.

If you have any questions at any time, please ask a member of the reference staff. We are here to help you. If you are on Floor 6 and the Government Documents Office is closed, call the Reference Desk (545-0150) from the telephone, or fill out the search request form, in the elevator lobby.