In Print

American Political Dictionary. Jack C. Plano and Milton Greenberg
Ninth edition. Harcourt Brace, 1993 Dictionary of terms, concepts, organizations and agencies in American politics.
Call Number: R 320.973 PLANO 1993
Locations: VA, VM

Best Guide to American Politics. Tom Waldman
Renaissance Books, 2000 This book explains how government world and how individuals can get involved. It covers the basics — the constitution, laws, how elections work — as well as more unusual information on how to become politically active in the local arena. Covered topics range from local PTAs to the U.S. Supreme Court to presidential assassination attempts.
Call Number: R 320.973 WALDMAN
Locations: RI, TC, VA

Congress A to Z: A Ready Reference Encyclopedia.
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1999 A quick reference guide to terms, events, issues and committees of Congress.
Call Number: R 328.73 CONGRES 1999
Locations: VA

Congressional Quarterly's (CQ) Almanac.
Congressional Quarterly, Inc. An annual compilation of the CQ Weekly Reports.
Call Number: R 328.73 CONGRES
Locations: VA

Congressional Quarterly's (CQ) Weekly Report.
Congressional Quarterly, Inc. A weekly magazine that covers activities in the United States Congress. It includes legislation in process, congressional hearings, congressional voting records and general political news. The articles are informative and readable.
Call Number: R 328.73 CONGRES
Locations: VA

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to Congress.
CQ Press, 2000 A two-volume set covers everything about the U.S. Congress from its inception in 1787 to 1999. It covers congressional history, powers, process, regulation, media relations, pay and benefits, elections, campaign financing and more. This source is very informative and has a good index.
Call Number: R 328.73 GUIDE T
Locations: VA

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Presidency. Michael Nelson, editor
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1989 Covers the origins and development of the United States Presidency and the Executive branch of government. Includes the powers of the Presidency, the relations between the President and other parts of the federal government, as well as the process for selection and removal of Presidents. Summaries of elections, historic lists of cabinet members and other executive officials, nominees for office, ratings and polls are also included.
Call Number: R 353.0313 CONGRESS
Locations: VA

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the United States Supreme Court. Elder Witt
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1990 Covers the origins, development and powers of the United States Supreme Court. This source discusses relations between the Court and the office of the President, and has detailed coverage of individual rights and of Supreme Courts views and decisions.
Call Number: R 347.7326 WITT
Locations: VA

Constitution and Its Amendments. Roger K. Newman, editor in chief
Macmillan Reference USA, 1999 An easy to read four volume set about the United States Constitution. Each Article and Amendment of the United States Constitution is analyzed with descriptions of its meaning, history and effects on government and American life.
Call Number: R 342.7303 CONSTIT
Locations: TC, VA

CQ Researcher.
Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Extensive factual reports, published by Congressional Quarterly. The reports cover a large variety of issues of current interest in the United States. They provide an excellent overview when one is beginning to research a topic that one knows nothing about.
Call Number: R 909.82 RESE
Locations: VA

Dictionary of U.S. Government Statistical Terms. Alfred N. Garwood and Louise L. Hornor, editors
Information Publications, 1991 An A-to-Z listing of over 1000 U.S. government statistical terms. For each term a short entry gives a definition of the term and the agency that uses it.
Call Number: R 317.3 DICTION
Locations: VA

Economics.
Grolier Educational, 2000 Covers a wide range of economic, financial and business subjects. Each volume has a specific theme. Volume 1: Money, Banking and Finance. Volume 2: Business Operations. Volume 3: The Citizen and the Economy. Volume 4: The U.S. Economy and the World. Volume 5: Economic Theory. Volume 6: Economic History. Use the index to find a specific subject.
Call Number: R 330 ECONOMI
Locations: TC, VA

Elections A to Z.
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1999 This is a quick reference guide to American elections. It covers terms, issues and historic events related to the campaign and election process at local, state and federal levels.
Call Number: R 324.6097 MOORE
Locations: VA, VM

Encyclopedia of Constitutional Amendments, Proposed Amendments, and Amending Issues, 1789-1995. John R. Vile
ABC-CLIO, 1996 Has short articles on constitutional amendments, proposed amendments, related legal issues and court cases.
Call Number: R 342.7303 VILE
Locations: VA

Facts on File.
Facts on File, Weekly publication A digest of news items. For the current year, issues with five to seven days worth of news are filed in a loose-leaf binder. Previous years' news digests are bound into annual volumes.
Call Number: R 909.8 FACTS
Locations: VA

Historical Guide to the U.S. Government. George T. Kurian, editor
Oxford University Press, 1998 Describes the history and function of Federal agencies, commissions and departments. This source looks at the way these different parts of the U.S. government have evolved over the past two centuries in an attempt to explain why they may or may not work effectively together.
Call Number: R 352.3097 HISTORI
Locations: VA

Presidency A to Z.
Second Edition. Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1998 A quick reference guide to the Presidency and the Executive Branch of government. Includes entries on federal departments, presidential powers and political concepts.
Call Number: R 353.0313 PRESIDE
Locations: VA

Protest Power and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women's Suffrage. Roger S. Powers and William B. Vogele, editors
Garland Publishing, 1997 An overview of non-violent actions (otherwise known as collective actions, demonstrations, boycotts, protests, or movements) around the world. One to six page articles cover events, organizations, biographies, methods and issues of non-violence in the twentieth century.
Call Number: R 303.6103 PROTEST
Locations: VA

SIRS Enduring Issues.
SIRS, Inc., Annual publication Volumes: Business, Environment, Family, Global Issues, Health, Human Relations, Institutions, Science. A collection of landmark articles on topics of ongoing interest and importance. Articles are selected from a variety of magazines and newspapers, and represent a wide range of perspectives on each topic.
Call Number: R 360 SIRS EN
Locations: VA, VM

Statistical Abstract of the United States.
United States, Government Printing Office, 1996 This annual publication contains statistics compiled by the U.S. Federal Government on a wide variety of topics. Most of these statistics have something to do with the United States, although sometimes comparative numbers from other countries are included.
Call Number: R 317.3 Un3s
Locations: All, ask at Information Desk

Vital Statistics on the Presidency: Washington to Clinton. Lyn Ragsdale
Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996 Uses tables and statistics to compare all the presidents. Major categories include: presidential policy making, relations with Congress and public opinion.
Call Number: R 324.6309 RAGSDAL
Locations: VA

West's Encyclopedia of American Law.
West Publishing Company, 1998 A 12 volume encyclopedia discussing laws, lawmaking institutions and legal issues and legal history in the United States. It includes articles on controversial or complex legal issues such as abortion, environmental regulations and labor relations.
Call Number: R 348.7303 WESTS E
Locations: TC, VA, WS

Web Sites

Access Washington The official gateway site for the State of Washington. Provides links to Washington State government documents, information and services. This web page is also available on designated Electronic Resource computers at your local community library.

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids Everything students might want to know about the government, including history, government branches, law-making and citizenship. Provided by the Government Priting Office.

CNN Headlines and news from around the world, from an American perspective. Articles can be retrieved by keyword searches or by browsing geographic links.

Council on Foreign Affairs The Council on Foreign Affairs is a non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing America's understanding of the world and to contributing ideas to the U.S. foreign policy debate. Their web site has collections of articles and speeches arranged by country or topic.

DefenseLINK Contains daily news articles and web links to official United States military and defense information.

FVRL News Search A collection of web sites and search tools for finding news items and current events on the Internet.

Gallup Organization Home page for the organization that conducts the "Gallup Poll" public opinion surveys. There are over 50 categories of poll topics, ranging from governmental policy, foreign affairs, and the economy to a variety of social issues. Gallup lists the questions asked, the results found and an interpretive analysis for each poll.

GPO Access Links to the full text of thousands of federal government publications. Publications include: the Constitution, the United States Code, Supreme Court Decisions, the Budget of the United States Government, Congressional documents, and many more. This web page is available on designated Electronic Resource computers at your local community library.

Heritage Foundation Contains studies on a wide variety of public and foreign policy issues from a conservative viewpoint.

Online Newshour This site is current to within 24 hours of breaking news. It covers all the transcripts of the Newshour with Jim Lehrer as broadcast on TV. Includes an index, archives, discussion forums and a special student section. RealAudio is available for some segments.

Project Vote Smart A comprehensive reference of the biographies, campaign finance information and voting records of elected officials: including congressional representatives, state legislators, governors and others.

Thomas Tracks activities of the United States Congress. It contains the full text of House and Senate Bills in progress, recently enacted laws (Public Laws) and committee reports. It also contains the Congressional Record, which publishes all the speeches and comments made in the House and Senate. This web page is also available on designated Electronic Resource computers at your local community library.

United States Department of State Web page for the government agency responsible for carrying out U.S. foreign policy. Includes news, press releases, policy statements, speeches and travel warnings for Americans.

Washington Law Help A clearinghouse of self-help legal resources useful to Washington residents. Information about divorce, landlord-tenant issues, government assistance programs, workers rights (among others) are given in an easy to read question and answer format. Topics can be viewed in English, Russian and Spanish. This web page is available on designated Electronic Resource computers at your local community library.