Home | Government Publications | Government Publications Research Guides | Government Resources for Writers

Government Resources for Writers

Introduction

Writers are constantly on the lookout for inspiration and research sources. One rich but often-overlooked resource is government publications, which are widely distributed, often in the public domain, and have networks of dedicated depository libraries to provide access. Need more ideas? Ask A Librarian!

General

Useful catalogs and online archives where you can search for government publications:

• California State Library catalog: We have a ton of government publications in our catalog. Some link to online versions.
• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications: Search for United States government publications. Some link to online versions
• The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Reality: This fabulous blog guides you to government resources for both broad categories like “plot inspiration” and narrow topics like “historical National Park Service uniforms.”
• HathiTrust: Libraries have contributed many digitized government publications to this archive.
• Internet Archive: You can find many digitized government publications in this archive. Use their Wayback Machine to view archived versions of government and other websites.
• WorldCat: This union catalog for thousands of libraries worldwide helps you find all kinds of resources.

Visual Inspiration

Striking images can inspire your characters, setting, plot, or the mood of your work. Here are a few of those available online. Don’t forget that there are even more available in print.

• Artwork and Photography (U.S. Army Center of Military History): Did you know that the U.S. Army has an official art program? Browse some of their art and photographs from the 20th and 21st centuries.
• NASA Image and Video Library (NASA): Search dozens of NASA media collections for outer space inspiration.
• Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress): A vast range of photographs, posters, and art by government and non-government creators.
• U.S. Government Posters Collection (University of Iowa Libraries): From fine art posters depicting each U.S. state to an Indiana Jones-inspired take on how service members should respond if captured.
• Visions of the Future (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory): This extraterrestrial “travel poster” series hearkens back to the WPA national parks posters.

Characters

Your characters need names and backgrounds. Here are a few sources to flesh those out.

• Popular Baby Names (Social Security Administration): Browse the most popular baby names in the U.S. by decade from the 1880s to present.
• Top 100 Baby Names for England and Wales, 1904-1994 (UK Office for National Statistics): Browse the most popular baby names in England and Wales by decade of the 20^th century.
• American Presidency Project (John Woolley and Gerhard Peters, U.C. Santa Barbara): Is your character the President? Do they know the President? Do they listen to the President’s speeches? Find out what U.S. Presidents actually said and wrote.
• Census Bureau data: The Census Bureau knows how many people live in your character’s U.S. hometown, what the median income is, and what occupations residents hold. Is it a historical novel? Check out the digitized decennial census volumes all the way back to 1790.
• Governors’ Gallery (California State Library): Biographical sketches, bibliographies, budgets, speeches, executive orders, and proclamations of California Governors. Don’t forget California’s First Ladies!
• Patriots of Color: “a peculiar beauty and merit”: African Americans and Native Americans at Battle Road & Bunker Hill (George Quintal Jr.): Discover real Patriot soldiers of color your character could meet — or be.

Plot

What challenges do your characters face?

• Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication (NASA):Your characters have detected a signal from an alien planet! How do they figure out what the aliens are saying? NASA has a few ideas.
• Art Crime Team (Federal Bureau of Investigation): Does your story include an art heist or art crime investigators who track down stolen masterpieces? Check out the FBI Art Crime Team and the National Stolen Art File for ideas.
• Fatality and Catastrophe Investigation Summaries (OSHA): Does something terrible need to happen at your character’s workplace?
• Simple Sabotage Field Manual (Office of Strategic Services): Uncle Sam explains how to weaponize boring meetings and burn down warehouses.

Setting

What is the world around your characters like? Find details about the land, weather, and more.

• Astronomical Applications (United States Naval Observatory): Need to know the moon phase and time of moonrise in Tucson on June 4, 1993? The Naval Observatory has you covered.
• Climate Data Online (National Centers for Environmental Information): Should your characters be suffering through a cold snap? Some datasets extend back to the 18th century. Go even farther back in time with Paleoclimatology Datasets.
• Exoplanets (NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program): Are your characters literally on another planet? Find exoplanets and learn what they’re like!
• The National Map (United States Geological Survey): Get the lay of the land, past and present, with maps from the U.S. Geological Survey.
• PLANTS Database (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service): What plants grow in your setting? Which are endangered?
• World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency): Get the basic facts about the country your story’s set in.

Daily Life

What do your characters eat and drink? What do they wear? How much money do they make? Try adding terms like “cookbooks” or “clothing” to your searches or ask a librarian to find more.

• Aunt Sammy’s Radio Recipes (Ruth Van Deman and Fanny Walker Yeatman): Your American characters are having dinner in the 1930s. What are they eating? “Aunt Sammy” might suggest beef tongue with wilted dandelion greens, fried potato cakes, and banana pudding.
• Budget for a Self-Supporting Working Woman (California Industrial Welfare Commission): Add detail to your character’s life with this guide. Can she afford those girdles?
• Home and Garden Bulletins (U.S. Department of Agriculture): Get authentic details of (mostly) 20th century clothing styles, mending and cleaning tips, recipes, and more. Also check out other USDA publications series. For documents which don’t link to full text copies, search for the titles online or ask a librarian.
• How to Make Punches & Other Mixed Drinks with California Wines: 58 Easy Recipes for Year-round Refreshment (California Wine Advisory Board): It’s 1950s California. How about a sherry-grapefruit fizz?
• Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics): How much does your character earn as a butcher, baker, or candlestick-maker?
• Recipes for Cooking Muskrat Meat (Herbert L. Dozier, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service): World War II is raging and popular meats are rationed. How about muskrat instead?
• A Standard Dietary for an Orphanage: Written for the State Board of Charities and Corrections (Adele S. Jaffa): Cottage cheese, bread and butter, and “cereal coffee” for supper? If this was an aspirational menu, just think what real, struggling California orphanages were serving in 1915.

Technical Details

Maybe your character is a scientist or medical researcher. Maybe they encounter something which you need scientific knowledge to describe accurately. Or maybe they need to know how to handle their 8-inch howitzer. Try some of these sources for those little details.

• Biodiversity Heritage Library: Both government and non-government biodiversity literature spanning centuries. Yes, it has the ever-popular back issues of California Fish and Game!
• Medline Plus (National Library of Medicine): User-friendly information on topics like genetic diseases, medications, and first aid.
• National Technical Reports Library: All sorts of technical reports, including actual rocket science. Also check out TRAIL.
• Patent Public Search (United States Patent and Trademark Office): If you need to know exactly how an invention works, view the official patent documents.
• PubMed Central (National Library of Medicine): Free, full-text biomedical and life sciences journal articles.
• Science.gov: Search over 60 databases and 2,200 websites for U.S. government science information.
• Technical Manuals (United States Army): Need to know how to handle Army weapons and equipment? Read the manual! Once you find a record, search for the manual online or ask a librarian to locate a print copy. Tip: go to the “Publications” tab of the menu bar for even more Army publications.
• WorldWideScience (WorldWideScience Alliance): Search over 70 nations’ scientific databases and websites through this portal.

Prose

Looking to the government for writing tips isn’t always a good idea, we admit. But occasionally, a government employee who has had enough of gobbledygook has some good advice.

• Gobbledygook Has Gotta Go (John O’Hayre, U.S. Bureau of Land Management): Though aimed at non-fiction writing, some tips may help your fiction as well.