LibGuides: HIST 3365 Drugs and Alcohol in American History: Finding Government Documents

Documents Collections

The BGSU Libraries house collections of United States, Ohio, Bowling Green, and Canadian government documents. It can be tricky finding government documents, but your best bet is to start with the databases below and reach out to a librarian for more help if needed. The below LibGuide may also offer assistance.

Government Information
by Rebecca Stanwick Last Updated Jun 12, 2025 85 views this year

BGSU Libraries Catalog
Start by searching this catalog to see if BGSU owns the document. All of the documents in our Canadian, Ohio, and Bowling Green documents collections have been cataloged. However, not all U.S. government documents have been cataloged. You will also find links to online government information in the catalog.

OhioLINK Library Catalog
Search for books, periodicals, electronic resources and other items in the 100+ OhioLINK member libraries.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
This indexes publications issued by the U.S. government from 1976 to date. Some records include links to the full text of the document or Internet site.
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
Commonly referred to as the Monthly Catalog or MoCat, this publication lists all of the publications produced by the U.S. Government Printing Office from 1895 to 2004. Initially intended to supplement the Documents Catalog, the Monthly Catalog served as the “comprehensive index” provided for in the Printing Act of 1895 after the Documents Catalog was discontinued in 1947. The Monthly Catalog was discontinued with the December 2004 edition, after which point the continuously updated Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) served that purpose.

ProQuest Congressional
ProQuest Congressional is a comprehensive database that searches across current and historical documents of the United States Congress, many of which are included in full text. It includes the U.S. Serial Set (the published working papers of Congress), Congressional Hearings, the Congressional Record (through 1997) and hundreds of thousands of House and Senate reports, State of the Union messages, Congressional journals, hearings, high-resolution maps, and more.
Access has recently been expanded to include ProQuest Congressional Hearings Digital Collection Historical Archive Parts B and C (1980-2010), ProQuest Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection, and ProQuest U.S. Serial Set 2 Parts G, H, and I.
HeinOnline U.S. Statutes at Large
Full-text searchable images of every page of the Statutes at Large in PDF format, beginning in 1789. Also includes earlier Federal Codes, Compilations of Statutes, and other related documents.