Federal Government Contracting
Information Search Strategies
The Library of Congress offers a variety of resources for
locating information on federal government contracting. They
include the online catalog, which is available both on site
and off site on the Web, as well as other other open-access
Web resources listed below. Our subscription indexes are
only accessible from an LC public workstation in an LC building.
Some databases may have full text, and we have tools to help
you identify them. When in doubt, you can always consult
a reference librarian.
Open Access Sources Subscription
Resources Further Reading
|
New Jersey Turnpike, 1952.
From the Gottscho-Schleisner
Collection
Reproduction Number: LC-G613-T-62221
Table of Contents
Introduction
Information Search Strategies
Rules of the Game
Opportunities Don't Always Knock |
|
|
LC
Subject Headings
|
|
Materials in the LC catalog are described using LC
Subject Headings, and using these to search is the
most effective strategy for using the catalog. Some suggested
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
In addition to LC Subject Headings, Keywords on
the topic of federal contracting may also be useful, especially
when searching other Web resources.
Some suggested Keywords:
 Top
of Page |
|
Portals & Gateways
|
Broad area search services on the Web are useful
for beginning any search for government-generated information.Below
are some recommended sites:
Government
Industry Data Mart (GIDM)
Portal for government/industry data exchange; annotated
links, electronic documents, procurement/ contracting data
links, library of forms, publications and guides (DLA).
Access to the CCR - The Central Contractor Registration
(CCR) system, the BINCS - Business Identification Number
Cross-reference System, and others.
GPO
Access
Official information from all three branches of the Federal
Government: GPO Access full text databases include Budget
of the United States Government, Code
of Federal Regulations, Federal
Business Opprtunities, and the Congressional
Record.
National
Technical Information Service
NTIS is the federal government's central source for the sale
of scientific, technical, engineering, and related business
information by or for the U.S. government and complementary
materials from international sources. Approximately 2.5 million
products are available in a variety of formats including
online, electronic, multimedia, CD-ROM , paper, and microfiche.
You can access information on more than 750,000 of these
products from this Web site.
Procurement
Gateway
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)
An integrated collection of automated systems providing
oversight for the management of procurement data from Defense
Logistics Agency (DLA) Supply Centers. Includes databases,
data, downloads and more.
SearchGov.
com
Links to any and all government agencies, independent agencies,
and state and local governments. Searchable by internet
domains.
STINET
Multisearch
Defense Technical Information Center, Scientific & Technical
Information Net work.
Access pertinent scientific and technical information over
a wide range of sources by selecting up to 10 databases
to search simultaneously or click on a database name for
direct access to a single database.
Top
of Page
|
|
Abstracting & Indexing & Databases Full
Text Databases
|
|
Online Abstracting & Indexing
Databases are often the best sources for current
information with a narrow scope, such as articles in journals,
newspapers, conference proceedings, and numerous other
sources publishing on a periodic basis.These electronic
databases are purchased on a subscription basis, and to
access them you must be in the Library of Congress, using
any public workstation. To see the complete list of currently
available databases, go to the Databases & E-Resources page.
Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA)
National Technical Information Service
Access to the latest U.S. government-sponsored research and
worldwide scientific, technical, engineering, and business-related
information. The National Technical Information Service is
the central source for the sale of unclassified and publicly
available information from research reports, journal articles,
data files, computer programs and audio visual products from
Federal sources (most reports cited in NTIS can be obtained
from the LC Technical
Reports & Standards section). NTIS also has a web-based search
engine. 1964 - current; updated weekly, with approximately
3,500 new records added.
Dun & Bradstreet
International Business Locator
Look-up over 28 million global companies; Locator provides
key business data including full address information, SIC
/ line of business details, business size (sales, net worth,
employees), names of key principals and identification of
this location's headquarters, domestic parent company and/or
global parent company.
Dun & Bradstreet
Million Dollar Database
Information on approximately 1,600,000 U.S. and Canadian
leading public and private businesses. Company information
includes industry information with up to 24 individual
8-digit SICs, size criteria (employees and annual sales),
type of ownership, principal executives and biographies.
EBSCO Research Databases
Academic Search Premier
Full text for more than 3,600 scholarly publications, as
well as indexing and abstracts for all 4,500 journals in
the database. Updated on a daily basis. Coverage: 1965 to
present.
EBSCO Research Databases
MasterFILE Premier
Abstracts and indexing for over 2,700 periodicals, plus searchable
full text for nearly 1,800 active periodicals; good source
for articles from general-interest or popular magazines.
Coverage: oldest periodical is 1984, while most start in
1990.
infoUSA
ReferenceUSA
Directory information for publicly and privately owned companies
in the United States and Canada, as well as information about
individual consumers in both countries. Compiled from over
5,000 Yellow page directories, Business White Pages, Corporate
Annual Reports, SEC 10K reports, Chamber of Commerce Directories,
state directories, and other public information sources.
Searchable by Yellow Page heading, Industry group, SIC code,
city or geographic area, employee size, sales volume, and
consumer name.
Mergent
Mergent Online
U.S. company data for over 15,000 public companies and their
SEC filings and U.S. annual reports. Also contains International
company data for approximately 17,000 companies, including
international annual reports, FactSheets, and country information.
OCLC FirstSearch
Business Dateline
Indexing and abstracts for over 535 regional publications,
Business Wire press releases, and major newspapers. Many
of the titles are also available in full text. Coverage:
1985 to the present.
OCLC FirstSearch
FactSearch
Statistical evidence and date-linked data from more than
1,100 mainstream and alternative serial sources. Includes
links to full text. Coverage: 1984 to present.
OCLC FirstSearch
Wilson Business Abstracts
Indexing and abstracts for over 600 publications; 50-to-150-word
abstracts written by subject experts for each article and
gives citations (but not abstracts) for book reviews. Include
links to many full-text articles. Coverage: 1986 to present,
abstracts since 1990.
OCLC FirstSearch
WorldCat
OCLC catalog of books and other materials in libraries
worldwide: all the records cataloged by OCLC member libraries,
with millions of bibliographic records, representing 400+
languages. Coverage: Before 1000 BC to present.
PolicyFile
Policy File
PolicyFile is the only electronic database indexing research
and publication abstracts addressing the complete range of
public policy research. PolicyFile draws its content from
public policy think tanks, university research programs,
research organizations and publishers. Coverage: 1990 to
present; updated weekly.
ProQuest
ABI-INFORM Global
Bibliographic citations, abstracts, and full text of articles
appearing in international business and management publications,
academic journals, and trade magazines published worldwide.
Coverage: 1971 to present.
ProQuest
Hoovers Company Capsules & Profiles
Company overviews, financials, histories, news, officers,
employees, locations and subsidiaries, products/operations,
and competitors on more than 18,500 public and private
U.S. companies and international companies.
ProQuest
Newspapers
Full text of 300+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes
coverage of 150+ major U.S. and international newspaper collections
Coverage:1986 to present.
Standard & Poor's
NetAdvantage
Information for the investor on markets and the economy.
Includes data and analysis of industries, companies, stocks,
bonds, mutual funds, indexes, and current news.
Thomas Register
Product information for U.S. and Canadian manufacturing companies
and the food service industry. Information for approximately
174,000 companies, compiled from the Thomas Register and
three volumes of the Thomas Food Industry Register, as
well as the Directory of Factory Automation, Products
Systems and Services, the Office Automation
Guide, and Industrial Equipment News.
Thomson Gale®
Business & Company Resource Center
Detailed company and industry news and information, including
company profiles, company brand and product information,
rankings, investment reports, company histories, news articles,
industry associations, and legal issues.
Thomson Gale®
InfoTrac OneFile
Articles from more than 6,000 scholarly, trade, and general-interest
periodicals, including 3,000 full-text. Coverage: 1980
to present.
Responsive Data Services
RDS Business Reference Suite
The RDS Suite allows you to search one or more of the databases
from Responsive Database Services: Facts, figures and key
events for international public and private companies, industries,
products, and markets for manufacturing and service industries.
Includes Business & Industry® , Business & Management
Practices , and TableBase™ . Covers
over 1360 leading trade magazines, newsletters, and the general
business press to international business dailies. Coverage:
1995 to the present.
Top
of Page |
Full text Databases
Much material in LC's subscription databases may actually be
available in full-text. To identify these resources:
From any LC public workstation main screen, click on the Electronic
Resources button, to go to the Databases & E-Resources page.
Select the link on that page to E-Publications & Tools (Electronic
Journals, Newspapers and Books).
This page contains three sections linking to resources
that provide access (either partial or full) to materials
in full-text online in addition to related links to other
freely available full-text resources.
- Full-Text Newspapers
- Electronic Books & Documents
- Full Text E-Journal Collections
The fourth section on this page, E-Journal
Search Tools contains links to three services
which list journals by title and link to subscription
services at LC which include those titles with full-text
options.
- EZB
- TDNet
- Serials Solutions
These materials are in constant flux; for up to date information
on holdings, consult a reference librarian.
Top
of Page |
|
Books
|
Bonthous, Jean-Marie. Bibliography
of business/competitive intelligence and benchmarking literature. [Washington,
D.C.], Washington Researchers, c1994. 246 p.
LC Call Number: Z7164.O7 B66 1994 (Business Reference Collection)
LC Catalog Record: 95168955
Cole, Peter S. and Joseph W. Beausoleil. Past
performance handbook. Vienna, Va., Management
Concepts, c2002. 320 p. Includes bibliographical references
and index.
LC Call Number: HD3861.U6C655 2002
LC Catalog Record: 2002018838
Appendix A-- Best Practices for Collecting
and Using Current and Past Performance Information.
Appendix B--A Guide to Collection and Use of Past
Performance Information.
Guide to contract pricing : cost
and price analysis for contractors, subcontractors, and
government agencies. 3rd ed. Edited by John Edward
Murphy. Vienna, Va., Management Concepts, c2001. 211
p.
LC Call Number: JK1673.M87 2001
LC Catalog Record: 2001265111
Appendix A--Checklist for Adequacy of Submitted
Cost and Pricing Data.
Appendix B--Glossary.
Hearn, Emmett E. Federal acquisition
and contract management. 5th ed. Los Altos, Calif.,
Hearn Associates, c2002. 350 p.
LC Call Number: KF849.H429 (Law
Library Reading Room)
LC Catalog Record: 2003269041
Appendices include Abbreviations & Acronyms, Glossary
of Terms, Contract Administration Office
Functions, Reference Documents and Supplemental
Readings.
Shannon, Rebecca A. Government proposals : cutting
through the chaos. Vienna, Va., Management Concepts,
c2001. 238 p. Includes index.
LC Call Number: HD3861.U6 S5
LC Catalog Record: 00067887
Appendix A--Checklists
Appendix B--Samples.
Stanberry, Scott A. Federal contracting
made easy. Vienna, Va., Management Concepts, c2001.
310 p. Includes index.
LC Call Number: KF850.S73 2001 (Law
Library Reading Room)
LC Catalog Record: 00049010
Top
of Page |
|
Serials & Selected
Articles
|
Most serial publications may be found in print
or online (or both) formats. In some cases, older issues may
be available in microform.
Most recent print issues will be found in one of the following:
BRS ... Business
Reference Services;
LL RR ... Law
Library Reading Room
MRR ... Main
Reading Room
NCP RR ... Newspaper & Current
Periodical Reading Room.
Contract management. [Vienna,
Va., etc.] National Contract Management Association. Monthly.
LC Call Number: KF842.C66 LL RR
LC Catalog Record: 79640277
Publisher's Web site: http://www.ncmahq.org/
Federal government contractor's
manual. San Diego, Harcourt Brace Professional
Pub. Annual.
LC Call Number: KF849.F363 BRS,
LL RR
LC Catalog Record: 2001202429
The Federal technology source
: who's who in government technology. Washington,
D. C., Government Executive. Annual.
LC Call Number: T58.5. F43 BRS,
MRR
LC Catalog Record: 94648412
Special annual issue of Government
Executive (see next entry).
Government Executive. Washington,
Executive Publications. 15 no. a year.
LC Call Number: JK1.G58 NCP RR
LC Catalog Record: 73006339
Online at http://www.govexec.com/
Includes: Top
200 Federal Contractors, FAIR
Act Report, & Digital
Government.
Public Contract Law Journal.
Chicago, Ill. : Section of Public Contract Law, American
Bar Association. Quarterly.
LC Call Number: K16 .U17 LL RR
LC Catalog Record: 70618216
Article abstracts available online at http://www.law.gwu.edu/pclj/
VARbusiness. Manhasset,
N.Y., CMP Publications. Biweekly.
LC Call Number: HD9696.C63 U59344 NCP
RR
LC Catalog Record: 87641551
Recent issues available online at http://www.varbusiness.com/
|
Selected Articles
The Basics of government contract administration. Contract
Management, June 2003, v. 43: 42A.
LC Call Number: KF842 .C66 LL
RR
LC Catalog Record: 79640277 Baur, F. Trowbridge vom. Early days of government
contract practice. Public
Contract Law Journal, March 1989, v. 18: 446-459.
LC Call Number: K16 .U17 LL RR
LC Catalog Record: 70618216
-
Bruce, Agnes Rodriguez. United States v. Winstar
Corp.: a case study in institutional government ethics. Public
Contract Law Journal, Spring 1997, v. 26: 397-421.
LC Call Number: K16 .U17 LL RR
LC Catalog Record: 70618216
-
Kelman, Steven. Remaking federal procurement. Public
Contract Law Journal, Summer 2002, v. 31: 581-622.
LC Call Number: K16 .U17 LL RR
LC Catalog Record: 70618216
Lindemann, Carl. How To Sell To the DoD --Whether
you're a veteran or a neophyte, you can profit from
these six steps to success. VARbusiness,
June 10, 2002.
LC Call Number: HD9696.C63 U59344
LC Catalog Record: 87641551
Wall, Richard J. and Carolyn M. Jones. Navigating
the rugged terrain of government contracts. Internal
Auditor, April 1995, v. 52: 32.
LC Call Number: Microfilm (o) 82/206 Request in the Microform
RR.
LC Catalog Record: 58038521 Microfilm
Record:
Webb, Cynthia L. The federal challenge: Federal
government IT is a red-hot market, but tech firms should
know a few things before jumping into the fray. Washington
Post.com Technews, Wednesday, March 27, 2002.
Available
online
|
|
The
Library of Congress >> Especially
for Researchers >> Research
Centers