Government Documents

The Federal Depository Library Program logo- a bird with some books.

The UW Law Library is one of over 1200 federal depository libraries in the United States. As part of the Federal Depository Library Program, the Law Library is committed to providing unrestricted access to tangible and electronic government publications for the university community and the general public. The Law Library has been a Selective Depository since 1981, and also houses some government documents for the Regional Depository library on campus.

Most of the collection can be found on the first floor of the library, where call numbers are Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) classification numbers.  All U.S. government publications distributed since mid-1976 are included in the Library Catalog and should be available in at least one campus library. Older publications can be located by using the United States Monthly Catalog of Government Publications shelved in the Reference collection (Ref  Z 1223 A18), or the online resource Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.


If you cannot find the document you want in the Library Catalog, please consult a reference librarian (608-262-3394) or the Documents Assistant (5th Floor, Room 5334; 262-2843).

To find out more about government publications and documents, check out the main campus library guide.