Library Resources for Administrative History

• Library Resources for Administrative History
• Title/Name Index
• Date Index

House and Senate reports are the designated class of publications by which congressional committees formally report and make recommendations to the Senate or House as a whole concerning their findings and deliberations regarding specific pieces of legislation, or their investigative or oversight activities.

Reports are assigned individual sequential serial numbers within each house for each Congress, and are publicly distributed as part of the official U.S. Serial Set record of each Congress.

House and Senate documents, like reports, are officially numbered in a serial manner for inclusion in the U.S. Serial Set, and function as a major historical record or each Congress. Documents include texts of various executive communications to Congress, executive agencies' annual or special reports to Congress, accounts of committee activities and committee-sponsored special studies, and a miscellany of publications such as ceremonial tributes to individuals or reports of patriotic organizations.

The "reports", "documents", and the Journals (through 1952) are issued in a "collected edition" known as the Serial Set or Congressional Edition, or before 1907 as the "sheepbound edition". The term "serial set" derives from the fact that the volumes have been numbered consecutively beginning with the volumes of the 15th Congress. The set contains a vast amount of valuable information, much of it bearing on administrative history. Congress requires many reports and studies on Government functions. Many of these, in addition to annual reports made for the executive branch, are transmitted to Congress and ordered printed. A key to the serial numbers of the volumes and their contents is found in early indexes to and catalogs of Federal publications already noted and also in five special indexes.

Although not part of the original serial numbering scheme, a publication of records from the early Congresses was numbered 001-038 when shelved in the Public Documents Library and has since generally been considered a part of the Serial Set.

This publication, the American State Papers, was privately produced under congressional authority between 1832 and 1861. It included records that were previously available only in manuscript, as well as printed executive and legislative documents. The series covers a period starting at 1789 and ending with dates varying between 1823 and 1838.

The serial set is located in the Center for Legislative Archives at Archives 1 (1789-1979) and the National Archives Library (1980- ), and at Archives II in the Library on microfiche (1789-1969) and in hard cover (vol. 12881, 91st Congress, 1970 to date)

Congressional Information Service. CIS Online Thesaurus of Index Terms Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, Inc.; c.1982. 1 v. (loose- leaf)

KF 49 C62
The CIS thesaurus was developed as a CIS internal working tool to aid in indexing the body of material published by the U.S. Congress, but is helpful to users of the CIS Masterfiles 1 and 2 for determining terms used and related terms, since a thesaurus is not available on the CD-ROM itself.

Congressional Information Service. Congressional Masterfile 1: CIS Indexes to Historical Congressional Documents on CD-ROM 1789-1969.Washington: Congressional Information Service, Inc.; c.1993. 1 CD-ROM

Archives 2 Room 3000 (Library Reference Desk)
This searchable database incorporates nine printed indexes that CIS has published for the same material, including the U.S. Serial Set Index (1789-1969), which includes the

• American State Papers
• CIS Index to Senate Executive Documents and Reports (1817-1969)
• CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. Senate Committee Hearings (1823-1968)
• CIS Index to Unpublished House of Representatives Committee Hearings (1833-1936)
• CIS Index to Unpublished House of Representatives Committee Hearings (1937-1946)
• CIS Index to Unpublished House of Representatives Committee Hearings (1947-1954)
• CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index (1833-1969)
• CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Prints Index (1830-1969)

The CD-ROM should be used in conjunction with the CIS Online Thesaurus of Index Terms.

Congressional Information Service. CIS U.S. Serial Set Index 1789-1969. Washington: Congressional Information Service, Inc.; 1975-1979. 12 parts in 36 volumes.

REF Z1223-Z9C65.part (nos.) and volume (nos.)
See also: Congressional Masterfile 1
Each part consists of an alphabetical index of title-derived subjects and names, with a separate alphabetical index of individuals or organizations cited in reports or relief bills. Also included is a complete list of all titles in report or document number order, and a list of volumes in serial set number order. For each entry, full series data is given, including Congress; Session; document type; volume, report or document, and serial set number. In addition to series data, titles are given under each heading in the subject index. This work is updated by the CIS Index.

Congressional Information Service. CIS Index to U.S. Senate Executive Documents and Reports Covering Documents and Reports not Covered in the U.S. Serial Set, 1817-1969. Washington: Congressional Information Service, Inc.; c1987. 2 vol.

REF KF 40 C57 1987
See also: Congressional Masterfile 1

U.S. Superintendent of Documents. Tables of and Annotated Index to the Congressional Series of U.S. Public Documents. Washington: Government Printing Office; 1902. 769 p.

REF GP 3.2:P 96
Covers the Serial Set from the 15th through the 52d Congress. Includes an author, title, and subject index for important documents. Reprinted in 1963 by Mark Press. The Tables are also in the 1909 Checklist and the CIS Serial Set Index.
Boyd, p. 41; Morehead, p. 78; Schmeckebier, p. 33-34.

U.S. Superintendent of Documents. Index to the Reports and Documents of the 54th Congress, 1st Session to 72d Congress, 2d Session; December 2, 1895-March 4, 1933, with Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes. Washington: Government Printing Office; 1897- 1933.43 volumes.

REF GP 3. 7:volumes 1-43.(Shelved with REF Z1223-Z9C65, U.S. Serial Set Index, Room 3000, Archives II)
Note: Cited as the Documents Index. This continues the Tables of and Annotated Index. The Documents Index is the "consolidated index" provided for by the act of January 12, 1895. The title varied but it was commonly known as the Document Index. It was an alphabetical subject index to current publications in the Serial Set. A Joint Committee on Printing ruling discontinued this "Documents Index" but continued parts of it in the Numerical Lists and Schedules of Volumes of the Reports and Documents of the 73d Congress...
Boyd, p. 42; Morehead, p. 79; Schmeckebier, p. 20-22; 1909 Checklist, p. 418.

U.S. Superintendent of Documents. Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes of the Reports of the 73d Congress to 96th Congress. Washington: Government Printing Office; 1933-1982.

REF GP 3. 712: 72-96. (Shelved with REF Z1223-Z9C65, CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, Room 3000, Archives II)
Note: Cited as the Numerical List. With the discontinuance of the Documents Index this section of its contents has been issued as a separate publication for each session of Congress. Continues the numerical list of reports and documents and a schedule of volumes giving the serial numbers; does not provide an index to the contents of the documents. Preceded by Index to the Reports and Documents of the 54th Congress, 1st Session to 72d Congress, 2d session, December 2, 1895-March 4, 1933, with Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes.
Boyd, p. 42; Morehead, p. 80;Schmeckebier, p. 22.

U.S. Superintendent of Documents. United States Congressional Serial Set Catalog: Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes; 98th Congress: 1983-1984, Entries and Indexes. Washington: Government Printing Office; 1988.

REF GP 3.34:
Through the 96th Congress, this index had been issued as the Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes. In 1985, the title for the records of the 97th Congress was changed to Monthly Catalog-- U.S. Congressional Serial Set Supplement and made part of the Monthly Catalog. The catalog was prepared using the OCLC bibliographic records which originally appeared in various issues of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. In 1988 the title was changed to United States Congressional Serial Set Catalog: Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes; 981h Congress: 1983-1984, Entries and Indexes. Continues the Numerical Lists and Schedule of Volumes.

Congressional Information Service. Congressional Masterfile 2: CIS/Index Congressional Database on CD-ROM 1970-present.Washington: Congressional Information Service, Inc.; c.1993. 2 CD-ROMs.

Archives 2 Room 3000 (Library Reference Desk)
Indexes Congressional Hearings, Committee prints, House and Senate Reports and Documents, Senate Executive Reports, and Executive and Treaty Documents. Also provides abstracts and indexing for Public Laws, and includes legislative history records with references to all Congressional publications that are part of the law's legislative history, except that, "beginning in 1984, purely technical and ceremonial laws have been omitted."
The CD-ROM should be used in conjunction with the CIS Online Thesaurus of Index Terms.