Government Information Sources
for Historical Research
For general introduction to government publications in Pickler Library and comprehensive links to government publications on the Web, please check Pickler Library's Government Publications page.
Federal (U.S.) Documents
Legislative Information Sources
Legislative information sources cover all issues brought before the U.S.
Congress. There are different access sources for these types of federal
documents depending on the status of the legislation.
A. Congressional committee hearings, reports, and prints are documents issued by Congress relating to bills or acts that are under consideration at the committee level. Hearings may include any or all of the following: transcript of testimony, committee discussion, and supple- mental material such as exhibits, reports, statistics, etc. Committee reports contain the text of proposed legislation and may also include cost analysis, committee rationale, and minority views on the issues discussed. Committee prints are reports commissioned by a committee which generally include background information on proposed legislation.
To find congressional committee hearings, reports, and prints use the CIS Index.
1789 -1969 available on the CIS Congressional Masterfile CD-ROM database by
the Reference Desk,
1970+ available through
LexisNexis Congressional
on the Web.
The above indexes are also useful for finding legislative histories of important legislation. The CIS Index is also available in print form, REF KF 49 C62. The actual documents are available in Pickler Library on microfiche in the micromaterials room on first floor.
B. There are two important sources for locating records of House and Senate floor action.
Congressional Record. Please check Guide to Congressional Record to find it in different formats/names published in different periods of time.
House Journal and Senate Journal.
These contain daily session minutes and records of action, including motions
and votes. They do not contain transcripts of floor debates.
These are available on microfiche in the micromaterials room.
Use the CIS Congressional Masterfile CD-ROM index to identify House or Senate
Journals by congressional session.
C. House and Senate Reports and Documents are included in the Serial Set. This collection of documents dates back to 1789 and includes internal congressional publications such as manuals and journals, reports on private and public legislation, reports of congressional investigations, and annual and special reports from executive and nongovernment agencies. The Serial Set is available on microfiche in the micromaterials room on first floor. The earlier documents from 1789-1817 are also known as the American State Papers and they have been printed separately as the National State Papers of the United States, 1789-1817. Pickler Library has this set in print for the presidencies of George Washington, J 82 A1 T49 and John Adams, J 82 A2 T49.
Use CIS Congressional Masterfile CD-ROM index to identify House and Senate Documents and Reports by topic.
An important Internet site for Congressional information which is provided by the Government is THOMAS.
Executive Branch Information Sources
The executive branch information sources include the following types of
materials.
A. Public presidential papers are available in Pickler Library for many U.S. Presidents. See:
- Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. J 80 A283 Library has 1929-1933, 1945-1993 Use The Cumulated Indexes to the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (J 80 A2832) to access this series.
-
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents.
1965+ Periodicals J 80 A284
1995+ Available on the web through GPO Access
- A Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States, September 5, 1774-March 4, 1881. 2 vols. REF Z 1223 A 1885A. Covers all three branches of government.
- A Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government, 1881-1893. 2 vols. REF Z 1223 A 1905B Covers all three branches of government.
- Catalogue of the Public Documents of the Congress and of All Departments of the Government of the United States. 25 vols. REF Z 1223 A13 Covers 1893-1940.
-
United States Monthly Catalog
of Government Publications. 1976+
In Print 1895-1998. Ref Z 1223 A18 - Declassified Documents Catalog. Covers 1986-1996 REF Z1223 Z9 D372 Microfiche is available for this collection in the micromaterials room.
Texts of Supreme Court cases are published in the sets United States Reports (REF KF 101 A3), U.S. Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition and U.S. Supreme Court Reports, Lawyer's Edition, 2nd Series (REF KF 101 A33).
Another source for finding court decisions is LexisNexis Academic
Oral Arguments of the Supreme Court of the U.S. contains the transcribed arguments of each case argued before the Supreme Court beginning with the Warren Court (1953-54) and continuing through the present. This is located in the micromaterials room on first floor.
Missouri Documents
Missouri legislative information (1995+) and recent judicial decisions can be found on the official Web site for the state. See: http://www.mo.gov/mo/index.htm
International Documents
To help identify UN documents that may assist your research see:
Directory of United Nations information sources. 1994. REF JX1977.8
D6 D5732
A guide to information at the United Nations. 1995. JX1977 .A39 1995
Previous page ||
Next page
Back to Table of Contents
jir
