Cataloging and Serials

Government Publications

Whether they are gifts or purchased materials, government publications (all formats) are located in Government Publications. U.S. government publications are classified in SuDocs and Kansas governments publications are classified in KDocs. Government documents are not classified in LC for "main" location. A few select government publications will be classified in LC if they are to be located in a branch library.

Catalogers will place materials that appear to be government publications on the Government Publications Review Shelf in the in-process area. Madsen will review these materials and make the final determination whether they are government publications.

How to Recognize Government Publications

U.S. Government Publications:

• Publisher has "United States" (or "U.S.") as the first element of the name.
• Available from the Superintendent of Documents or the Government Printing Office (GPO)
• The Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress are U.S. Government agencies.
• Names with "American" or "National" are usually not U.S. government publications, however there are notable exceptions to this.

Materials with the following are U.S. government publications:

• National Aeornautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• National Archives and Records Administration
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Kansas Government Publications:

• Printed by the State Printer.
• Publisher somewhere indicates "Kansas Department of..." or "State of Kansas..."
• Just the word "Kansas" is not enough to indicate a governmental agency.