United States Congressional publications are of interest
- as primary sources for students of United States history
- for current United States foreign and economic policy
- other public affairs issues of interest to other countries (US foreign policy)
Background to the National Library collection
The National Library received on deposit United States Government Printing Office (USGPO) microfiche from 1983 to 2010. It is arranged by Superintendent of Documents classification, given at the top of each fiche, and is known as SUDOC.
You can find information about how to interpret SUDOC numbers online from the Federal Depository Library System website.
The National Library ceased receiving SUDOC fiche in June 2010, but the existing collection is retained. This guide provides information on how to access this large collection, as well as other United States Congressional publications held in the Library and online.
News and information on Congress
- CQ Weekly (Congressional quarterly weekly). Each year these issues have been consolidated to produce the CQ Almanac Plus and the CQ Almanac.
- Resources for Legislative Researchers - News Services
Links to The Congressional Quarterly, The Hill, FedNet (Federal Network, Inc.), C-SPAN (Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network) and All-Politics (CNN, Time). - Official Congressional Directory. From 1888. Online access or Browse in the Controlled Access Collection (Pass available from Newspapers Reading Room)
Selected print resources
- Subject guide to U.S. government reference sources by Gayle J. Hardy and Judith Schiek Robinson (1996)
- Monthly catalog of United States government publications (1985-2000) Also available online.
- Introduction to United States government information sources by Joe Morehead (1996)
Case Study
I would like to know about the National Library's status as a depository library for the U.S. Government publications. Does the Library get all publications coming from the Government Printing Office and does this go back to 1969-1970?
If these periodicals are available can they be interlibrary loaned to Sydney?
The National Library received (as part of its long standing Gift and Exchange arrangement with the United States) copies of U.S Government Publications (known as SUDOC). Originally supplied in print, since the early 1980s most of these publications have been received in microfiche. The arrangement ceased in 2010.
You can browse the Library Catalogue, for example using '91st Congress' as keywords, to find the items you need. Each document from the 91st Congress has an individual title. Many documents are available online; if this is the case, there will be a link in the online record. For example, see Select Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, United States Senate, 91st Congress, 2nd Session, September 1970.
The SUDOC microfiche collection is available for interlibrary loan. Please contact your local library for further help with interlibrary loans.