United States Government
Publications At The Vere Harmsworth
Library
e-mail: vhl@ouls.ox.ac.uk
www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/vhl
The Vere Harmsworth Library holds extensive collections of historic official
publications from the United States, including almost complete runs of the
Congressional Record and the 19th century volumes of the United States Serial
Set. The library also holds a selection of Congressional Committee Hearings in
print from the mid 20th century, and bibliographical finding aids such as the
Monthly Catalog. Other major series subscribed to by the library include the
Foreign Relations of the United States, Presidential Papers, Statistical Abstract
of the United States and the published census volumes. Various 20th century
departmental publications are also held, but these are usually incomplete and no
longer current. Full details are as follows:
1. General Resources and Finding Aids
Catalog of US government publications
Online equivalent to the Monthly Catalog
Online:
July 1976http://catalog.gpo.gov
Includes links to resources where they are available online
Monthly Catalog
Indexes all government publications
Print:
1933-1975
1976-2000
Cumulative subject index to the monthly catalog
Print:
1900-1971
VHL Ref. Z 1223 .A18
VHL Stack Bib. Z 1223. A18
VHL Bib. xZ 1223 .A182 1973
GPO Access
Online:
www.gpoaccess.gov
Provides a portal to US government publications online. Many of the resources
listed below are available through GPO Access for recent years (generally 1994-).
United States government manual
As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States
Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the
legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasiofficial agencies, international organizations in which the United States
participates, and boards, commissions and committees.
The Manual begins with reprints of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Constitution.
Print:
1945-1948, 1951VHL JK 421 .A3 (Latest issue Ref.)
2000/01, 2005/06
Online: 1995www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html
Cumulative title index to United States public documents
Print:
1789-1976
VHL xZ 1223 .Z7 L49 1979
Core documents of US democracy
A core group of current and historical Government publications which have been
made available for free, permanent public access via GPO Access. Includes
cornerstone documents such as The Bill of Rights, The
Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers and The
Gettysburg Address, as well as important Congressional, Presidential, judicial,
regulatory, demographic, economic and other miscellaneous documents.
Online:
www.gpoaccess.gov/coredocs.html
2. Legislative Resources, Congressional Reports and
Proceedings
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record records the debates of Congress verbatim.
Print: 43rd – 97th Congress (1874-1982) VHL Ref. 300.333 s.1
earlier volumes in stack
Microform: 94th Congress (1975-76)
97th – 101st Congress (1981-1990) Micr. USA 237
Online: 103rd Congress – (1994-)
www.gpoaccess.gov/crecord/
104th Congress – (1995-)
www.cq.com (Click on ‘Congressional record’. Select
‘advanced search’ to search past congresses.) (Oxford only)
Indexes:
Print: 43rd – 98th Congress (1874-1984) VHL Reference Section
Online: 1983- www.gpoaccess.gov/cri/
Previous incarnations covering earlier Congresses (not verbatim reports) are
as follows:
Annals of Congress [formerly known as The debates and proceedings in
Congress of the United States]
1st – 18th Congress (1789-1824) VHL Stack: 300.233 r.6
VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.26
Register of debates
18th Congress, 2nd Session – 25th Congress, 1st session (1824-1837)
VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.28
Congressional Globe
Print: 23rd – 42nd Congress (1833-1873) VHL Stack: 300.233 s.1
VHL Stack: 300.333 s.1
Online: Selections at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwcg.html
1837-1852 via Google
Index: 42nd Congress, 2nd session (1873) VHL Reference section
United States Serial Set
Contains the House and Senate Documents and the House and Senate Reports.
Documents cover a wide variety of topics and may include reports of
executive departments and independent organizations, reports of special
investigations made for Congress, and annual reports of non-governmental
organizations. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, executivebranch
materials were also published in the Serial Set.
Index: 1789-1989 Ref. xZ 1223 .Z7 C65 1975
100th Congress (1987)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/numerical.html
Online: Selections
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html
105th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/index.html
House documents, otherwise publ. as Executive documents
Print: 13th Congress, 2nd session – 49th Congress, 1st session (1813-1886)
VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.16
Online: 104th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/index.html
Indexes: (26th – 40th Congress) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.16
Miscellaneous documents (House)
Print: 30th – 49th Congress, 1st session (1848-1886)
VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.17
Online: 104th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/index.html
Reports of Committees (House)
Print: 16th – 49th Congress, 1st session (1819-1886)
VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.19
Online: 104th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/index.html
Indexes:(26th – 40th Congress) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.19
House journal
Print: 1st – 50th Congress (1789-1889) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.18
70th Congress, 2nd session (1928-29) VHL: 300.43 s.5
88th Congress, 1st session, 89th Congress, 2nd session, 90th
Congress, 2nd session-96th Congress,
1st session (1963, 1966, 1968-1979) VHL: xKF 46 .A22
Online: 1st-43rd Congress (1789-1875)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwhjlink.html
102nd Congress (1991)http://www.gpoaccess.gov/hjournal/index.html
Senate documents, otherwise publ. as Public documents and Executive
documents
Print: 14th – 48th Congress (1815-1885) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.15
Online: 104th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/index.html
Miscellaneous documents (Senate)
Print: 30th – 48th Congress (1848-1885) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.22
Online: 104th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/index.html
Reports of Committees (Senate)
Print: 30th – 48th Congress (1848-1885) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.21
Online: 104th Congress (1995)www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/index.html
Senate journal
Print: 1st – 50th Congress (1789-1887) VHL Stack: Per. 2333 d.20
88th – 95th Congress, 97th Congress,
1st session (1964-1978, 1981) VHL: xKF 45 .A22
Online: 1st – 43rd Congress (1789-1875)
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwhjlink.html
American State Papers
Contains the legislative and executive documents of Congress during the
period 1789-1838, including documents that cover the critical historical gap
from 1789 to the printing of the first volume of the Serial Set in 1817.
The books are arranged into ten topical classes or series:
I. Foreign relations VI. Naval affairs
II. Indian affairs VII. Post Office Department
III. Finances VIII. Public lands
IV. Commerce and navigation IX. Claims
V. Military affairs X. Miscellaneous
Print: VHL Stack 300.233 s.2Online: Selections http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsp.html
Congressional Committee Hearings
The VHL has a large collection of printed reports from Congressional
committee hearings from the mid 20th century, many of which are not
catalogued on OLIS. They are in the stack arranged by their Government
SuDoc reference number (beginning with a Y), so if you find a document
you would like to look at in one of the finding aids, please put in a request
quoting this number and we will look to see if we have it. Please note
however that the collection is not comprehensive so we cannot guarantee to
have the report you are looking for.
Indexes
Print: CIS US Congressional Committee Hearing Index, 1833-1969 (23rd
– 91st Congress)
VHL Ref. xZ 1223 .Z7 C67 1981
Monthly catalog (1933-2000) VHL Ref. Z 1223 .A18
(1976- in stack)
Online: http://catalog.gpo.gov (1976-)
Recent hearings (104th Congress, 1995-) are available online through GPO
Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/chearings/index.html.
Other materials relating to recent hearings are available at:
www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html
Recent Congressional Committee Prints (104th Congress, 1995-) are
available at: www.gpoaccess.gov/cprints/index.html
Official Congressional directory
The Congressional Directory is the official directory of the U.S. Congress,
prepared by the Joint Committee on Printing (JCP). Published since 1888,
the Congressional Directory presents short biographies of each member of
the Senate and House, listed by state or district, and additional data, such as
committee memberships, terms of service, administrative assistants and/or
secretaries, and room and telephone numbers. It also lists officials of the
courts, military establishments and other Federal departments and agencies,
including D.C. government officials, governors of states and territories, foreign
diplomats, and members of the press, radio and television galleries.
Print: 1871-1919 VHL Stack 300.43 r.10
1925- VHL JK 1012 .U55
Online: 1995- www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory/index.html
Major studies and issue briefs of the Congressional Research Service
Microform: 1916-1974 VHL Micr. USA 251
| 3. Executive resources
Federal register
Official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal
agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other
Presidential documents.
Print: 1949-1977 VHL 300.431 s.2
Microform: 1936-1948, 1979-1991 VHL Micr. USA 207
Online: 1936 HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
1994- www.gpoaccess.gov/fr
Code of Federal Regulations
Codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes
called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive
departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States.
Online: 1938- HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
Presidential papers
Print: Compilation 1776-1925 (20 vols.) VHL J 80 .A283 1776-1925
Herbert Hoover- (1929-) VHL J 80 .A283
Online: George HW Bush- (1991-)
www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/index.html
1779- via HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
CIS index to executive branch documents, 1789-1909
Guide to the location, organization and description of approximately
200,000 now rare and fragile documents issued by virtually every federal
agency during the period 1789-1909.
Print: VHL Bib xZ 7164 .A2 C53 1990
A vast amount of resources can also be found via the US Presidential Library
section on HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
| 4. judicial resources
Oxford’s holdings of government publications and other resources relating
to US law are primarily at the Bodleian Law Library (www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/
law). Recent resources are available online through GPO Access
(www.gpoaccess.gov). HeinOnline (via OxLIP+) also contains many US
government publications.
United States Code
The United States Code is the codification by subject matter of the general
and permanent laws of the United States based on what is printed in
the Statutes at Large. It is divided by broad subjects into 50 titles and
published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Print: Bodleian Law Library
Online: 1925- HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
United States Statutes at Large
Print: 1875- Bodleian Law Library
Online: 1789-2006 HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
| 5. foreign policy and relations
Foreign relations of the United States
A series presenting the official documentary historical record of major US
foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Documents are
from Presidential libraries, Departments of State and Defense, The National
Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, Agency for International
Development and other foreign affairs agencies as well as the private
papers of individuals involved in formulating US foreign policy. The
Government Printing Office is currently publishing volumes covering the
Nixon-Ford administrations.
Print: 1932- VHL JX 233 .A3
Certain vols at other shelfmarks – search OLIS
Online: 1900-1918 (edited selections)
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/FRUS/
Selected and recent volumes
www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/
1861- via HeinOnline (OxLIP+)
Indexes: Recent volumes searchable online
American foreign policy: current documents, 1950-1991
Print: VHL JX 1417 .A33
American foreign policy index
Detailed subject index to documents, articles and press releases on foreign
affairs from the Executive and Legislative branches.
Print: 1993- 1995 VHL Bib. xZ 6465 .U5 A68
United States treaties and other international agreements
Cumulative publication.
Print: 1950- VHL KZ 235.3 .U55
Online 1950-1984 HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
Many other treaties publications can be found in HeinOnline (via OxLIP+)
Declassified Documents Reference System
Covering 1945-, this is an online database of a collection of over
75,000 declassified documents. The collection covers the domestic and
the international scene from the period from World War II to the 1970s
and includes documents in diverse formats, for example memos, cables,
correspondence, field reports, situation reports, extensive background
studies and minutes of meetings. Among excluded categories are
Government Printing Office publications, treaties and agreements, statistics
and legislation. Available via OxLIP+: http://oxlip-plus.ouls.ox.ac.uk
Digital National Security Archive
One of the most comprehensive collections available of significant primary
documents central to US foreign and military policy since 1945. Over 60,000
of the most important, declassified documents – totaling more than 450,000
pages – are included in the database, many published here for the first time.
The National Security Archive is a non-profit research institute and library in
Washington, DC, which provides public access to declassified government
documents obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Available via OxLIP: www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/oxlip
Diplomatic Instructions of the Department of State, 1801-1906
Microform: Micr. USA 396
Despatches from United States ministers to Great Britain, 179?-1906
Microform: Micr. USA 395
Various diplomatic despatches from United States consuls/ministers to
Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Venezuela
etc) and China, all 19th century
Microform: Micr. USA 425-434, 441, 444, 446
Records of the Department of State relating to Russia and China, 19th
and early 20th centuries
Microform: Micr. USA 439-440, 442, 447
| 6. censuses and statistical publications
Early censuses were published in the United States Serial Set (see above).
The VHL has an extensive collection of printed census reports dating from
the sixth census in 1840.
Print: 6th(1840)-16th(1940) VHL Stack 300.6 s.1
17th(1950)-20th(1980) VHL 300.6 s.1
21st(1990) VHL xHA 201
Online: 1st(1790)-18th(1960)
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/index.html
Selections (Population and Housing)
www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/decennial/index.htm
21st (1990)-22nd(2000) www.census.gov
Catalog of United States census publications, 1790-1945
Prepared by Henry J. Duebster. Washington, D.C. : US Government Printing
Office, 1950
Print: VHL HA 214 .C66 1950
Statistical abstract of the United States
Print: 1878-2000 VHL HA 202 .S8
Online: 1878- www.census.gov/compendia/statab/
Historical statistics of the United States: Millennial edition
Print: VHL Ref. xHA 202 .H57 2006
Online: via OxLIP (www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/oxlip)
| 7. departmental publications and other
miscellaneous documents
Budget of the US Government
Print: 1930-2001 VHL 300.443 s.2
Online: 1996www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/index.html
Economic report of the President
Print: 1947-1948 VHL HC 106.5 .A47 1948
1949-2001 VHL HC 106.5 .A272
Online: 1995- www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/index.html
The VHL has a large collection of departmental and other miscellaneous
documents, mostly 20th century. Please see the list available in the library or
search OLIS.
| 8. microforms
Please see the microform subject guide available in the Library for a
complete list of government publications available on microform in the VHL.
| online
A great number of official documents, particularly historical ones, are being
digitized and made available online. The VHL has a del.icio.us page at http://
delicious.com/vhllib where we are saving links to online resources we find.
| other libraries
Both the British Library and the London School of Economics Library have
extensive collections of US government publications.
British Library guide to US government publications:
http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/offpubs/guides/usgov/
unitedstates.html
| opening hours
Term (Michaelmas & Hilary) Mon-Fri 9.00am-7.00pm
Term (Trinity) Mon-Fri 9.00am-7.00pm
Saturday 9.00am-1.00pm
Vacation (Christmas & Easter) Mon-Fri 9.00am-7.00pm
Vacation (Summer) Mon-Fri 9.00am-5.00pm
| contact
Jane Rawson, Librarian-in-Charge
Tel: 01865 (2)82701
Email: jane.rawson@ouls.ox.ac.uk
Isabel Holowaty, History Subject Consultant
Tel: 01865 (2)77263 / (2)77294
Email: isabel.holowaty@ouls.ox.ac.uk
Hannah Chandler, Official Papers Subject Consultant
Tel: 01865 277201
Email: hannah.chandler@ouls.ox.ac.uk
Vere Harmsworth Library, Rothermere American Institute
1a South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3UB
Tel: 01865 (2)82700
Email: vhl@ouls.ox.ac.uk
Web: www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/vhl
| notes
This leaflet is also available online in alternative formats
(http://www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/guides). Please contact aracu@
ouls.ox.ac.uk for requests for Braille and audio.
08/09/6928
| notes