Researchers looking specifically for government documents should add search.usa.gov to their repertoire.  This site, billed as the “U.S. Government’s official search engine,” is extremely useful when conducting a broad-based search for specific mentions inside of government records including minutes, staff reports or agency memoranda.  For example, if you are interested in learning the number of places a particular contractor or service provider has been retained within a particular state, this search engine allows you to enter the contractor name and limit your search to government records in that state.

This method is not a substitute for a universal (Google) search but is a wonderful (and targeted) complement.  For many researchers, this site will also provide a flavor for how the Bing search algorithm works since the site leverages Bing to produce its results.

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