If you're using the library catalog, you can limit your search to government documents. In the regular search box, use the Limits options to change the location from "In Hekman Library" to "Government Documents." You can also use the Advanced Search option and select Government Documents as an item type.
Typical subject headings that will be found in government documents catalog records are:
The government documents collection is shelved according to the Superintendent of Documents classification schedule. At first glance the call numbers are pretty intuitive, because most call numbers begin with a letter (or letters) that represent the department or agency issuing the document. Here is a complete list:
| Letter | Subject |
|---|---|
| A | Agriculture |
| C | Commerce |
| E | Energy |
| ED | Education |
| L | Labor |
| LC | Library of Congress |
| NAS | NASA |
| S | State |
| T | Treasury |
A few that are less intuitive are
| AE | Laws and Regulations |
| X and Y | Congress |
The rest of the call number is a series of numbers and punctuation that represent further subdivisions of the agency, the type of publication, the year of publication, etc. Please ask for assistance at the Research Assistance Desk if you are trying to find a document on the shelf and cannot locate it.
The Michigan documents are shelved according to the Library of Congress classification system, as are the books in the library's main collection.