The United States Department of State is the US equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries. The Department was created in 1789 and was the first executive department established. The Department operates the diplomatic missions of the United States abroad and is responsible for implementing US foreign policy and diplomacy efforts.

The collection of publications of the US Department of State contains federal budget proposals, reports on the status of troops around the world, economic status reports on the nation's trading partners, summaries of urgent matters of national security, and more. These publications reflect the Department's responsibilities of protecting and assisting US citizens living or traveling abroad, assisting US businesses in the international marketplace, coordinating and providing support for international activities of other US agencies, and keeping the public informed about US foreign policy and relations with other countries.