Many government serial titles are only indexed in this publication. There is no subject or title access provided in the government publications card catalog. Such access is provided in various indexes, some of which have been mentioned above. There are no personal author, subject, or title cards in the documents catalog. The name used for filing will be the most specific agency responsible for the document's publication.
Government agencies do change or sometimes cease to exist.
You must know the agency's name at the time the document was published, which may not be the same as the current agency name, because that will be the name under which it is filed. Most documents received are represented by a card. However, if a document is part of a series, there may not be a title card for that document in the catalog. The document will be checked in by its series number. Journals or periodicals issued by the government are also listed in the catalog, although the complete record of holdings for a document journal is maintained elsewhere.