Federal Government

The main government documents collection is located on the first floor of Bartle Library, adjacent to the Reference Collection. Parts of the collection, including historical statistical sets, are located in the Libraries' off-site Collection Management Facility. Requests for materials in the Annex may be submitted using this request form.

Federal agencies are increasingly publishing their documents and other content on the Internet. The Government Publishing Office (GPO) no longer distributes many of these items in physical form to depository libraries. Consequently, the Federal Depository Collection at BU has migrated from a mostly-physical collection to a mostly-online collection. To continue to provide access, the BU Library Catalog contains an ever increasing number of records for Internet-only government publications. See the Basic Collection for access to core depository titles available online.

In order to access online government documents using Library computers, authentication is required (as it is for everyone on campus who uses the network). Guest patrons who are not affiliated with the University authenticate using library computer guest accounts which may be obtained at any Reader Services Desk or the Research Help Desk in Bartle Library. To obtain a guest account users must present a picture ID and sign a guest account user agreement. Accounts may only be used in the issuing library. Accounts are issued for a two-hour period, non-renewable until the following day.The Libraries computer guest account are only issued to those guests that are age 18 or older. Underage guests needing to access online federal documents should contact Reader Services staff in Bartle Library for accommodation.

To ensure computer availability for students, Guest Accounts will not be issued during periods of high demand including mid-term and final exam periods. To access online federal documents during this period, please contact Reader Services staff in Bartle Library.

Internet access is provided as a courtesy to guest users for the purposes of scholarly research.  Users are responsible for reading, understanding, and abiding by the the Binghamton University Computer and Network Policy.