GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

All Levels

• National Contact Center of the Federal Consumer Information Center - Provides comprehensive coverage of Federal, State and Local government web sites. (Formerly called Government Information Exchange).
  
  
• University of Michigan Documents Center - Extensive groupings of links to government information ranging from local to international. A good source for government documents connected with major news stories.
  
  
• Google Government - This is the Google search engine but results are restricted to sites related to federal and state government.
  
  
• Public Record Locator - Search Systems - An aid in finding public records on the Web. Browse the alphabetical list for national sites or by state. All are marked free or pay (most are free) and many will give descriptions of the site. You may also conduct a simple or advanced word search. Useful for finding links to court records, sex offender listings, licenses, corporate reports and the like.

Federal

Directories

• Federal Web Locator - A very comprehensive list of links to federal agencies. It's intended to be the one stop shopping point for federal government information on the WWW.
  
  
• Government Information Sources - Provides alphabetical lists of links for categories such as government reference sites, major agencies, executive, judicial and legislative branches, and historic government document.
  
  
• U.S. Government Blue Pages Online Directory - Permits access to published federal blue pages for many U.S. cities. Also links to "America Anywhere", listing toll free and other customer service federal government numbers arranged by type of service rather than organization.
  
  
• United States Government Manual - Provides descriptions of each department of the federal government, as well as names of directors, addresses and phone numbers. Information is provided in both text and PDF format. This is an online version of the print source.

General Sites

• Federal Register Office - The Federal Register is a daily report of administrative rulings, presidential documents, proposed rules and notices. (Final rules and regulations and presidential executive orders are incorporated into the Code of Federal Regulations). Here you can link to the Federal Register, the CFR, the U.S. Government Manual, a weekly compilation of presidential documents and public papers of the presidents.
  
  
• FedWorld - Search for 420,000 U.S Government reports and documents. . Links to other federal sites. Site is maintained by the National Technical Information Service.
  
  
• FirstGov - Dubbed as the "official website for searching the U.S. Government", this was designed by the federal government to aid citizens in finding agencies and information. It blends search engine capabilities with agency lists.
  
  
• How to Effectively Locate Federal Government Information on the Web - Although designed as a hands-on workshop by a pair of Univ. of California librarians, it includes a large number of links in areas such as law and statistics.
  
  
• THOMAS: U.S. Government on the Internet - A comprehensive guide to Congress and congressional bills maintained by the Library of Congress. You can search and find bill summaries back to 1973 and full texts back to 1989. Provides extensive information on current legislation and directories of House and Senate members. Very easy to use.
  
  
• U.S. Legal Code - Allows a search of the code by keywords or by title and section number.

Selected Specific Agencies

• Copyright Office - Provides forms, information circulars and regulations.
  
  
• Government Printing Office - Basic information including an online book store.
  
  
• Immigration and Naturalization Service - Includes an extensive list of forms that can be downloaded in Adobe and printed, as well as a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions and information concerning all of the INS field offices.
  
  
• Medicare - The official U.S. Government Site for Medicare information. Includes news and updates, a comparison of nursing homes, answers to frequently asked questions, a directory of participating physicians and helpful contacts.
  
  
• Patent and Trademark Office - This official government site provides printable forms and searchable databases - including a trademark electronic search system.
  
  
• Social Security Online - Includes news and online copies of publications.
  
  
• United States Postal Service - Official site for the Post Office.Includes information on zip codes and rates, local post office locations and phone numbers.
  
  
• The White House - Official web site for the president and vice president as well as an information source for White House tours and history.

State and Local

• State of Wisconsin
  
  
• State of Illinois
  
  
• State of Indiana
  
  
• State of Michigan
  
  
• Kenosha County
  
  
• 50 States: States and Capitals - Not only does this provide quick links to each state's government site, it also organizes links to just about every type of state-related information you can imagine.
  
  
• State and Local Government on the Net - A very comprehensive compilation of links to counties and cities across the U.S. Also links to people and agencies within the executive, legislative and judicial branches of each state, and boards and commissions.
  
  
• State and Local Governments - Index of state and local government information from the Library of Congress.

Foreign

Consulates and Embassies

• Foreign Consular Offices in the U.S. - A complete and official listing of the foreign consular offices in the U.S., and recognized consular officers. Arranged by state and city. An online edition of the print source compiled by the U.S. Department of State.
  
  
• Bureau of Consular Affairs - Describes services available to Americans abroad, provides access to State Dept. travel warnings and consular information sheets, and links to U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide.
  
  
• EmbassyWorld - Allows you to find any countries embassy in any other country. Or find a list of a nation's embassies, a listing of US embassies worldwide or a list of other nations embassies in the US. It also provides calling codes, links to foreign phone books and an international voltage directory.

General Sites

• Governments on the Web - An access point for information on foreign governments. Contains more than 9,000 from 205 countries and territories. Includes data on embassies, central banks, parliaments, ministries and law courts. Very comprehensive.
  
  
• InfoNation (United Nations) - Provides customized statistical tables based on United Nations databases of 185 nations in 37 subjects, including geography, economy, population, and social indicators. Can be used to compare countries.
  
  
• United Nations - Maintained by the United Nations Department of Public Information.

Politics and Leaders

• Political Resources on the Net - A comprehensive directory of political sites available internationally on the Web. Searchable and sorted by country, includes political parties, systems, documents, elections, media and organizations.
  
  
• World Political Leaders, 1945-2001 - Lists political leaders with their titles and parties back to 1945.