United States Government

San Francisco Public Library was designated a federal depository library in 1889. The Federal Depository Library Program is part of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) under Title 44 of the United States Code. Depository libraries provide free, local access to publications of public interest and educational value from all branches of the Federal government.

The collection is partially accessible to the public in the reference area on the 5th floor but, because of the size of the collection, most documents have to be requested from the staff.

Bibliographic access to the collection is through the online catalog or the in-house card catalog. Several databases, available through the library's Electronic Resources, are also finding aids to the collection. The databases are WorldCat, GPO, Congressional Universe, and Statistical Universe. The collection does not circulate but CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs can be borrowed for a short time on special permission.

With the increasing reliance upon the Internet to disseminate government publications, depository libraries provide computer equipment for library users to access online and other electronic government information. Depository libraries also make available the following GPO services to help users of all ages find Federal information:

• GPO Access is mandated by law as the official government information online source.
• U.S. Government Online Bookstore is the official source for Federal Government publications sold by GPO. It provides easy online ordering.
• Ben’s Guide to U.S. Government for Kids serves as the educational component of the government, providing learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. It has a locator service to other U.S. Government Web sites developed for kids.