The IPFW Helmke Library is a depository for United States government documents and also collects Fort Wayne area and Indiana documents. IPFW became a Federal Depository library in 1964. For a medium-sized academic library, IPFW houses a fairly large government documents collection. The library currently receives on deposit about 49% of the items available for selection. The selection based upon curriculum emphasis at IPFW and the perceived needs of the citizenry of Northeast Indiana. With graduate programs in business, education and public and enviromental affairs it has been important to collect extensively census, labor, commerce, education, environment, and congressional documents.
The Government Documents print collection is located on the second floor of the IPFW Helmke Library. Government microfiche, microfilm, CD-ROM, and print reference materials are located on the first floor. United States Geological Survey maps selected by IPFW (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, and Ohio) are located in the IPFW Geosciences Department, Science Building, SB 230. Most government publications at IPFW are catalogued and included in IUCAT Catalog, including the official electronic versions of these publications. IPFW has purchased a fine collection of access tools for government document information, including LexisNexis Congressional, LexisNexis Academic, LexisNexis Congresional Historical Indexes, CIS Index, and CIS Serial Set Index. In addition, since 1994 the Library has maintained the Public Information Reference Service (PIRS), a comprehensive electronic library of local, state, federal and international government information.
