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| You are here: Library > Government Documents > History Research Guide > Frequently Sought Items Government Documents: Frequently Sought History Items |
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The library receives new U.S. laws individually as Slip Laws (government call # AE 2.110:), bound as United States Statutes at Large (AE 2.111:) and finally every six years as the official United States Code (Y 1.2/5:) Each publication has its own system of organization, so make sure you familiarize yourself with their indexes. Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe is a good place to begin legal research online. The very best government web site for finding recent bills and laws is Thomas (don't forget to make sure you're searching in the right Congress!), while some older documents can be found in American Memory. GPO Access also has bills and laws, in addition to regulatory information, the U.S. Code and presidential documents. Finally, the U.S. House and Senate web sites are good places to look for information on the legislative process. Tip #1: Are you sure the law passed? Federal bills are often introduced with the name Act or Law, even if they never pass to become actual laws.... To confuse us even more, some bills are passed and become laws, but remain known as bills (such as the Brady Bill). Thomas and GPO Access have separate searches for bills and laws. Tip #2: Don't forget that the Congressional Record
is the verbatim record of Congressional proceedings - to find information
on debates, votes and other issues having to do with legislation, CR is
a good place to look. The library has a complete run of the Congressional
Record in microfilm/microfiche (see our
online catalog for more information); you can also search recent copies
of the Congressional record using Thomas
and GPO Access. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION Finally, you can also try finding an agency's web page
using Firstgov, then browsing the
site for historical information. Still can't find what you need? Check
out the library's E-Resources
databases for biographical information: try Biographies Plus.
Or browse our online catalog
for books on your subject. THE BUREAU / DEPARTMENT OF... Tip: if the agency you are looking for no longer exists,
try the CyberCemetery, a
site for finding publications and web sites of defunct government agencies
and commissions. No luck? Try a general search on Firstgov,
search the agency name in our online
catalog, or ask a librarian for help. CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS AND REPORTS The library's Government Documents collection includes some congressional hearings and reports; check our online catalog and the microfiche collection. If we don't have what you need, you may be able to get it from Roanoke College or through Inter-Library loan. Recent hearings and reports are online at GPO
Access. You can also use Firstgov
to find the agency or commission you're looking for, then browse their
web site. CONGRESSIONAL VOTES House and Senate votes are recorded in the Congressional Record. The library has a complete run of the Congressional Record on microfilm and microfiche, beginning with its earliest version, the Annals of Congress, in 1789. Recent issues of the CR are online. The Government Documents microform are housed on the first floor of the library; ask a librarian if you need help operating the film/fiche reader. There are several web sites where you can find recent congressional votes: Thomas has House and Senate roll call votes from 1989; the Washington Post has a great browseable database of votes from 1991; and the Documents Center at the University of Michigan has a number of votes links. Looking for Congressional election information? FOREIGN RELATIONS Foreign relations information is available from a number of government agencies including the State Department (government call letter: (S), the Department of Defense (D) and the Executive Office of the President (PREX). Start with keyword and subject searches in our online catalog and browse the shelves under these call letters. You can also have a look at our Foreign Relations History Links. A few good titles to check are Foreign Relations of the United States (government call # S 1.1:), Department of State Bulletin (S 1.3:), Atlas of United States Foreign Relations (S 1.33/2:F 76) , Treaties and International Agreements of the United States (S 9.12/2:) and the Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States (Z 2.4:) MAPS For historical maps online: History Map Links. We also have more recent maps. You'll find them on the first
floor, in the far corner nearest the visitor parking lot. For a description
and links to more online resources, click here. PRESIDENTIAL SPEECHES AND PROCLAMATIONS Presidential speeches and proclamations can be found in Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (government call # AE 2.114:), which contain all public messages, speeches and statements made by the president including reports to Congress, press conferences, the President's public schedule, etc. In the back of each volume is a name and subject index. Note that these volumes are published in chronological order, so you may have to browse the indexes for several volumes if you're not sure of the time frame of your query. Recent volumes are online. Also note that the first volumes in this series are for Herbert Hoover. The library has papers for earlier presidents; they can be found with a search for the particular president as "author" in our online catalog. Publications from the Executive Office of the President can be found under the government documents call letters PREX. For online sources on U.S. presidents, try our Presidents
Links. STATISTICS SUPREME COURT OPINIONS & DECISIONS Supreme Court opinions and decisions can be found in United States Reports: Cases adjudged in the Supreme Court (government call # JU 6.8:) For additional information on the Supreme Court or other Federal Courts, try our U.S. Courts History Links. TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS Current U.S. Treaties can be found in U.S. Treaties in Force (government call # S 9.14:) Historical information is in Treaties and other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949 (S 9.12/2:) and United States Treaties and other International Agreements (starts in 1950, S 9.12:) The State Department has selected Treaties on the web; so does the Library of Congress. Finally, many departments and agencies have posted the text of treaties that are important to their particular work. To find them, start with Firstgov.
Our library is a selective depository, which means that we receive about 25% of publications printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office. We have been a depository since 1967, although many of our documents go back to the 18th,19th and early 20th centuries. Everything we receive today can be found using our online catalog. However, some older documents and microfiche are not in there yet: search our shelves, and if you find that the document you are looking for is not there, ask a librarian about other options. There are other depository libraries in this area (see list on our homepage); you can also get government documents through the same Inter-Library Loan process you would use for books and journal articles. If the document you are looking for is recent or commonly known, however, there is a good chance that it may be available online. Use the gateway sites and the links for primary documents on our History Research Guide Home page. This page last updated on: July 26, 2007 |
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last
updated on:November 16, 2006 
