William & Mary Libraries is a selective federal depository library for the 1st Congressional District of Virginia. The depository collection is available to everyone. Patrons not affiliated with William & Mary may use print and microform collections in the library, and they may use designated workstations to access electronic government information. Non-affiliates do not have access to printers, which are on university-authenticated networks, but they may save government information to flash-drives on library computers. Patrons not affiliated with the university may be eligible to obtain a visitor library card to check out government information in tangible formats. For more information about the Libraries' collections, consult the research guide on Locating U.S. Government Publications.
William & Mary Libraries administers, develops, and provides access to the collection according to the requirements of Title 44, Section 1911 of the United States Code and the guidelines presented in the Federal Depository Library Handbook, as developed by the U.S. Government Printing Office and the Depository Library Council.
As a selective federal depository library, William & Mary Libraries has traditionally collected U.S. government information by selecting item series offered by the U.S. Government Printing Office. In 2009, the Libraries began to receive all bibliographic records for online depository titles via Marcive’s “Documents Without Shelves” catalog records service, and most new titles are available online. The library participates in a shared print preservation program with other members of the Association of Southeast Research Libraries. William & Mary serves as a Center of Excellence for Congressional Budget Office publications.