The UC Berkeley Library public workstation computers provide access to all .gov and .mil websites and Library subscription databases. Free public wifi is available from the campus to all campus visitors, but this wifi does not provide access to the Library subscription databases. Libraries allow the public to pay to print, pay to copy/scan to print, and free scanning to a USB drive of documents from the collection. The following links provide further information.
Free public access to United States government documents in a federal depository library is guaranteed by law (44 USC §1911). While UC Berkeley houses one of the most comprehensive collections of U.S. government documents in the country, the Library is one of over a thousand Federal Depository Libraries across the United States, and one of several Federal Depository Libraries in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Documents received though the Federal Depository Library Program are housed in one of the 20+ libraries on campus that best match their subject, or off-campus at the Northern Regional Library Facility. For instance, documents on soil surveys will be found in the Biosciences Library, while maps will most likely be housed in the Earth Sciences and Maps Library. Use UC Search, Berkeley's catalog, to find documents you are interested in. For assistance in locating documents, contact Jesse Silva, federal government information librarian, or a campus library reference desk to begin your research.
All libraries housing U.S. documents are open to the public except the MAIN (Gardner) Stacks. See the box below for more information on how to access the MAIN (Gardner) Stacks.
Click on the image below to see a larger pdf version of the campus library map. For campus library contact information building addresses, and hours visit our directory.
Entry to MAIN is granted to members of the public for research purposes only, and access to federal government information is guaranteed by law. Members of the public have a few options to access MAIN (Click here for more information on this policy):
Note: While unaccompanied minors are not allowed in the MAIN Stacks, arrangements will be made for persons under age 18 to access the U.S. documents collection. Please use one of the forms of communication described in the paragraph above to make arrangements.
The Library has created several guides on finding U.S. government information. All of these guides contain links to Library subscription databases (off-campus access is restricted to current UCB students, faculty and staff) as well as free sources that can be accessed by anyone. Subscription databases can be accessed by anyone from Library computers.
Need help with research? Have a question about the collection or the UC Berkeley Library? Here are two ways to get in touch with me: