ABSTRACT
Government documents matter at the Library of Congress. To fulfill its responsibilities to the United States Congress, the executive agencies, as well as to the larger scholarly community and the general public, the Library has long collected, catalogued, and made available the official publications of governments from all over the world. The Library of Congress prefers to take an active rather than a passive role in acquiring subnational-level publications, but only if more realistic priorities can be set. The Library of Congress considers the subnational jurisdictions of Western Europe to be important sources of research materials for inclusion in the collections of American research institutions. The Library of Congress is interested in putting Italy at the top of the list of countries being considered for cooperative acquisition efforts by US research libraries. The Library, in addition, receives a substantial number of maps from the subnational governments of West Germany through the US Department of State.
