LibGuides: Finding British Parliamentary Papers in the M.S.U. Libraries, 2007 edition: Parliamentary, or Sessional, Papers--Full Texts

Parliamentary, or Sessional, Papers--Full Texts

Citations in scholarly literature, in bibliographies, and in some indexing sources to Parliamentary, or Sessional, papers have these elements: Document title, session year, paper number (if given), volume number (a roman numeral) within the session year, and volume page number. For example: Estimate for Completing Exhibition Building 1863 (382) XXIX 381.

For 18th century onwards, the following print, micro, and Internet sources provide full-texts. Want pre 18th c. documents? See Finding British Parliamentary Papers in the M.S.U. Libraries, 2000 edition.

Eighteenth-Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window
Upon entry, click on “advanced search.” Put “Great Britain Parliament House of Commons” into one of the search boxes. Using the drop down menu next to it, click “author” into the box and click “search.” This pulls up all the items for which the Commons is the author. From here, revise your search by using key words for your topic. If you want some other governmental entity’s works click on “browse,” enter Great Britain, and wow! See the possibilities! Now, not all the documents indexed in ECCO have full-texts in the database. In this situation, notice the date of the document, and try looking it up in one of the printed indexes covering this period in the 2000 edition of Finding British Parliamentary Papers in the M.S.U. Libraries.If/when you find it take the citation and go to microprint set #10, 2nd floor west. Or, notice in the full ECCO entry the reel number and position on the reel in The Eighteenth Century, a microfilm set of which we own quite a lot. The call number in our Library for this microfilm set is 17435. Go to 2nd floor west.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
Includes:

Bills and Acts 1695-2015
Command Papers 1833-2015
House of Commons Papers 1715-2015
House of Lords Papers 1715-1805
Hansard (Debates) 1803-2005
Journals 1688-1834
Debates 1774-1805
Histories and Proceedings 1660-1743

For help to use this material contact Agnes Haigh Widder, widder@msu.edu. Also see http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/c.php?g=96034.
Colonial State Papers, Collection I This link opens in a new window
Colonial State Papers provides access to thousands of papers concerning English activities in the American, Canadian, and West Indian colonies between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries.

Also included is a digitised version of The Calendar of State Papers, Colonial: North America and the West Indies 1574-1739, which contains bibliographic records and extracts for thousands of additional documents.
Documents on British Policy Overseas This link opens in a new window
Documents on British Policy Overseas offers researchers the opportunity to see beneath the surface of the major events of the twentieth century. Users can access contemporary accounts and follow the detailed exchanges that shaped British foreign policy from the origins of the First World War and beyond.

Upon completion this resource will contain 56,000 U.K. government documents relating to Britain's international relations, including foreign policy instructions, letters and memos, business reports, and more. These primary source materials have been selected by the official historians of Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and, in many cases, have been declassified at their request for inclusion in this series.

This resource offers single-point online access from three print series: British Documents on the Origins of War, 1898-1914 (Main stacks D 505 .G68 v. 1-11 contains material on the tensions that led to WWI), Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939 (Main stacks DA 566.7 .A18 Ser 1-3 v. 1-65 interwar period with items on Italo-Ethiopian War and German affairs), and Documents on British Policy Overseas (Main stacks DA 588 .D63 1984 Series 1-4 17 volumes plus cds and microfiche with items on atomic energy, the Korean conflict and the Cold War).

Hathi Trust offers limited view (search only) for the second print set listed above, covering 1919-1939.

House of Commons Sessional Papers of the Eighteenth Century. v. 1-147. J 301 f. K6 1975 Remote Storage

Includes bills (public and private), reports, accounts, and papers from 1715-1800. Arranged chronologically. Last two volumes have “List” on the call number. These are the index volumes. They list Sessional papers by date, alphabetically by title, and by subject.

British and Foreign State Papers, v. 1-170, 1812-/14-1947 JX 103. A3 Main 3rd floor east.

Contains the principal documents that were made public in various reigns relating to the political and commercial affairs of Great Britain and her relations with other countries.

Great Britain. Parliament. [Papers by Command House of Commons]. 1956/57-1985 ] J 301 .H5 Remote Storage

British Sessional Papers. House of Commons. Microprint #10 covers 1731-1978/79. Hollander MakeCentral 2nd floor west.

Microprint is 5"x8" opaque cards, an older reproduction technology. You will find it easier to use the online version instead!!!! The boxes are stored outside the Copy Center area on 2nd floor west, near the windows. The boxes are arranged by Parliamentary Session year. The Copy Center has new readers utilizing computer technology for reading these cards. Staff at the Copy Center desk will show you how to use it. Unfortunately, the machinery is designed for use with microfiche cards, which are smaller, 4"x6". However, it is possible to read the whole 5"x8" cards, in this way. To read the second half of the microcard, take it out of the tray, turn it around and reinsert it into the tray with the end of the card first. Then, on the computer screen, at the top, click twice to rotate the image, to make it right side up.

British Sessional Papers. House of Commons. Microfiche J 301 .K5 and .K6 covers 1978/79-1992. Hollander MakeCentral 2nd floor west.

United Kingdom Parliament, current and some historical

A database of Parliamentary full-text material, searchable in its entirety or by type of publication. Separate pages for Commons and Lords. In the Commons’ pages, contains the debates (Hansard), 1988-, public bills before Parliament, a complete list of all public bills introduced in the current session, select committee reports, Weekly Information Bulletin from 1996/97, and Sessional Digest from 1995/96. Lords’ page leads to their debates from 1996, some select committee reports, and their judgments since 1996. Has links to significant historical documents.

Parliamentary Archives of the United Kingdom

Parliamentary Archives of the United Kingdom holds several million historical records relating to Parliament. This Archive web sites offers access to Portcullis, an online catalog describing 3 million items. These include records of the houses of Lords and Commons: acts of Parliament, committee papers, Hansard, journals, judicial records, peerage claim records, etc. A fire in 1834 burned down the Houses of Parliament; consequently, this archive has no House of Commons records prior to this date, except for manuscript journals and minutes and printed journals of this House. They also do not have records of government departments; these are at the National Archives/Public Records Office. M.S.U. Libraries offers the Hansard Debates in Main stacks at J 301 .H..., Commons and Lords command papers, Main J 301 .H..., and House of Commons Sessional Papers, microprint #10, Hollander MakeCentral 2nd floor west.

Legislation.gov.uk

Stay up to date with newly enacted legislation for the U.K., Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as it is published. Or browse new legislation by publication date. Also has a section on legislation originating from the EU.

TSO Official Documents, current

Official Documents is the official reference facility for Command and departmentally sponsored House of Commons Papers. From May 2005 onwards, all Command Papers and House of Commons Papers, as well as Key Departmental Papers, are available for free on the site in PDF format. All documents can be viewed online and printed out. You can also search for documents to quickly find what you are looking for.

MSU Libraries

Research Guides

Finding British Parliamentary Papers in the M.S.U. Libraries, 2007 edition: Parliamentary, or Sessional, Papers--Full Texts

Parliamentary, or Sessional, Papers--Full Texts