Collections and Services
Reference and Instruction
Government Publications offers both general and specialized assistance
at our help desk
or Ask Us!
To get started on your exploration of government resources, you can use our
Collection Scope
The University of Washington Libraries is a depository for publications from the United States federal government, Canada, the United Nations, the European Union and the State of Washington. We collect international intergovernmental organizations in addition to those that are depository and we selectively collect documents from Seattle and King County. There are many unique resources in our collection of published government information and data, including the U.S. Census, a large number of international statistical publications, the laws of the United States, Washington State and the City of Seattle, printed and electronic finding aids, major indexes, and more. The largest part of our collection consists of United States government publications dating from the 19th century to the present.
Finding Materials
provides location and holdings information for Washington state and local materials, most United States federal publications, and selected international titles. Inquire at our help desk for information on items not found in the online catalog. Staff will be glad to assist you in locating government material.
Borrowing Materials
All materials in Government Publications are available for on-site use by both the academic community and the general public. You must have current University of Washington identification or other authorized identification to borrow materials. If you are not affiliated with the university, contact
for information on borrowing, or see
Services for Visitors and Services for K-12
Sources in the Community
in Olympia is the regional United States government depository and the primary depository for Washington state publications.
has a collection of city, state, and federal documents.
The National Archives and Records Administration Regional Federal Archives,
and the Seattle Public Library, are the two main sources of information for genealogical research. The University of Washington Libraries does not collect the historical census records used to trace individual family histories.
Access
The Government Publications collection is located on the ground floor of Suzzallo Library. The entrances to the Suzzallo and Allen Libraries are wheelchair accessible and there are elevators in the building.