Look in the library catalogue for official publications such as annual reports, commissions of inquiry publications, and statistics issued under the authority of a government at any level or by an intergovernmental international organization.
If you know the author or title of a government publication, use the author or title index to locate it.
Keyword Search
There are two ways to locate material in the government publications collection by keyword.
When looking for government publications you should usually include a country or place name to narrow the search.
All materials
- To find both government publications and other materials use the 'Find books in our library catalogue' box to enter your search terms and select 'Keyword' in the drop-down box.
Only government publications
- Choose 'Catalogue' link at the top of the home page.
- On the main catalogue page, select 'Keyword' and then choose 'Government Documents' from the drop-down list under LOCATION.
- You can also limit your search by language, date, or sorting options on this page.
- You can limit a keyword search by government body name; type in "a:" and enter the name of the government body.
Example: a: United Nations
Subject Search
Select the "Catalogue" link at the top of the home page and 'Subject' from the main catalogue screen. Here you will see two subject indexes: one for 'Library of Congress Subject Headings' and one for 'Government Documents Subject Heading Search'.
The Government Documents Subject Headings Search is a thematic index that uses headings specific to government information. It is organized by topic with subdivisions for place and aspect.
Example: Sustainable development – Canada -- Agriculture
Caution: Many older government publications lack Library of Congress subject headings.
Microfiche Collections
Major microfiche collections such as Microlog (Canadian Research Index) and United Nations microfiche (AccessUN index) have their own online indexes are not listed by individual title in the library catalogue.
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