Maag Library did not become a Federal Depository until the early 1970's, so you may have to request older documents from other libraries.  A librarian will be glad to assist you.

For more detailed information about finding older government information, see Chapter 52, "Historical Searches"  in  Using Government Information Sources, by Jean Sears and Marilyn Moody, 3nd Edition, Oryx Press, 2000, pp. 476-491.  A copy of this book is available in the Reference Room.
 

Comprehensive General Indexes

Dates Covered	Title of Index	Location Third FLoor
1774 - 1881	Descriptive Catalogue of the Government Publications of the United States.  1885.  (Commonly referred to as "Poore's" for the author, Ben Perley Poore) 2 vols.	Historical Research  Shelf
1789 - 1909	Checklist of United States Public Documents. 1911.  (Known as the "1909 Checklist")	Historical Research  Shelf
1881 - 1893	Comprehensive Index to the Publications of the United States Government. 1905.  (Popular name "Ames" for the author, John Griffith Ames.	Historical Research  Shelf
1893 - 1940	Catalogue of the Public Documents of the (53rd-76th) Congress and of All Departments of the Government of the United States. 1940. 25 vols.  (Commonly known as the "Document Catalogue")	Historical Research Shelf
1900 - 1971	Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1900-1971.   15 vols.	Historical Research Shelf
1941 - to date	Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.  (YSU's holdings begin with 1941) The Catalog is the standard index for identifying government documents.  There is a 10-year cumulative index for 1941-50; and five-year cumulative indexes for 1961-65; 1966-70; 1971-76.  From 1976 on, the GPO Monthly Catalog from OhioLINK can be used. (Library access only)  The free public access version includes information from 1994 to date.	On-site storage

Congressional Indexes

Dates Covered	Title of Index	Location Third Floor
1789 - 1817	Public Documents of the First Fourteen Congresses: Papers relating to Early Congressional Documents.  1900. (Commonly known as "Greeley's" for the author, Adolphus Washington Greeley)	Historical Research
1817 -1893	Tables of and Annotated Index to the Congressional Series of United States Public Documents. 1902.	Microforms Center (Third Floor) Ultra Fiche LAC 10555
1830 - 1969	CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Prints Index Through 1969. 1980.  Congressional Information Service.	Historical Research Section
dates vary	Thomas Legislative Information (Library of Congress) Indexing and abstracting of Congressional publications, some from as early as the 93rd Congress, but most of the information begins with the 101st Congress.
dates vary	GPO Access (Government Printing Office)
GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free online  access to many of the important documents produced by the Federal Government.  The information provided through GPO Access is the official, published version.  This free service is funded by the Federal Depository Library Program.  Includes:  Congressional Record, Federal Register, bills introduced, legislative reports, public laws, and much more.

 

Web Sites for Historical Documents

U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774 - 1873 (Library of Congress)

American Memory, Historical Collections for the National Digital Library (Library of Congress)

Getting Started With  Federal Government Documents  (A detailed site from the University of North Carolina providing historical development of the Monthly Catalog, 1909 Checklist, and more.

Core Documents of U.S. Democracy

The Serial Set is one of the most important sources in historical government research.  Started in 1817, it consists of more than 14,000 volumes of Congressional publications as well as reports submitted to Congress by other governmental commissions and agencies.

Selected early volumes are now available on the Library of Congress American Memory Project.  The selected volumes currently available:  23rd Congress (1834-35); 56th Congress (1899); and 58th Congress (1904-05).

The Serial Set for the first fourteen Congresses was published as The American State Papers (1832-1861).  This set is available in the Microform Center as Microfilm 419.

To locate reports and documents in the Serial Set, refer to the section on Comprehensive General Indexes.

Maag Library became a Federal Depository Library in the early 1970's.  We do not have a complete Serial Set.  We do have selected Serial Set reports from 1973 to the present.  Most of these documents can be found by searching our online catalog.  Documents from earlier Congresses may be borrowed from other OhioLINK libraries.  A librarian will be glad to assist you in your research.