Any member of the public may access U.S. government information in the Brown-Daniel Library as mandated by law.
Federal depository resources are available and usable for all library patrons irrespective of library affiliation, disability, age, technology barriers, residency, or other patron status. Providing free access to the depository collection is a fundamental obligation of all Federal depository libraries.
The authority for the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and the legal obligations of designated federal depository libraries are found in 44 United States Code §§1901‐1916.
All formats of government publications can be accessed during operational hours, but the collection does not circulate (i.e., unavailable for checkout). Some resources are accessible online. Access to the Brown-Daniel Library’s Government Documents guide is continuous. All who wish to use the government documents collection may do so.
Request for government information available in the Brown-Daniel Library collection, regardless of format, will be made at no charge. There is a $0.10/per page fee for photocopies. However, scanned documents may be printed at no charge. Scanning is also free, but requires users to have a thumb drive or online access to a storage cloud (e.g. OneDrive, Google Drive, etc.).
Research assistance for government information is available when reference staff is scheduled. You may ask for assistance at the Reference Desk at Brown-Daniel Library, and you will be directed to the reference librarian on duty. Please contact the Government Documents Librarian directly if you want in-depth assistance. The current Government Documents librarian may be contacted at the following phone number and email- 615-963-5207/akhan8@tnstate.edu
FDLP Internet Usage Policy
Patrons may access the internet to conduct legal research from designated public workstations located in the Reference Department, Second Floor. Legal research includes accessing the entire FDLP electronic collection and other subscription databases the library may make available. These workstations are unfiltered. There are no age or residency restrictions required for patrons to gain access to the library. Use of subscription databases when the library is closed is limited to TSU patrons only. In addition, public patrons may use the unfiltered guest wireless network, in accordance with the university’s acceptable use guidelines, to access all online government information from their own computers (licensed databases are not available on this network). Patrons must use a designated workstation to print.
This policy is based on the Legal Requirements & Program Regulations of the Federal Depository Library Program (LRPR) (updated 2018).