Selected Reference Sources in Government

• Defense and Foreign Affairs Handbook. 1976/77 - .
  [OLIN REF + UA 10 D31]

  An annual volume, arranged by country, that gives information on the history, defense structure, weapons, and the major news media of each country. There are some special sections which report on arms transfers, standard prices for certain arms types of weapons and the companies that produce them. Claims to provide political, economic and defense data on every country, colony and territory in the world. Also includes a select bibliography for the year.

• The Europa World Year Book Online. 2 vols in print version. London: Europa, 1989- .
  [OLIN REF D 2 E89; also Uris Ref]

  Provides statistical profiles of (and historical and cultural backgrounds to) countries of the world. Volume I surveys international organizations contains data for countries Afghanistan, through Jordan. Volume II starts with Kazakhstan and ends with Zambia. Good source of current data regarding all aspects of a nation's government. Continues Europa Yearbook, which was published 1959-1988.

  Europa also publishes several related volumes which focus on particular regions: The Middle East and North Africa; The Far East and Australasia, Africa South of the Sahara, and South America, Central America and the Caribbean. These provide the same statistical information as the Europa World Year Book but offer more detailed historical and cultural information about the countries as well as useful bibliographies. All titles are published annually.

• Guide to Country Information in International Governmental Organization Publications. 1996.
  [OLIN REF + Z 7164 G7 G93 1996]

  An excellent guide for identifying information about a given country published by numerous IGOs.

• Guide to Official Publications of Foreign Countries. 2nd ed. 1997.
  [OLIN REF Z 7164 G7 G94 1997]

  An excellent starting place for anyone researching the government publications of countries around the world. Helps identify what are the official publications of a particular country before attempting to locate them in the library.

• Handbook of Latin American Studies. 1936 - .
  

  An extensive online bibliography of material relating to Latin America. Also available in print in Olin Reference (Z 1605 H23). Since 1964, volumes for the Humanities (art, film, history, language, literature, music, and philosophy) and the Social Sciences (anthropology, economics, education, film, geography, government and politics, international relations, and sociology) have been published in alternate years. Each volume also contains special articles on particular phases of life and culture and inter-American relations.

• International Information: Documents, Publications and Electronic Information of International Government Organizations, 2nd ed. 1997.
  [OLIN REF JX 1954 .I59 1997]

• Jeffries, John. A Guide to the Official Publications of the European Communities. 2nd ed. 1981.
  [OLIN REF Z 7165 E8 J47 1981]

  As well as listing recent documents published by the various agencies of the European Communities, this guide provides clear, concise explanations of the history of the organization and of all of its subsidiary parts. In addition, the Guide describes in detail the publication commitments required of the Communities in different areas (i.e. Demography, Economics, Energy). Although much of the material listed is in Western languages there is a substantial amount of English language material as well.

• Latin America and Caribbean Contemporary Record. 1981/82 - . annual.
  [OLIN REF F 1401 L35835]

  Contains State-of-Affairs Reviews by country as well as chapters (e.g. Arms control, external debt, etc.), on topics important to the area. Statistical profiles.

• Lowery, Roger C. Political Science : Illustrated Search Strategy and Sources: with an Introduction to Legal Research for Undergraduates. 1993.
  [OLIN REF JA 86 L91]

  Offers a step-by-step approach to research in political science for undergraduates. Emphasizes US resources.

• Political Handbook of the World. 1975 - . annual.
  [OLIN REF + JF 37 P76; also Uris Ref]

  Contains political "data" on numerous regions and countries of the world, including a brief description of the area, the political background, a summary of the constitution, the foreign relations, and current issues. Also describes the major political parties, the legislature, cabinet, news media, and intergovernmental representation.

• Statesman's Year-Book: Statistical and Historical Annual of the States of the World. 1864 - . annual.
  [OLIN REF JA 51 S79; also Uris Ref]

  A manual of concise, reliable data about the governments of the world with information concerning the constitution and government, economic conditions, education, religion, defenses, agriculture, commerce, etc. The lists of statistical and other books of reference given for each country are often very helpful.

• Thomson, Ian. The Documentation of the European Communities: a Guide. 1989.
  [OLIN REF Z 7165 E8 T48 1989]

  Describes the range of publications produced by organs of the European Community, including primary and secondary legislation and explanatory background materials.

• World Human Rights Guide. 3d ed. 1992.
  [OLIN REF JC 571 H936 1992]

  Provides evaluative comparisons of the human rights situation in 104 countries, based on guidelines set in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various UN treaties.

• Yearbook of the United Nations. 1946/47 - .
  [OLIN REF JX 1977 A37 Y4; also Uris Ref]

  Summarizes the activities, proceedings, and decisions of the UN. Also includes texts of important resolutions.

• Air University Library Index to Military Periodicals. 1949 - .
  [OLIN REF + Z 5063 A2 U8]

  A subject index to significant articles, news, and editorials appearing in 77 English language military and aeronautical periodicals. An excellent source for articles on military and strategic affairs from an American standpoint.

• Historical Abstracts. 1967 - .

  Indexes and abstracts national, regional, and international journals, book and media reviews, dissertations, and books covering all branches of world history from 1450 to the present. Includes materials from archival, library, and historical society collections.

• International Bibliography of Political Science/Bibliographie Internationale de Science Politique. 1952 - .
  [OLIN REF Z 7163 I61]

  An extensive, classified listing of books, pamphlets, articles and official government publications in various languages produced under the auspices of UNESCO.

• International Political Science Abstracts. 1989 - .

  Prepared by the International Political Science Association and the International Studies Conference, the print version, International Political Science Abstracts/Documentation Politique Internationale [OLIN REF Z 7163 I62], goes back to 1951.

• IntlEc CD-ROM: the Index to International Economics, Development, and Finance.
  [OLIN REF DISK HD 72 I61]

  Contains the bibliographic portion of the Joint Bank Fund Library's online catalog. Includes information on economic development, international trade, and monetary policy, collected for the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic. Dates of coverage vary.
  

  A web-based database providing access to full text resources on topics including current and general news; business and financial information; newspapers; company directories; government and politics; medical and health topics; accounting, auditing, and tax; federal and state laws; legal cases; and regulations. Resources include TV and radio news transcripts. Updated daily.

• Peace Research Abstracts Journal. 1964 - .
  [OLIN REF + Z 6464 Z9 P35]

  This monthly service regularly abstracts more than 250 periodicals as well as books. Its scope includes not only publications on peace, but also those on disarmament and international relations.

• ProQuest Research Library. 1986 - .

  Indexes and abstracts over 2,500 periodicals, covering general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. Also included are citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs.

• Periodicals Contents Index. 1770 - 1993 [as of 8/98; the date continuously moves forward]
  

  A web-based index to several thousand journals in the social sciences and humanities, covering all but the most recent literature. The scope is international, including journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other languages.

• PAIS International. 1972 - .
  

  Contains citations to public policy literature of economics, government, law, international business, political science, public administration, and other social sciences. It includes references to journal articles, books, government documents, reports and pamphlets in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Covers many periodicals in these subjects not indexed elsewhere. Available in print in Olin Reference as: Public Affairs Information Service, Bulletin, 1915 - . [+ Z 7163 P97].

• Social Sciences Citation Index [SSCI]. 1988 - .
  

  Covering over 2,000 journals in the social sciences (some selectively), SSCI is a database of bibliographic information, indexed to be searched by subject, author, journal, and/or author address. SSCI can also be searched for articles that cite a known author or work. Cited reference searching allows use of a given work as if it were a subject term, to identify more recent articles on the same topic.

• World News Connection.

  A web-based information system providing local news coverage of issues and events from Central Eurasia, East Asia, Near East & South Asia, China, East Europe, West Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. WNC provides access to the full text of speeches, TV & radio broadcasts, books, and reports from the past 2 years. The material is wide-reaching with an emphasis on political, socioeconomic, scientific, technical, and environmental information. Generally, the information in WNC is available within 48-72 hours from the time of the original publication or broadcast. All material is translated into English.

• Access UN. current two years only
  

  Provides access to current and retrospective United Nations documents and publications. Updated monthly.

• The Arms Control Reporter. 1982 - .
  [OLIN REF JX 1974.7 A73]

  A chronicle of treaties, negotiations, and proposals.

• Basic Documents on Human Rights. Brownlie, Ian, and Guy S. Goodwin-Gill, eds. 4th ed. 2002.
  [Olin Ref K 3238 .A1 B76x 2002; also Law Ref]

  Contains the text of selected documents concerned with human rights. Included are contributions from conventions sponsored by the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, and various European conventions. There are specific chapters, as well, on developments in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The Table of Contents lists all documents included. Coverage begins in 1939.

• Declassified Documents Reference System. 1975 - .
  online and [OLIN MICROTEXTS Microfiche 195 and 195A]

  In 1975, as a result of Executive Order 11,652 and the Freedom of Information Act Amendments, thousands of documents have been and continue to be declassified and released to the public. Cornell has these documents in microfiche in the Microtexts area on the lower level of Olin Library. Descriptions of the documents are available through the bimonthly Declassified Documents Catalog located in [OLIN REF Z1223 A1153]. Also available on CD-ROM in Olin Reference [Disk Z 1223 A1152 D287].

• European Access. 1980 - .
  [OLIN REF + HC 241 A1 E89]

  Although cumbersome to use, this is one of the few sources that indexes publications of the European Union.

• European Union.
  

  This is the official EU homepage. Other useful sites for the EU are: The European Union in the US, from the US office in Washington DC, and Researching the European Union, an essential guide to anyone doing research in this area; print copies available in Olin Reference.

• Instat: International Statistics sources : Subject Guide to Sources of International Comparative Statistics. Fleming, Michael C., ed. 2 vols. 1995.
  [OLIN REF ++ Z 7551 I59 1995]

• United Nations.
  

  The official homepage for the UN, and a good link to numerous documents available full text online.

• US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers. 1965/74 - . biennial, 1991/92 - .
  [OLIN REF + UA 17 U581; also Uris Ref]

  Provides easily accessible information relating to military expenditure, arms transfer and related data for 145 countries. It is divided into two main parts: (1) Topical Essays (for example, Militarism, Force Ratios, and Marxism); (2) Statistical Tables.

Subject Guides provide ciations, annotations, and links to resources selected by Cornell reference librarians.

Question Authority! The Internet is a very democratic tool, in that anyone can write or say virtually anything they wish to on it. As you would do with books and journal articles, look to see who is responsible for producing the web page or site that you are accessing. Does the individual or institution have a particular bias or concern or agenda in presenting their information. How objective is the information? How accurate or truthful? How authoritative?

• Five criteria for evaluating Web pages

• Subject Research Guides

• Library Web Servers World-Wide

• The Chicago Manual of Style. 14th ed. 1993.
  [OLIN REF Z 253 C53; also Uris Ref]

  One of the standard works used by authors and editors in all fields. Offers practical information and advice on all aspects of manuscript preparation.

• Garner, Diane L. The Complete Guide to Citing Government Information Resources: A Manual for Writers and Librarians. rev. ed. 1993.
  [OLIN REF Z 7164 G7 G23 1993; also Uris Ref]

  An excellent resource for citing government documents correctly.

• Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 1995.
  [OLIN REF Z 253 M68 1995; also Uris Ref]

• Li, Xia. Electronic Styles : a Handbook for Citing Electronic Information. 2nd ed. 1996.
  [OLIN REF PN 171 D37 L68 1996; also Uris Ref]

• MLA Style Manual.
  

  These guidelines on MLA documentation style are the only ones available on the Internet that are authorized by the Modern Language Association of America.

Revised 7 September 2006 [MOE]

Created by Susan Szasz Palmer, webified by Mark Siegal
URL: http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/govweb.htm

Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu