Title 44 of the U.S. Code provides the statutory foundation for the federal program that distributes our government's information to the people in order to maintain an informed democracy. This program is called the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), and the St. Louis library participates in it.

Pursuant to the St. Louis library's agreement as a depository library with the FDLP, the Government Printing Office (GPO) sends us United States government publications such as U.S. Reports, United States Statutes At Large, Congressional Record and Federal Register free of charge, and we in exchange make them available to the public.

The Federal Depository Library Program has been undergoing a transition from paper-based products to electronic products in an effort to reduce the costs of printing and distribution. While the titles mentioned above will continue to be issued in paper, most will not. Instead, they will be available only on the Internet and CD-ROMs.

Not sure where to start with your government research? Have you hit a dead end with your question? Depository libraries across the country have teamed up to offer direct online help. Click the Ask A Librarian image just below for help via email or chat:

GPO's internet site, GPO Access, started in 1994 as a result of Public Law 103-40, the Government Printing Office Electronic Information Enhancement Act of 1993. It provides free online access to its services 24 hours a day. All libraries participating in the Depository Library Program are required to make GPO Access available to their users. The St. Louis Library has a public access computer for this purpose.

You do not, however, have to be a depository library to access this; anyone with access to the Internet can use their resources. You will find GPO Access at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/.

GPO Access offers access to a treasury of government information, a bulletin board for downloading files, and tools for locating other depository libraries. You can search their Catalog of U.S. Government Publications for records of all their print and electronic resources.

The site points to a wealth of free federal information in over 1000 databases. Links to official governmental sites, resources and publications abound. Among the official documents offered online are Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, List of Sections Affected, U.S. Code, U.S. Budget, Congressional Directory, the published versions of all bills introduced in Congress, and administrative decisions such as the Merit Systems Protection Board Decisions and GAO Comptroller General Decisions.

The Federal Bulletin Board (FBB) offers over 7,500 federal agency files for download in a variety of formats. The FBB provides federal agencies with a means to get their latest documents to the public, and it allows the public free and immediate self-service document delivery of government files.

GPO Access offers the ability to search more than 1,350 official U.S. Federal agency and military Internet sites. A general search engine (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/multidb.html) allows searching multiple databases with one search. A list of the searchable databases is presented and by clicking on individual databases, you can create a self-selected set of databases for your search.

There are also search engines for some individual databases. Among these individually searchable databases are the Federal Register, Congressional Record, and U.S. Code.