Even if you think you are a whiz at knowing what makes up our federal government with all of its moving parts, it never hurts to have a review source. Better yet, it never hurts to have a more detailed source of contacts than what you find at public government websites. Here is where The United States Government Manual 2013 (Federal Register) comes in. Since it’s not always what you know so much as whom you know, this resource actually shows you both.
The United States Government Manual is quite simply the official handbook of the Federal Government. What if you need the phone number of the department that’s in charge of keeping snow shoveled from the Capitol sidewalks? What if you want to submit a resume and cover letter to the Smithsonian, but need to know the name of the human resources director? Or who would you need to subpoena in order to obtain documents previously held by the now-defunct Coal Mines Administration Department? Hundreds of names and phone numbers come together in this handy manual. In addition, there are complete lists of federal acronyms and abbreviations, organizational charts, and the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution for quick reference. This resource is also available online, but flipping through the pages lets a user actually see the depth and detail of information possible. This book is on our reference shelf, so come in to look it over and decide if this is something you need on your own bookshelf. Meanwhile, check out its Table of Contents.
