Introduction

This is an assortment of electronic and print-format resources designed to facilitate research on birth control and sexuality in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries.  The emphasis is almost entirely on government documents and government information sources.  We encourage you to utilize the University Library's collections and access tools, such as those available on the Library Gateway, and to consult with the librarians at the Government Documents Library while conducting your research.

Congressional Documents

• CIS Annual 1970-.
  015.73C76 (DOC: low bookcases)
  Provides access to House and Senate hearings, reports, documents, and committee prints, as well as legislative histories for 1984 and onward.

   

• CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. House of Representatives Committee Hearings. 1933-1958.
  Q.015.730532C4972 (DOC)
  Indexes approximately 4,140 unpublished House hearings. Includes an Index by Subjects and Organizations, an Index by Personal Names, and a Reference Bibliography. The hearings themselves are part of a microfiche set held by the Illinois State Library.

   

• CIS Index to Unpublished U.S. Senate Committee Hearings. 1823-1964.
  015.73C496 (DOC)
  Indexes 7,300 unpublished U.S. Senate committee hearing transcripts. The hearings are available on microfiche and can be borrowed from the Illinois State Library, which also owns supplemental indexes for 1965-1972 and the supplemental microfiche collection for 1965-1968.

   

• CIS Index to U.S. Senate Executive Documents and Reports: Covering Documents and Reports Not Printed in the U.S. Serial Set. 1817-1969.
  Q.015.730532C497 (DOC) This supplement to the CIS U.S. Serial Set Index consists of an index and a Reference Bibliography.

   

• CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Hearings Index. 1833-1969.
  015.73C497 (DOC)
  Indexes the text of committee hearings, most of which contain valuable expert testimony. Includes a Personal Name index and an Index by Subjects and Organizations. The Reference Bibliography gives complete bibliographical data--as well as the page number where each witness's testimony begins--for each hearing. Search the online catalog for the call number and location of each title that appears in the Reference Bibliography.

   

• CIS U.S. Congressional Committee Prints Index: From the Earliest Publications through 1969.
  015.73C762c (DOC).
  Covers the monographic studies, analyses of bills, confidential staff reports, reference works, and hearings excerpts produced by congressional committee staff.

   

• CIS U.S. Serial Set Index. 1789-1969.
  015.73C759 (DOC)
  Indexes the 14,000 volumes-and more than 325,000 individual documents--of the U.S. Serial Set. Each volume of the Serial Set consists of publications that the House and Senate have had printed for their use and distribution, including the following:
  
  • Congressional journals, administrative reports, directories, and manuals.
  • Congressional reports on legislation.
  • Reports resulting from congressionally commissioned or conducted investigations.
  • Annual reports of federal agencies.
  • Research and statistical reports of executive agencies.
  • Reports of nongovernmental agencies.
    
  The index provides subject and keyword access, as well as finding lists for congressional reports and documents. Note that volumes 2,817 to 13,914 can be found on Deck 1 East of the Main Stacks in print format. All other volumes are available on microfiche in the Government Documents Library. Selected reports and documents in print format are cataloged individually and can be found in STX.

   

• Congressional Index. 1937-.
  328.73BC73c (STX; most recent in DOC)
  Used to locate bills by subject, sponsor, bill number, and law number. This is an excellent source for identifying the number of a bill. Includes bill abstracts, information on hearings, and votes. For legislation from the 96th Congress (1979) onward, the online service LEGI-SLATE may be a better source. LEGI-SLATE can be accessed from Government Documents Library Workstations #2, 3 and 6.

   

• Congressional Record. 1873-.
  1873-1975 Q.328.731Un34 (STX); 1976- DOC.X: (STX and DOC)  
  A daily account of Congressional proceedings. Includes its own cumulated indexes for each year. Members of Congress are allowed to edit their remarks before publication.
  
  
• Congressional Research Service Index. 1916-.
  CDROM015.73C749 (DOC Computer Workstation)
  This CD-ROM provides access to Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service, a microform set that includes documents on nearly all topics of interest to Congress from 1914 to the present. The microfilm set for 1914 to 1990 can be found in STX under the call number FILM328.37M282.  Note that many of these studies are also available in paper and can be accessed through the online catalog and/or card catalog.
  
  
• LexisNexis Congressional  Licensed for UIUC users only.
  This web-based service, covering 1970 onward, provides the legislative histories of public laws, access to full-text Congressional publications, and information on members of Congress and Congressional committees.  It includes the Congressional Record and U.S. Code.  The service has a new feature, the Statutes-at-Law database.  Search the title and synopsis of laws back to 1789, then view the full text with Adobe® Acrobat® Reader.

Executive Branch Documents

• CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1789-1909:  Guide to Documents Listed in Checklist of U.S. Public Documents, 1789-1909, Not Printed in the U.S. Serial Set.
  Q.015.730534C497 (DOC)
  This title presents a complete annotated bibliography of all Executive Branch documents listed in the Checklist of Public Documents, 1789-1909. The introduction states that "the Checklist was the only systematic effort to provide a complete listing of all documents published by the U.S. Government in its first 120 years." Many, but not all, of the titles indexed by this source are available in print format at the UIUC Library.

   

• CIS Index to U.S. Executive Branch Documents, 1910-1932: Guide to Documents Not Printed in the U.S. Serial Set.
  Q.015.730534C4971910-1932 (DOC)
  
  
• Code of Federal Regulations
  DOC.AE2.106/3: (DOC, west wall)
  The Code of Federal Regulations/CFR is the body of rules developed by executive departments and agencies of the U.S. Government in order to implement the mandates of public law.

   

• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. 1965-.
  1965-1980: 353.03Un3w (STX); 1980- DOC.GS4.114: (STX; most recent in DOC)
  All presidential public statements are included in this source. Indexes to its contents are bound with the set.

General Catalogs and Bibliographies

• Cumulative Subject Guide to U.S. Government Bibliographies, 1924-1973.
  015.73C913 (DOC)
  "Contains more than 40,000 entries by subject, alphabetically arranged, taken from 50 years of Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.  Citations include full title, personal author, issuing agency, size, pagination, and Superintendent of Documents classification number."
  
  
• Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1895-.
  015.73Un35 (DOC); DOC.GP3.8: (DOC)
  Nothing comes as close to being a complete catalog of U.S. government publications as the Monthly Catalog. The Government Documents Library has its cumulated indexes for 1900-1971, 1971-1976, 1976-1980, and 1981-1985.  Its digital version is entitled the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
  
  
• Cumulative Subject Index to the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications, 1900-1971. 
  15 v.  Washington & Inverness:  Carrollton Press, 1973.
  015.73Un35index1900-1971 (DOC)
  This source provides topical access to U.S. government documents listed in the Monthly Catalog.

Federal Law

• United States Statutes at large. 1789-.
  DOC.GS4.111: and DOC.AE2.111: (DOC)
  Contains the original text of all U.S. federal laws.

   

• Shephard's Acts and Cases by Popular Names: Federal and State, 4th ed. Colorado Springs: Shepard's/McGraw-Hill, 1992.
  345Sh4s1992, vols. 1-3 (DOC: shelved after United States Statutes at Large).
  Indexes all U.S. federal and state laws.
  

If you need help in understanding the legislative process, we recommend you try one of the following online guides:

• Legislative Actions and Publications Library Resource Guide
  This manual leads users to information on Congressional activities and to the complete gamut of publications generated during the legislative process.
• Legislation and Regulation
  Designed for UIUC users, this guide facilitates access to legislative and regulatory information through Congressional Mega-Sites, Thomas, LexisNexis Congressional, and GPO Access.
• The Legislative Process:  Tying It All Together  
  This brief guide written by House Information Resources outlines the legislative process of the U.S. government.

Statistical Compendia and Indexes

• Datapedia of the United States: 1790-2000: America Year by Year. Lanham: Bernan Press. 1994.
  Q.317.3K965d (DOC: shelved with DOC.C3.134/2:H62/789-970)

   

• Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970. 2 vols. Bureau of the Census, 1975.
  DOC.C3.134/2:H62/789-970/ (DOC: Economics 173 Collection)
  The statistical tables in this source include information on a broad range of subjects.

   

• Statistical Abstract of the United States. Bureau of the Census. 1878-.
  317Un3s (STX); DOC.C3.134: (DOC: Economics 173 Collection)
  When seeking statistics on the United States, start here.  The level of detail and breadth of coverage may surprise you.  Note that the index in more recent years refers the user to table numbers, not page numbers.  For volumes preceding 1955, see 317Un3s.
  
  
• LexisNexis Statistical  For UIUC users only.
  This database indexes and abstracts statistical tables issued by commercial publishers, state governments, the U.S. government, and international organizations.  Selected tables published by the U.S. government and included in the LexisNexis Statistical component known as the American Statistics Index (ASI) are available online.
  
  
• United States Historical Census Data Browser
  The data presented here describe the people and the economy of the US for each state and county from 1790 to 1970.

More about Libraries and Library Tools

UIUC Library Gateway

• Illinet Online
  The UIUC Library's major access tool to its cataloged collections.
• Card Catalog.  There is no subject access to books and received before about 1975 except through the card catalog.
• Article Databases
  These general interest and subject databases provide access to periodical articles, government documents, technical and scientific reports, etc.  For example, see America:  History and Life.

Center for Research Libraries

The UIUC Library is a member of the CRL consortium, which makes scholarly materials, such as archival manuscripts, foreign dissertations, and newspaper backfiles available for free to researchers.  The CRL Handbook describes the collections, and the Center's online catalog is accessible via the web.  For help with these access tools, contact a government documents librarian.  CRL collections can be used on site in Chicago or obtained via interlibrary loan.  For more information on borrowing, inquire at the UIUC Library's Illinois Reference & Research Center's Borrowing Office.

CICVEL

This is a relatively new service that allows patrons to search the CIC (Big Ten Universities) library catalogs and request items for interlibrary loan online.  Many loans from CIC libraries may be available in as little as seven working days. 

National Archives and Records Center (Chicago)

Archival holdings from Federal agencies and courts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.  Records center holdings from Federal agencies in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and from Federal courts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.  Microfilm holdings.

Ask a Librarian

The Government Documents Library provides virtual reference and research service.  Staff make every attempt to respond to queries within two working days.

Reference and research assistance is available in the Government Documents Library Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.  Call for reference assistance at 244-6445.

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