Federal Documents

The United States government creates congressional bills, laws, regulations, presidential documents, studies, and other documents at a prodigious pace. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) (44 U.S.C. § 19) was established in 1813 as a means to preserve these publications by partnering with libraries across to country to act as custodians. Documents are organized according to Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) Numbers assigned by the Government Publishing Office (GPO).

The Thurgood Marshall State Law Library is a selective depository library, with the goal to collect and preserve items relevant to the state of Maryland, and the governance thereof, published by the federal government of the United States of America.

Fed Depository Library Logo

 

As the highest appellate court library in Maryland, the State Law Library is afforded considerable flexibility in document selection and retention with the understanding that its materials can be supplemented by those at other federal depositories.  The Library prioritizes electronic resources in its federal collection, with limited print publications.

Library staff can help with locating publications in the Federal Depository Library Program’s collection. You can also ask for assistance via the Library’s Ask a Maryland Legal Information Question page.

Accessing Federal Documents

Documents can be found via the library’s catalog, which provides direct links to digital versions of documents when available, many of which are accessible outside of the Library. For more targeted searching, on the Advanced Search page under Optional Filters, you can search for SuDoc numbers under the Government Document Number facet by choosing “More options…”.

In addition to documents relating to Maryland, the Library also provides access to:

The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. Available via: 

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles representing broad areas subject to federal regulation. Available via:

  • eCFR, current
  • HeinOnline, 1938-current (Online access may be restricted to in-library or Judiciary users.)
  • Westlaw, 2005-current (Requires Judiciary account)

The United States Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. A new edition is published every six years, with annual supplements. Available via:

  • GovInfo, 1994-current
  • HeinOnline, 1925-current (Online access may be restricted to in-library or Judiciary users.)
  • Westlaw, 1996-current (United States Code Annotated. Requires Judiciary account)
  • LexisNexis Digital Library, current (United States Code Service. Online access may be restricted to in-library or Judiciary users.)

The Supreme Court Reports compiles and publishes the opinions of the Supreme Court of the United States. There is a delay between the date of a Supreme Court Opinion and its publication in the official bound Report. Preliminary Prints are produced as standby documents and are available online. Available via:

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. Available via:

Congressional Bills are legislative proposals from the House of Representatives and Senate within the United States Congress. Multiple versions of a bill may exist depending on which chamber of the Legislature introduced it. Available via: 

  • GovInfo, 1993-current
  • Westlaw, current Legislative Session (Requires Judiciary account)
  • Westlaw, 1995-previous year (Requires Judiciary account)

The United States Code Congressional and Administrative News, published by Thomson Reuters, is a collection of selected congressional and administrative materials, including: Congressional Committee Reports, Executive Orders, Legislative History Table, Presidential Messages & Signing Statements, Presidential Proclamations, and Public Laws. Available via:

  • Westlaw, 1948-current (Requires Judiciary account)


The United States Statutes at Large, also known as the Statutes at Large, is the permanent collection of all laws and resolutions enacted during each session of Congress. Available via:

  • Congress.gov, 1951-current
  • GovInfo, 1789-regularly updates
  • HeinOnline, 1789-regularly updates (Online access may be restricted to in-library or Judiciary users.)
  • HeinOnline, most recent Public Laws not yet published in the U.S. Statutes at Large (Online access may be restricted to in-library or Judiciary users.)
  • Westlaw, 1789-1972 (Requires Judiciary account)


Conducting Federal Research

The Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, D.C. (LLSDC) has developed a Legislative Source Book, a project first started in 1992 with ongoing additions, corrections and updates. Useful sections of the guide to the researcher include:

 

Regional Resources

The University of Maryland’s McKeldin Library is the Regional Depository Library for Federal Depository Library Program Selective Depositories in the states of Maryland, Delaware and in the District of Columbia.

Maryland is also home to the Harford Community College Library, winner of the 2025 Federal Depository Library Program Depository Library of the Year award.

Other locations can be found on the United States Government Publishing Office’s Regional and Selective Federal Depository Libraries directory.

 

Key Online Resources

Federal Depository Library Program Resource Guides
These guides provide information about the Federal Depository Library program.

Federal Depository Library Program Web Archive
Hosted by Archive-It and built by the Internet Archive, the Web Archives provides access to older version of federal webpages.

A-Z index of US government departments and agencies
Contains government agency/department websites.

Congress.Gov
The official source of United States federal legislative information.

GovInfo
GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the United States Government.

DiscoverGov
DiscoverGov provides simple, one-stop searching across multiple United States Government databases including the Government Publishing Office’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) and GovInfo. It will retrieve reports, articles, and citations while providing direct links to selected resources and publications available online.

Government Publishing Office (GPO)
The Government Publishing Office produces and distributes information products and services for the three branches of the Federal Government of the United States.

Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP)
Beginning in 1813, the Government Publishing Office has provided government information to libraries across the United States through the Federal Depository Library Program.

Last revised 6/8/2026