Lockwood Library became a selective federal government depository in 1963. The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) forwards to depository libraries copies of government publications without charge. Selective depositories receive only those items they choose to acquire. Depositories assume the responsibility of making the documents available to the entire community when receiving them gratis.

In UB's context, that means the University community, as well as the public at large. A more detailed description of the depository system and for an audio description.

Although becoming a depository in 1963, Lockwood Library still holds a wide variety of Congressional materials and census publications from the eighteenth century, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Most federal government titles owned by UB are listed in the Libraries Catalog.  U.S. federal documents may be  located on the first floor of Lockwood Library or in the regular Lockwood stack areas.

The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System Central Library (Lafayette Square) became a depository library in 1895 and holds many of the earlier materials unavailable at UB.

These core U.S. Government resources are made available at all Federal depository libraries. 

Highlights include: 

• Congressional Record - The official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published daily when Congress is in session. (Note: This is the daily edition. There is also a bound edition.)
• Federal Register - The daily publication of the rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, along with executive orders.
• govinfo - A database providing authenticated access to official publications from all three branches of the U.S. Government.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) - A resource for occupational and career information, providing profiles on a majority of jobs in the United States. Profiles describe the work environment, education and training needed, a ten year outlook, and median pay for workers.