LibGuides: U.S. Federal Government Information: A Basic Guide: Pre-1976 Govt Publications

Specialized Indexes and Catalogs

U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1789-1969) FULL-TEXT
House and Senate reports, documents, and journals constitute a rich source of primary source material on all aspects of American history and life. Approximately 13,800 volumes and over 12 million pages. Primarily congressional publications but also executive agency reports.

The Serial Set Finding List complements this index listing serial set volumes for department annual reports and serials in the Serial Set.
Proquest Congressional
Includes congressional committee hearings (1824-2003), prints, documents and reports, CRS reports (1916-) and the Congressional Record (1789- ) full text online. Indexed publications may also be available in print in the Documents Department (3West).

General Indexes and Catalogs

Many federal documents published before 1976 are not cataloged in the library's online catalog. Some exceptions are the U.S. executive branch documents, 1789-1909 microfiche collection and many serials.

Use the shelflist in the Government Documents department (3West) to determine if a document published before 1976 is available in the library. The shelflist is organized by Superintendent of Documents (SuDoc) call number only. Use the resources below to locate the SuDoc number.

Worldcat
Catalog of items owned by libraries around the U.S. and the world. Contains over 35 million records. Many libraries have not cataloged their pre-1976 documents collections, so this is not a comprehensive catalog for the pre-1976 period.
Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
Print copy: Z1223 .A18 Main Library Documents Reference, 3W
Start your search with this annual index to US government publications (1895-1970).

How to use:
The link goes to all scanned volumes. Add the year to the search box to get a specific volume. eg AND 1945
The flipbook version allows you to search for keywords and links to pages with the search term.
Use the SuDoc number to locate it in the MSU US Documents collection. (Not all items indexed here will be available
Cumulative Title Index to U.S. Public Documents 1789-1976
Z1223 .A131 Main Library Documents Reference, 3W
Title index for locating known publications. Index includes SuDoc number.
Cumulative subject index to the monthly catalog of United States government publications, 1900-1971
Z1223 .A181 Main Library Documents Reference, 3W
Subject index to government publications. Must be used together with the Monthly Catalog Of United States Government Publications
Checklist of United States Public Documents 1789-1909
Print copy: Z1223.A133 1962 Main Library Documents Reference, 3W
First systematic list of documents. Organized by issuing agency. No subject index.
CIS Index to US Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909
JK411 .C5 1990 Main Library Documents Reference, 3W
Records for these documents are in the library catalog.
Indexes 200,000 documents published by executive branch government agencies and departments including annual reports, general publications, serials, instructions, rules, circulars, decisions, and registers. Documents indexed are available on microfiche in the Documents Department (3West).
Guide to U.S. Government publications
Lists government serials and series publications. Provides agency chronologies and traces changes in government and agency organization and publications over time.
Z1223.Z7 G82 MSU Main Library, Center Reference

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U.S. Federal Government Information: A Basic Guide: Pre-1976 Govt Publications

Specialized Indexes and Catalogs

General Indexes and Catalogs