Government Documents

What are State documents?
What do we have in the State documents collection?
Federal documents collection
How do I access government documents?

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

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.

How do I access Government Publications?

Most of our State documents holdings and many of our 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 - start at the Maine state government's home page - Maine.gov.

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