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Government information available online and in print at the Temple Law Library.

This guide provides an overview of government information available at Temple Law Library and online.

Government Information available online

  • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) - a finding tool for Government publications, containing records with information about publications in many different formats. When you search the CGP for a publication, you will find a record that tells you where you can find the publication, whether at a physical library or through a link to the full-text electronic version when available. Help and tips for searching the CGP is available here.

  • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent areas subject to federal regulation. The CFR comes out annually. Currently, the CFR is available from 1996.​ The CFR Index and Finding Aids volume assists the user in locating the exact rules and regulations sought. Currently available online from 2017 to present.

    • Older CFR locations:

      • GovInfo.gov - 1996 to present 

      • HeinOnline - 1938 to present. Can browse by year, title, indexes and finding aids, and List of Sections Affected. 

      • LexisNexis - 1981 to present. Lexis provides additional information besides just the text of the CFR. Additional information includes cases, statutes, etc. 

      • ProQuest Congressional - 1981 to present. Click "Regulations" at bottom left of page and ensure the "Select Publication" drop-down is set to "Code of Federal Regulations."

      • Westlaw - 1984 to present. From "Content Types" click "Regulations," then click "Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)." Next, under "Tools & Resources" click "Code of Federal Regulations - Historical."  Click the year you want to view. Available from 1984. 

  • GovInfo.gov - provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Some examples of resources and information provided include: Congressional Bills from the 103rd Congress - 1993/1994 to present; Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) - 1996 to present; Executive Orders (from the Compilation of Presidential Documents) - 1993 to present; Statutes at Large - currently from 1951 (Vol. 65, 82nd Congress) to 2012, Supreme Court Nomination Hearings, etc.
  • ProQuest Congressional - provides access to a comprehensive collection of both historic and current congressional information. Includes full text of congressional publications, legislative histories, finding aids, bill tracking, public laws and other related research materials. Also available is information about Congress, includes member profiles and the committees that individuals are assigned to, voting records, and financial data.
  • ProQuest Legislative Insight - full-text publications associated with a legislative history that includes the text of Public Laws, all versions of enacted and related bills, Congressional Record excerpts, and committee hearings, reports, and documents. All of these publication types may be used in court to determine the intent of Congress in enacting legislation in cases where the statutory language is ambiguous.
  • Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States - Each Public Papers volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the specified time period. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. Currently, Herbert Hoover (1929 to 1932), Harry Truman to Barack Obama - 1945 to 2013. Note: papers of FDR were privately published and are not included in this collection.
  • United States Code (USC) - the official codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The USC is divided by broad subjects into 54 titles with title 53 in reserve at this point in time. The USC is published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. A new edition comes out every year. Currently, coverage is from 1994 to present.
  • United States Code Annotated (USCA) -  another online source for the U.S. Code available from Westlaw.  In addition to the text of the U.S. Code, this source provides additional information such as cases, secondary sources, and ALR articles. Further, the USCA uses West's topic and key number system, provides some historical references, and notes of decisions which are summaries of court decisions. Currently, the historical USCA is from 1990 to 2020. The USCA can be accessed either by entering the citation in the global search bar, or on the Content Types tab, click Statutes & Court Rules, then click United States Code Annotated (USCA) to display the Table of Contents.