Sandy Rizzo, Mesa Public Library, AZ ~Six-State Virtual Gov Info Conference ~ August 10, 2012
Abstract: In a reference setting, nearly any question can touch upon government information. Which
government websites are the favorite “go to” places for busy librarians? Where do you turn to help your
customers find what they need? An experienced government information librarian will introduce some
“diamonds in the rough,” sharing tried-and-true resources you may already know about, and many that will
be new to you. >> Sites organized as presented. View archived presentation (1 hr) and additional
sessions and information from conference:
http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/conference/6state/index.htm
USA.gov (http://Usa.gov)
One-stop shop/portal; key locator for service of U.S. Government. Includes agency directory. Geared
to many population types. Not just what it has, but where it goes…
Science of the Summer Olympics (National Science Foundation)
(http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/summer_olympics/)
Series of 10-minute videos exploring the science behind many of the “wonders” in sport – including
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt’s speed, stride, and stength, South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius’ carbon fibre prosthetic
legs, USA’s Missy Franklin and fluid dynamics. Also visit http://Science360.gov
Healthcare.gov (http://healthcare.gov)
Website to provide information about the Affordable Care Act including full law in .pdf, timeline,
videos, resources and tools for comparing health providers, hospitals, nursing homes, home health
agencies, and dialysis facilities, and state reports about how the Act works in your state.
EDSITEment (edsitement.neh.gov/)
Best of humanities on the web, with reading lists, lesson plans, collections of items, summer reading
for college bound, worksheets. Excellent for educators.
USA.gov Explore Topics: Voting and Elections
Information about voter registration, laws, links to state election offices, help in understanding the
Electoral College, an Electoral College calculator, Historic voting results.
USA.gov Help for Difficult Financial Times (http://www.usa.gov/citizen/topics/family/help-for-difficultfinancial-times.shtml)
Help from Federal agencies in the areas of unemployment, housing, food, child care assistance, debt,
and more. “Finding a Job” brings up outstanding tools for locating work and improving a resume.
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Photos and Images in USA.gov (In USA.gov Explore Topics > Reference Center > US Government Photos
and Images
Links image collections from government agencies including defense, environment, health, history, law,
science, the arts. Wonderful for those who want to browse topics to locate images for use in displays,
documents, education, web, and more. Some are public domain, others are protected by license. Be
sure to visit American Memory at Library of Congress and State Photo and Multimedia Galleries, both
linked here.
Data.gov (http://www.data.gov/ )
Excellent place to obtain, download, and manipulate government data; features metadata, links to
agency pages hosting data. Includes raw data, interactive datasets, apps, citizen-created tools, and
other data types from across 172 agencies. Can sort and filter, search, access ratings and comments
from community of users. Also provides access to geospacial datasets (Geo.Data.gov at
http://geo.data.gov). Government website created in response to President Obama’s Open
Government Initiative Jan 21, 2009 (first day in office) to address transparency. Goal: Single web
address from which public can quickly, efficiently access data of interest. Interesting document
regarding origin: Harvard Business School Case Study about Data.gov
(http://www.data.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/hbs_datagov_case_study.pdf ).
Fedstats.gov (http://www.fedstats.gov)
Fairly simple, powerful starting point for locating statistics collected and published by Federal agencies.
Founded in 1997, front page last updated in 2007 (still being attended to?), still a very useful tool. Use
to find stats when you don’t know in advance who produces them. Many ways to locate: Topic A-Z,
Agencies, Data Access Tools, Mapping. Appears in USA.gov under section Data and Statistics in
Reference Center. For demographic factsheet, go directly to Census.gov, but for many other
topics/stats, site is indispensable.
Census.gov (http://www.census.gov/)
Clearinghouse of demographic population/economic data and surveys provided for fellow government
agencies including economic indicators. Many data tools, maps. Subjects A-Z and Help extremely useful.
Use American FactFinder to query, build tables (see William Cuthbertson’s Six-State Virtual Government
Information Conference session American FactFinder 2 for help on using data repository.) State and
County QuickFacts provide direct access to data based on geography. Utilize bottom of homepage in
addition to top tabs to reach rich data. If requiring Census-originated data, better here than on Data.gov.
New mobile app America’s Economy – information:
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/miscellaneous/cb12-149.html
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Bureau of Labor Statistics: BLS.gov (http://bls.gov/)
Features additional indicators – employment, productivity, inflation, payroll, and much more. Tabs
bring up rich info with many subject areas. Also contains databases and tools. Don’t miss labor
publications like the Occupational Outlook Handbook and Occupational Outlook Quarterly.
Project VoteSmart.org (http://votesmart.org/)
The Voter’s Self Defense – helps users understand candidates and issues at Federal and State levels.
Issues tab allows user to search 46 different issues in all states to gather Federal and State votes,
statements, ballot measures. Project VoteSmart’s VoteEasy ™ (http://votesmart.org/voteeasy/) lets
users compare their views with those of candidates, including weight of position.
Health Databases
Many: health.gov, womenshealth.gov, healthcare.gov, girlshealth.gov, globalhealth.gov,
healthfinder.gov, health.nih.gov, Medline Plus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus) Also, featured
site:
PubMedHealth (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/).
Reviews of clinical effectiveness research – easy-to-read summaries for consumers, full technical
reports, and “behind the headlines” offerings. Intersects fairly seamlessly with PubMed. Helpful for
researchers in health field and consumers who want to see what works for various conditions.
Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/index.html)
Repository of tools and collections related to America’s history, art, culture, maps, folklife. American
Memory searches across collections. LOC includes:
National Jukebox (http://www.loc.gov/jukebox)
Collection of over 10,000 digitized recordings, 1901-1925. Able to make and use playlist within site.
Copyrighted material that is available for audio stream only, no download. Can browse, search by artist
or genre, conduct an advanced search.
FREE – Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (http://free.ed.gov/)
Variety of tools for teaching with wide range of item types – Photos, Primary Documents, Videos,
Animations. Cuts across many agencies.
U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (http://www.eere.energy.gov/)
Tremendous place for exploring “going green,” with coverage of alternative energy sources and
examination of efficiency in various settings. Solar, wind, water, biomass, geothermal, hydrogen and
fuel cells are featured.
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FuelEconomy.gov (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/)
User-friendly and informative site for those who want to find ways to reduce fuel usage and who are in
the market for a new vehicle. Side-by-side comparison tool enables users to evaluate multiple cars by
fuel economy, energy and environment, safety, and spec criteria.
Energy Star (http://www.energystar.gov/)
Joint program of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy helping citizens
save money and protect environment through energy efficient products and practices. Features
Rebate Finder. Help in making home more energy efficient and in identifying energy star certified
products.
Debt to the Penny (http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application-np)
Site to obtain figures for outstanding public debt – searchable January 4, 1993 to present. Also
features charts and analysis for graphical formats of public debt data. Part of Treasury Direct
(http://www.treasurydirect.gov/).
National Priorities Project (http://nationalpriorities.org/en/)
From 30-year-old (founded 1983) Non-Governmental Organization with mission to make complex
Federal budget transparent and accessible to people so they can exercise their right and responsibility
to oversee and influence how their tax dollars are spent. “Federal Budget 101,” budget breakdowns ,
analysis, plus an interactive data tool that allows one to search data variables (Food, Housing, E, etc.)
which can be represented in maps or tables with downloads and embedded links.
Depository Community Top Ten Countdown: (from unscientific survey)
10. ERIC
(http://eric.ed.gov/)
9. USA Jobs
8. Medline Plus
7. White House
(http://www.usajobs.gov/)
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/)
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/)
6. CDFA - Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (https://www.cfda.gov/)
5. THOMAS
(http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php)
4. CIA World Fact Book (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/)
3. Census
(http://www.census.gov/)
2. Fedstats.gov
(http://www.fedstats.gov/)
1. USA.gov
(http://www.usa.gov/)
Sandy Rizzo
Librarian III/Gov Info Librarian
Mesa Public Library
sandy.rizzo@mesaaz.gov
480-644-3721