State Government Documents
Do You Know...
you can access recent state agency publications through the State Library?
What are State
documents?
State documents are publications issued by
state agencies. Publications are defined as
periodicals, newsletters, bulletins, pamphlets,
leaflets, directories, bibliographies, statistical
reports, brochures, plan drafts, planning documents,
reports, special reports, committee and commission
minutes, informational handouts, rules and
compilations of rules.
What is the State documents depository program?
Maine law (MSRA Title I,
Chapter 13, Section 501-A) requires all state agencies to deposit 18 copies
of their publications with the Maine State
Library. The State Library retains three copies
(two for circulation, one for archival purposes);
the other 15 copies are distributed to depository
libraries located throughout the state of Maine,
and to the Library of Congress.
The Maine depository libraries are at the
University of Maine (Orono), Universities of
Maine at Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, Presque
Isle; University of Southern Maine; Colby,
Bates and Bowdoin Colleges; Bangor Public Library
and Portland Public Library.
The idea behind the program is that all of
Maine's residents should have access to state
government publications without having to travel
to Augusta.
What
do we have in the State documents collection?
Some of our most popular items:
- Bureau
of the Budget's Maine State Government
Annual Report
- Division of Labor
Market Information Service's state and county
census data
- Governor's State of Maine
Budget Document
- Maine State Legislature Committees' publications
- Department of Inland
Fisheries and Wildlife maps and brochures
- Departments of Education and Human
Services reports and brochures
We also have a great deal of historical data in
our State documents collection:
- Department of Industry
and Labor reports:
Lists statistics pertaining
to the world of work in Maine back into the
1800's
- Departments of
Agriculture and Education annual reports:
Help provide insight into the daily
lives of our ancestors back in the 1800's
- Adjutant General's
reports for the Civil War:
Lists names of those who served - of indispensable worth to genealogists
The Maine State Government Publications Checklist, complied quarterly, lists all of the state agency publications received by the Maine State Library. Copies of each publication are held for use at the State Library and its depositories (listed below) and, in most cases, are available for checkout.
How do I access government documents?
Many of our State and Federal documents holdings are listed in the Library's catalog - URSUS. The collection itself is in a closed stack area and not available for browsing, but may be accessed at the Library during regular library hours. Please see the reference librarian on duty for assistance.
Many, though not all, State and Federal documents are available online. For Federal documents, go to the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) or a specific Federal agency. For Maine state documents, go to a specific agency.
Federal
documents collection
The Maine State Library discontinued its status as a partial depository
of United States Federal Documents in 2007. We are, however, retaining selected Federal documents; in particular those which pertain to Maine. While we will not add to our Federal collection
in the future, access to Federal documents is available through other Federal Documents Depository libraries in Maine.
The Raymond H. Fogler Library at
the University of Maine (Orono), the New England
regional depository, is a full depository,
receiving 100% of the publications available. In addition, many Federal documents are available online through the United States Government Printing Office or a specific Federal agency.
Federal documents come in many formats. Most paper publications at the Maine State Library can be checked
out. Microfiche, CD-ROM and DVD materials are
to be used only in the Library (machines are
provided). Some of our more popular items are census data, topographic maps of Maine, and Internal Revenue Service tax forms and publications.
