The State and Urban Publications Collection at Mankato State College contains materials from state and local agencies on urban planning. By 1971, when the collection had grown to the point that its haphazard organization was decreasing its usefulness as a resource tool, the library and the Urban Studies Institute formulated an information retrieval system for the collection. The documents were shelved according to publishing agency. For each title, a punched card was prepared, using number and letter codes, with classification number, issuing agency, contractor or consultant, personal author, title, geographic location, series entry and up to ten subject headings. The cards could then be arranged in any desirable pattern, allowing the production of a variety of catalogs. A subject catalog was first produced, then a listing by geographic location which, because it followed the geopolitical shelving scheme, also served as a shelf list. Along with the file maintenance system, six computer programs were written for the production of catalogs. It is hoped that the system can be expanded to materials other than government documents. (SL)