Library Catalog

Information Gateway’s library is here to help you find the information you need. Learn about borrowing materials, visiting the library in person, getting help with a reference question, and other services provided by our library.

Who can check out materials from the Information Gateway library?
Children’s Bureau staff can check out physical library materials for an unlimited amount of time and can fully access our digital collections.

Much of our digital collection is available to the general public through downloads from our library catalog or directly from the publisher. The library’s physical collection, however, is not available for circulation to the general public. The general public should work with their local public, community college, or university library to request materials they are interested in but that are not accessible to them through our library.

Children’s Bureau staff: Do you need a book or article that isn’t available online? Email a librarian to request it, and we will seek to obtain it and send it to you. We will review it for inclusion if it is not already in our collection.

How do I get help with a reference question?

Expert reference librarians are available to assist with research and provide answers to reference questions received by email.

 I’m a staff member of the Children’s Bureau. How do I get a library account?

Send us an email to request an account.

Help! My question is not on this FAQ!

Ask a librarian about any questions you may have about the library.

Do you need help searching the Information Gateway library catalog? Here are some tips to help you easily find what you’re looking for. Access our thesaurus to find keywords to enhance your search for more tailored results.

Still need help finding what you need? Ask a librarian

Basic Search Tips and Features

To find a resource in our library, use the search bar on the library webpage to search by author’s last name, title, subject, publication date, and more. Try these tips to refine your search results:

• When coming up with a search term, keep it simple and try to choose a word (or a few words) likely to appear in the document.
• Filter your results by resource type, peer-reviewed articles, date, and more.
• Use quotes around your keywords to search for that exact phrase.
• Use the following search operators for more specific results:
• Use AND between the keywords to narrow your search.
• Use NOT between the keywords to look for results that exclude more than one keyword.
• Use OR between the keywords to expand your search.
• Search terms are not case-sensitive, so “Child Abuse” will give the same results as “child abuse.”
• Fewer words in the search will result in a greater number of results.

Using Symbols in Searches

Special symbols can be used as shortcuts to help you search more efficiently. Below is information about how to use the asterisk, comma, question mark, and ampersand to enhance your searches for similar terms or all forms of a word without performing multiple searches:

• Use the asterisk (*) at the beginning or end of a search term to search for the base word as well as any words with a different prefix or suffix. For example, "child*" will show results containing "child" as well as "childlike" and "children."
• Use a comma (,) in a search term to mean “or.” For example, “substance abuse, drug abuse” will show results containing “substance abuse” OR “drug abuse.”
• Use a question mark (?) in a search term to show results with any single character substituted into the space the question mark occupies. For example, “adop?” will show results containing words that have a single letter after “adop,” such as “adopt” but will exclude words such as “adoption” (since it has more than one letter after “adop”).
• Use the ampersand (&) in a search term to mean “and.” For example, “parent & community” will show results containing both “parent” and “community.”

Getting the Most Out of Your Results

After you get your search results, use the following tips to help save and use the information:

• Use the Pin icon on the right of each search result to save the resource to your favorites.
• Once your search is complete, select the Pin icon in the upper right to access your favorites. Select the three dots next to “My Favorites” to find options to email or print your results.
• Easily generate citations for each result.

Child Welfare Information Gateway shares materials gathered from child welfare professionals that may be of interest to professionals working with children and families across the country. While library staff have access to and collect materials from a variety of sources, they need help identifying additional resources that may support others in child welfare. By collecting and sharing these local materials, the library can help child welfare agencies across the country access a greater knowledge base that aids in policy development and practice improvement.

1. What materials can I submit to the library?

Information Gateway library staff collect an assortment of child welfare literature that covers child maltreatment prevention, out-of-home care, adoption, and more. The following are examples of the types of materials we collect:

• Peer-reviewed articles
• E-books
• Grantee final reports
• Training resources or curricula
• Program reports or evaluations
• Research papers
• Graphics, videos, and audio files
• Resource materials for families in English and/or Spanish

These materials come from a variety of sources, including national, State, Tribal, or local child welfare organizations' websites; national conferences; and resources by Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments.

Materials should be complete and in final form for distribution; Information Gateway does not distribute drafts. A reader should be able to use or adapt the material easily for their own use.

2. How can I submit materials to the library?

Send the following to library@childwelfare.gov: 

1. Cover letter (as an attachment or in the body of the email) with the following:

• Title and date of the document and the name, address, and phone number of the agency, organization, or individuals that created the materials
• Indication of whether there was funding from an outside group for the materials (e.g., foundation, State or Federal agency)
• Suggested citation for the product
• If copyrighted and not available via electronic distribution, information about where users can obtain a copy of the product
• If not copyrighted and not available via electronic distribution, indication of whether to contact the author or distributor to download, purchase, or otherwise receive copies (if the author or distributor wishes to keep control of distribution)

1. Electronic copy of the materials in PDF or Microsoft Office file formats (e.g., MS Word, MS PowerPoint). Please do not send Zip files as our network does not accept these files.

NOTE: Information Gateway highly recommends that you also put the suggested citation on either the first or second page of the materials you submit to further assist users in correctly citing your work.

3. What will Information Gateway do with the submitted materials?

Staff evaluate all new resources for scope, subject matter, and content to ensure they are relevant to our audiences and are in an appropriate format. Preparing materials for section 508 compliance before submission is highly recommended. Accepted items are abstracted, catalogued, and tagged with subject terms from the Information Gateway library's taxonomy of controlled subject headings to assist with searches and retrieval on the website.

The following are the actions Information Gateway can take with the materials once they are accepted and made available through the library:

• Refer users to the author or distributor to download, purchase, or otherwise receive copies (if the author or distributor wishes to keep control of distribution)

The following are actions Information Gateway staff cannot take with the submitted materials:

• Copy and distribute print copies of materials
• Allow downloads of copyrighted works
• Sell materials for authors or distributors

Information Gateway staff thank you for your interest and support. Materials you share with us will advance knowledge exchange across the country and enhance the work of child welfare professionals.

If you have questions relating to this policy, please contact our library staff at library@childwelfare.gov