Government: Federal

Freedom of Information Act

http://www.foia.gov/index.html

Here’s the primer site for information about the federal Freedom of Information Act which allows citizens, and thus journalists, to get records kept by the federal government. Most helpful, if you are seeking records, is this list of FOIA contacts for each agency.

GODORT

http://www.ala.org/rt/godort

This federal government website offers s a quick reference list of all of the topics with which the federal government is concerned. This website is sponsored by Vanderbilt University library and is updated regularly.

Harvard Think Tank

website

This page at Harvard University provides a searchable directory for dozens of think tanks. It also links to a world directory of think tanks from the National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA)

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/index.html

This is the website of the Library of Congress which houses a lot of the information about the history of the government and lots more. One of the coolest links on this website is Ask a Librarian which allows you to have an online conversation with a librarian at the Library of Congress who can help you find information you need.

State/Local Directory

http://www.statelocalgov.net/

This handy website is a way to search for every state and local government in the United States of America. There’s also a feature where you can choose a state and a specific department of the state and/or local government and search directly for that. This website is copyrighted to a private publishing company and many official government websites have linked to it.

USA.gov

http://www.usa.gov/

This is the official website of the United States government. It provides lots of information about the government and is organized very neatly by topic. One of the handy parts of this website is the complete list of all of the federal departments and  agencies. This website also links to the House of Representatives and the Senate, including info on members and the bills that they are currently addressing. To search for information in the federal government use the USA Search.

White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

This is the official website of the White House. It provides all the information on the current administration, plus lots of news involving the government. The website also goes into in-depth information. If you ever want to know specifically what the President’s plans entail – this is the place to look.

World Advocacy

http://www.worldadvocacy.com/

This is a list of all of many advocacy groups in the world from a Canadian company, Online Legal Marketing Ltd. The website lists advocacy groups by topic, such as civil rights, communications, travel, securities, etc.