Waldo Library is a congressionally designated depository for U.S. Government documents. Public access to the government documents collection is guaranteed by public law. (Title 44 United States Code)
Please call the Waldo Library Service Desk at (269) 387-5059 for access to the FDLP Collection during open hours when a Bronco Card is required for entry (usually after 8pm).
The federal depository collection is made up of paper, microfiche, cds, and dvds. You can use Library Search to find material published from 1976 to the present. For earlier material, it is best to contact library staff with your inquiry.
Many U.S. Federal government publications are available in online format. You can search them using the databases on the "Databases and Print Resources" page or use LibrarySearch.
Paper, microfiche, CD, and DVD documents are shelved by Superintendent of Documents or SuDoc call number. Unlike a Library of Congress call number system, which organizes material by subject, the SuDoc number system organizes material by issuing agency. There is always a colon (:) in a SuDoc number.
A 13.28:H 94/5
A - This tells us that this document originates from the Department of Agriculture.
13 - This tells us that the publication comes from the Forest Service, an agency in the department.
.28 - This is the number for maps from the Forest Service.
:H 94/5 This is what librarians call a Cutter number. It represents a major word in the title of the document so that all of the maps in A 13.28 file in alphabetical order. In this case the H 94/5 stands for the Huron National Forest.
The title of this document is: Fishing the Huron National Forest.
In addition to cutter numbers, you can find; years, volume and issue numbers, and series numbers after the colon.
D 114.15:1989 This is an annual report covering 1989
EP 1.23/6:600/R-93/012 C This is a really long series number