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Government Documents
  
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Topics include: Census Judicial Business Legislative Information Health Taxes Kids' Resources Locate Publications A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy or both. James Madison
Portland Public Library has been a part of the Federal Depository Library Program since 1884. We house more than 240,000 government documents and 22,000 topographic maps for Maine and the U.S. Find them in the Main Library's Government Documents collection or link to many of them here!
Census: Gateway to Census 2000 provides access to information and statistics on population, housing and income from the 2000 Census. Try American Factfinder for friendly access to tables and maps of Census 2000 data for all geographies to the block level and State and County Quickfacts for summaries of the most requested data for states and counties. Find details at Income Data 2000, Census Bureau Housing Data, or the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book. American Community Surveys provides current data based on sampling. Censuses of Population and Housing are now available online for 1990, 1980, 1970, 1960, 1950, 1940, 1930, 1920, 1910, 1890, 1880, 1870, 1860, 1850, 1840, 1830, 1820, 1810, 1800, 1790, and Special Collections.
Judicial: For Maine state courts and cases, search opinions of the Supreme Judicial Court or the Superior Court. Locate Maine court rules, publications and fees. Find a Maine District Court. Locate Maine legal resources at the Nathan and Henry B. Cleaves Law Library in Portland, the Maine State Bar Association or the University of Maine Law School's Garbrecht Law Library. For legal help in Maine contact the Volunteer Lawyers Project or use HelpMELaw. Look here for free legal assistance resources in other states. On the federal level, search U.S. Supreme Court dockets, rules, and opinions. For lower federal courts, Portland Public Library is now participating in a pilot program giving free public access to PACER, the federal Judiciary's online Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, providing access to U.S. District, Appellate and Bankruptcy court records. Note that free PACER access is available only within the library. Go the the Reference Desk for assistance. See a map and links to U.S. Courts.
Business: Save time, search electronically - Visit Business.gov, the official business link to the U.S. government. For general info: County Business Patterns, Current Industrial Reports, Small Business Profiles by state, or view the Economy at a Glance! Locate labor information in Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates , Monthly Labor Review or the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Find the correct North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code. Use 5-year profiles of business by industry, geography or subject in the Economic Censuses. Start-up info: Small Business Administration, Small Business Start-up Kit, Maine Small Business Development Centers, and Maine business resources. The SEC provides information for and about public companies, plus filings and forms via Edgar.
Legislative Information: For legislative history or legal research view the House Journal, Congressional Record, Bills/Proposed laws (Thomas), Public and Private Laws, and the laws codified by subject at US Code. Search for Congressional Reports from the 110th Congress. To find, review and comment on proposed federal rules visit try Regulations.gov or the Federal Register. View rules and proposed rules that each Federal agency expects to issue during the next six months in the Unified Agenda. Find the codification of the general and permanent rules in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) . Browse the Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation. Find information on a member of Congress, 1774 to present, if you know the name. Locate information on any member of the current House of Representatives or a current U.S. Senator.
Elections: Visit America.Gov for its Guide to the 2008 Election and more, and USA.gov to locate State Election Offices and learn about elections and voting. Get information on campaign finance from the Federal Election Commission, and federal election statistics, 1920-present, from the U.S. House Clerk. Maine's Elections Division provides election information, the Maine Voter Guide, voter registration, information on the Citizen's Initiatives and People's Veto, and eDemocrcy provides more! Find your polling place and the candidates who will be on your ballot. Use Maine's Online Absentee Voter Request Service. See Portland City Clerk's Office for local election news and voter registration. Use the Easy-to-Read Voter Guide from Literacy Volunteers and the League of Women Voters. Ben's Guide will help kids learn about the Election Process, as will Maine.gov's Democracy for Kids.
Maine: Receive a partial refund of property taxes or rent paid via the Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund program! Visit the state of Maine website, link to information on Maine state agencies, doing business here, Maine law, Maine online rules, online vehicle registration, online hunting and fishing licenses, the Maine Legislature (including audio when the Legislature is in session). Find your state representative or senator. Gather Maine Census data 2000, 1990, or historical population data. For labor, employment and job information visit Maine Employment Info Guide.com.
Health: Try MedlinePlus from the world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine. Visit the health.gov portal to federal and other agency health activities and information. Search healthfinder for reliable health information or NCHS FASTATS for health statistics. Find information on nursing home performance or learn about Medicare. Visit the National Women's Health Information Center, 4woman.gov, for free, reliable health information for women everywhere. Locate health-related information and toll-free telephone numbers at National Library of Medicine's Health Hotlines.
Taxes: Visit 1040 Central for the links you’ll need to file your federal tax return! Find out if you qualify for Free File, an online tax preparation and electronic filing partnership for your FEDERAL tax return. Locate federal IRS Forms and Publications for individuals, businesses, non-profits, etc. Go to Maine Fastfile to do your 1040-ME Fastfile individual income tax, or your sales tax internet filing, to check your refund status, or to use other Maine Revenue Services electronic services. Locate downloadable Maine Tax Forms or Publications. Apply for the Maine Residents' Property Tax and Rent Refund Program. Locate tax forms from other states.
Kids: have fun, learn about government, and gather information for reports and other homework from FirstGov for Kids and Ben's Guide to U.S. Government and kids.gov, the U.S. government interagency Kids' Portal. Locate Maine information or travel the U.N.'s Cyberschoolbus. Visit U.S.Dept. of Education Resources for Students.
To locate government publications in any federal depository library, including Portland Public Library, search the enhanced Government Printing Office catalog for federal documents, 1976 to the present, or browse federal government documents by subject to find publications on your topic.
Writing a term paper? Need to footnote government documents you have used? Go to Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications! For current events research visit Hot Docs: Government Documents in the News!
Have questions/comments/need assistance with a government documents question? Contact: shryock@portland.lib.me.us
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