Northwestern University Libraries have been a U.S. Federal Depository Library since 1876. Our collection includes materials in paper, microfiche, CD-ROM, DVD formats and online formats. This guide is based on a similar guide by Kelly Smith at UCSD.
Data.census.gov is the new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau and has been designed to simplify access to the Bureau’s many data products. This chart shows data available. The 2020 Census data will be released on this site.
Links to digitized collections provided by the Thurgood Marshall Law Library, U. of Maryland
and the Robert S. Rankin Memorial Library at the US Commission on Civil Rights
Justice and drug-related information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS).
Provides indexing and access to more than two million historical and current government technical reports of U.S. government sponsored research, 1900-present.
Full text of proposed legislation and its status in the legislative process and the full text of recently signed law. Provides information about current members of Congress and Congressional committees.
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings, debates, and activities of Congress. ProQuest has digitized the bound Congressional Record and its three predecessors, the Annals of Congress (1789-1824), the Register of Debates (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873). The Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection covers the period 1789-1997.
Hearings are the official record of committee hearings proceedings. The ProQuest Congressional Hearings Digital Collection provides digital access to a retrospective collection of hearings as a module available through ProQuest Congressional. The ProQuest Congressional Hearings Digital Collection includes abstracting, indexing, bibliographic information, and searchable PDFs for Congressional hearings from 1824-2010.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) was established within the Library of Congress to provide members, committees, and congressional staff with nonpartisan and objective research and analysis on all public policy issues. The ProQuest Congressional Research Digital Collection includes abstracting, indexing, bibliographic information, and searchable PDFs for CRS reports.
The U.S. Serial Set is a collection of U.S. Government publications compiled under directive of the Congress. It includes House and Senate documents and reports that contain comprehensive and often detailed information on an extremely wide range of subjects.
Covers the political, social, and economic development and forces in post-World War II America. Locate key information underpinning studies in international relations, American studies, U.S. foreign and domestic policy studies, journalism and more.
Data on key education and civil rights issues for use by the Department's offices, including the Office for Civil Rights, and other policymakers and researchers.
The mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement of civil rights.
Statistical information covering American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. Digest includes data from many sources, both government and private, and especially by the National Center for Education Statistics.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Assessments are conducted periodically in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, and U.S. history.
The Common Core of Data (CCD) is a program of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics that annually collects fiscal and non-fiscal data about all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States.
Data on African American education in the U.S. Most of the information is contained in other federal reports, but the 228-page report is useful as it collects data on African American educational attainment at all levels in one place.
Upward Bound provides fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. The program provides opportunities for participants to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits. Upward Bound serves: high school students from low-income families; and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree.
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all individuals, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.
Multi-year displays of crime data from the Uniform Crime Reports. Data tables and downloads, in multiple formats, are available. See the FBI Uniform Crime Report for data publications prior to 2019.
Annual statistical publications are produced from data provided by 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the US. Publications 2019 and earlier linked here. See the Crime Data Explorer for more recent data tables and downloads.
OJJDP sponsors research, program, and training initiatives; develops priorities and goals and sets policies to guide federal juvenile justice issues; disseminates information about juvenile justice issues; and awards funds to states to support local programming.
Open access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions.
1994 exhibit and resource guide to LC's African- American collections. Mosaic surveys the full range size, and variety of the Library's collections, including books, periodicals, prints, photographs, music, film, and recorded sound.
Coverage of federal judiciary websites, including Supreme Court, federal appellate courts, trial courts, and other tribunals. Sites include: slip opinions, transcripts, dockets, court rules, calendars, announcements, judicial biographies, statistics, educational resources, and reference materials.
The Archives holds a wealth of material documenting the Black experience. This page highlights these resources online, in programs, and through traditional and social media.
Issued on January 1, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln the Emancipation Proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
In 1973-1974, John H. White, a photographer with the Chicago Daily News, worked for the Environmental Protection Agency`s DOCUMERICA project photographing Chicago`s African American community.
Coordinates and facilitates Federal and non-Federal activities to commemorate, honor and interpret “…the history of the African American Civil Rights movement; the significance of the civil rights movement as a crucial element in the evolution of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and the relevance of the African American Civil Rights movement in fostering the spirit of social justice and national reconciliation.“
Coordinate preservation and education efforts nationwide and integrate local historical places, museums, and interpretive programs associated with the Underground Railroad.