HOURS 

The Government Documents room is located on the west side of Gleeson Library | Geschke Center between the Reference and Research Services Department and the Thacher Art Gallery.  The room is open for browsing when the library is open.  The Reference Desk staff is available to assist you with government information at any time the Reference Desk is open. If the Reference Desk is closed, you may fill out the Government Documents General Inquiry Form in the Government Documents room or you may leave a message on (415) 422-2040. 
 

Gleeson Library | Geschke Learning Resource Center is one of about 1,350 depository libraries throughout the nation.  The Government Documents depository collection serves California's 8th Congressional District and is a selective depository for publications issued by the U.S. Government.  We currently select approximately 30% of what is distributed through the Federal Depository Library Program in all formats of publication - paper, microform, CD-ROM, and electronic.  Depository materials are available for use by the public at any time the library is open. 

Although most of the collection is comprised of federal documents, the Government Documents collection also includes a few uncataloged California State and regional government publications.  Several local, regional, state, federal, international intergovernmental organization, and foreign government documents are cataloged and shelved throughout the library.  Many federal documents which are legal in nature are cataloged and housed at the University of San Francisco School of Law Library. 

If we do not have the document you are looking for, we would be happy to help you search to see if another depository library has it or if it is on the Internet. The San Francisco Public Library Government Information Center, also in the 8^th Congressional District, may have the document as the depository collection there contains substantially more, about 85%, of the federal publications currently being distributed. Government documents are also increasingly available full-text on the Internet. 
 

A Documents Reference section comprised of major indexes and bibliographies is located at the front of the stacks in the Government Documents room.  Many other major government documents of a reference nature are cataloged and shelved in the Reference Department stacks. 

Federal documents in the Government Documents room are arranged and classified with the Superintendent of Documents, or SuDocs, classification system.  This is different from the rest of the library.  Examples of SuDocs are: A 1.68:341 and C 61.28/2:991.  The letters and numbers represent government departments or agencies, types of publications, and individual titles and allow for systematic arrangement of federal documents by government department or agency.   This allows, therefore, for browsing by issuing department or agency but not usually by subject. 

Most federal government documents on CD-ROM and in paper format from 1997-present and more than 20 pages long on average are cataloged and may be located through a catalog search in Ignacio.  At this time, most other federal documents located in the Government Documents Department are not cataloged. 

Selected federal government documents on CD-ROM are loaded on the computers in the Government Documents room.  You may sign up to use these computers in advance.  If you would like to use a particular CD-ROM which is not currently installed on the computers, please inquire at the Reference Desk, complete a CD-ROM Request Form available in the Government Documents room, or call (415) 422-2040. Staff will install the CD-ROM within one day Monday through Friday on one of the computers in the Government Documents room. 

California State and regional government documents are grouped and shelved by major issuing department. 
 

Numerous tools are available to assist you  in a search for U.S. Government documents and information. 

If you are not sure where to begin your search and know of a specific document,
If you are looking by subject,
If you are looking for statistics

For selected resources available at Gleeson Library | Geschke Learning Resource Center to assist with government documents or information research,
 

Government documents may be borrowed by authorized USF Libraries borrowers for the same loan period as that of materials from the general Gleeson Library |  Geschke Center Stacks.  Documents Reference, CD-ROMs, and microfiche do not circulate.  Please borrow the documents at the library Circulation Desk.