About
Governments are involved in many activities affecting the populations they serve. They:
- Make rules we must follow
- Make decisions that affect us
- Provide services to and act on behalf of citizens and residents
- Study and discuss their jurisdiction and other jurisdictions from their own perspective
- Enter into agreements and contracts with other governments, organizations and individuals
- Collect and spend tax dollars
- The details of many of these actions are made publicly available in various formats, including printed books, electronic documents, websites, maps, statistics, databases and datasets, microforms, posters, flyers, press releases, advertisements and audio-visual materials.
Current information (and some older information) can often be found on the Web. Check out the guides listed on this page for help locating useful online resources.
Some older information is available only in hard-copy formats. We have a large collection of historical documents from Canadian and foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations. These collections, including microforms, are located on the lower level of Stauffer Library and can often be found using Omni.
Services
General reference assistance is available at the Stauffer Library ground floor Information Desk during regular service hours or by using the library's Ask Us service.
Specialized government information reference assistance is available on a drop-in basis or by appointment with the Open Government Librarian.