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Congressional Research Rutgers Libraries' Government Publications collections make available a wealth of Congressional materials, many of which are now available digitally and which date back to the Annals of Congress for 1789. Others are in paper, in microfilm, microfiche, or microprint, located mostly at the Alexander Library. Format is often dependent on how the government distributed material at a given time, or on the format in which materials have been available for purchase. This guide is an effort to simplify your search for materials by indicating formats and locations at the Alexander Library. For other libraries, inquire at that library; federal materials are fully recorded in IRIS only since August 2002. The acquisition of two major digital collections greatly expands access for our remote users. Congressional reports, documents, and journals are almost complete through 1980 in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set digital edition done by Readex; and highly informative Congressional hearings are now digitally accessible through 1979 in the LexisNexis Congressional Publications: Hearings, 1824-1979 collection. Both sets are available through the Libraries' home page (www.libraries.rutgers.edu) under Research Resources/ Indexes & Databases. The American State Papers are also available there, as well as through C19: The Nineteenth Century collection. Increasingly, especially since the 103rd Congress (1993), Congressional resources are available online via GPO Access, through THOMAS, or through individual Congressional committee, or alternative sites. Care must be taken, however, in using non-governmental sites, since organization or commercial sites may provide only selected pieces of a desired document. This guide is divided as follows:
Congressional ProcedureA variety of tools are available to assist users who wish to understand Congressional process. Among a few of these are:
Proceedings of Congress
Annals of Congress, 1st - 18th:1 (1789-1824)
The above titles are held in paper and are located in Government Publications stacks 37-39. Alexander Library receives the current daily edition of the Congressional Record in paper. Beginning with the 104th Congress, the bound permanent edition is held only in microfiche filed in GPO fiche cabinets near stack 48 under X. The Library of Congress' American Memory Project includes A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation 1774-1875 which contains the Annals, the Register of Debates, and the Congressional Globe. The Congressional Record is also available online through HeinOnline; see Research Resources/ Indexes & Databases from the Rutgers University Libraries' web site. House and Senate Bills
To obtain the fiche number on which a bill from the 96th - 106th Congress appears, consult the Cumulative Finding Aid shelved in DOCUSR GP3.28. House and Senate DocumentsFor the 1st - 14th Congress, consult the online American State Papers or the paper edition shelved in stack 35. From the 15th to the 62nd Congress, use the U.S. Congressional Serial Set digital collection or the microprint shelved in stack 96. If a serial number is not known, see tables in the Checklist … 1789-1909 (DOCUSR GP3.14) or other reference tools to obtain one. The online version is available in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set digital collection through 1980 and as follows for print copy:
Exceptions: 96th Congress (House & Senate) are in paper, but also in microfiche in GPO fiche cabinets filed for House as X96-Sess.#:H.Doc.# and for Senate as X96-Sess.#:S.Doc.#. 97th - 98:1st Congress (House & Senate) are in paper, but also in microfiche in GPO fiche cabinets filed for House as Y1.1/7: and for Senate as Y1.1/3:. While the slip version of most current House and Senate Documents are available in paper, GPO was unable to supply selected ones and substituted microfiche in the exceptions noted above. Also, several titles of reference value are shelved in the DOCUSR Y1: section in range 102. House and Senate Documents beginning with the 104th Congress also appear on GPO Access. Documents from 1774-1875 may also appear online in the Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation. House and Senate ReportsFor the 1st - 14th Congress, consult the online American State Papers or the paper edition shelved in stack 35. From the 15th to the 63rd Congress, use the U.S. Congressional Serial Set digital collection online or microprint shelved in stack 93-94. If a serial number is not known, refer to tables in the Checklist … 1789-1909 (DOCUSR GP3.14) or other reference tools to obtain one.
Exceptions: 96th Congress (House & Senate) are in paper, but also in microfiche in GPO fiche cabinets. House Reports are filed as X96-Sess.#:H.RP.#, and Senate Reports as X96-Sess.#:S.RP.#. 97th - 98:2nd Congress are in paper, but also in microfiche in GPO fiche cabinets. The House Reports are filed under SuDocs number Y1.1/8: and Senate Reports under Y1.1/5:. Most recent House and Senate Reports are available in paper; however miscellaneous ones which GPO was not able to supply may be in fiche only. House and Senate Documents beginning with the 104th Congress also appear on GPO Access. Reports from 1774-1875 may also appear in A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation. Senate Executive Documents and Reports (not printed in the Serial Set)
Senate Treaty Documents
House and Senate Committee Prints
Additional committee prints may be held in paper. To locate the paper copies, consult the Documents card catalog under U.S. Congress. [House or Senate]. [Committee Name] as author; then by title of the print to obtain SuDocs number, Congress, and session. These are interfiled with hearings in stacks 39-47. House and Senate Committee Hearings1824-1979: Hearings for this period are now available online through LexisNexis Congressional Publications: Hearings, 1824-1979 from the Libraries' home page/Research Resources/ Indexes & Databases. In addition: Prior to the 97th Congress, Alexander Library also has most hearings in paper copy. Our print collection is filed in stacks 39 - 47. Subject access is through the Monthly Catalog (see DOCUSR GP3.8). Holdings are noted in the Documents card catalog under U.S. Congress. [House or Senate]. [Committee name]. and title. Most are NOT in IRIS! Location requires the SuDoc number, Cong./Sess, and title. An exception is that Senate Appropriations Committee hearings for the 96th Congress are in fiche. From the 97th Congress (1981) forward, Congressional hearings are also in microfiche and are filed by the SuDoc number in cabinet 1-10+. The Monthly Catalog or the CIS Index and Abstracts are primary finding aids for obtaining the SuDoc classification number by which the fiche are filed. Caution: While a few hearings are online from the 104th Congress forward on GPO Access, this, however, represents only a limited number of hearings that are available. A browse hearings function is available online at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/chearings/browse.html. The Rutgers' Camden Law Library has also ditigized some of their hearings from the 1970-1998 period; they may be found through http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/gdoc/search.shtml. The following represent other special collections of hearings that the Libraries own:
Journals of the Congress
(Titles vary; may be some gaps; selected years of the House Journal and the Senate Journal are available in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set Digital Edition. Selected items may also be available in A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation…1774-1875 (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html) or in the U.S. Serial Set in microprint).
Laws
The Statutes at Large for the period may also be found in A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation…1774-1875 (see p.2 this guide); recent Public Laws may be found on GPO Access or in Westlaw Campus Research (see Libraries' home page/Research Resources/Indexes & Databases. Congressional Research ReportsMajor Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service 1916+ (title varies) are available in microfilm in Cabinet 11-1C+ in Government Publications under number 6007. Titles are fully cataloged and appear in IRIS. Print guides are available in DOCREF JK1108.G86 1916/89 and DOCREF JK 1108.G85 for the supplements. Many CRS reports also appear online through http://opencrs.com or are available for purchase individually through the Penny Hill Press (http://www.pennyhill.com ) Indexes and Other Guides for Locating Congressional Material
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