Celebrating 75 Years as a Federal Depository Library

Government Documents staff Kathy Kinsey (left) and Lorna Newman (right)

Access to government information is one of the tenets of a free and open society. As founding father James Madison wrote: “A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Established by Congress in 1813, the Federal Depository Library Program, a network of over 1,200 public and academic libraries nationwide, guarantees Americans free and uninhibited access to government documents, which are defined as materials published or sponsored by an official government agency. These libraries collect, maintain, and make available federal documents, as well as provide librarians and staff to assist in locating and using such materials. Federal Depository Libraries serve wide-ranging and diverse constituencies with over 60% percent of depository libraries located in academic libraries, 20% in public libraries, and the remaining 20% in community college or special libraries (military, judicial, government, etc.).

By simply visiting a Federal Depository Library, in person or online, the public can obtain government information on a variety of subjects from the lighthearted – a list of state flowers – to the informative – maps of congressional districts. Depository libraries also provide access to newsworthy government information that resonates or impacts the public, such as the 1964 Warren Commission that investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Roswell Report on the alleged crash and recovery of an alien spacecraft and its occupant near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and the recent 9/11 Commission Report documenting the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The University of Cincinnati’s Government Documents Department, located in Langsam Library, receives 92% of the U.S. material made available for deposit. Online and in-house materials provide such information as comprehensive Ohio statistics, census information, and congressional publications. Government documents at UC are available to the general public and can be accessed through the Library Catalog at or via the department’s Web site. At the Web site, links to online government documents and various state and federal information are available, as well as department hours and contact information.

The year 2004 marks the 75th anniversary of the designation of University Libraries as a Federal Depository Library. The occasion was marked with a celebration on November 5 at which T.C. Evans, deputy superintendent of documents for the Government Printing Office, served as keynote speaker.

In conjunction with the anniversary, an exhibit, “Celebrating 75 Years of Government Documents at University Libraries,” is currently on display on Langsam Library’s 5th floor lobby through December.

For more information about Federal Depository Libraries, or about the Government Documents Department at University Libraries, visit <www.libaries.uc.edu/research/subject_resources/gov_docs/index.html> or contact Lorna Newman, government documents librarian, at (513) 556-1873 or lorna.newman@uc.edu.

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