Background Information	The University of Illinois has an extensive collection of British government publications, available in a variety of forms. This guide is designed to provide an introduction to the process of locating British government publications in the UIUC library. Do not hesitate to contact a Government Documents librarian with questions at any point of your research. Topics covered in this guide include an overview of Parliamentary publications, using indexes, locating items in the UIUC library, and finding British government information on the Internet, many available full-text since 1991.
Parliamentary Publications	Parliamentary papers contain public bills, reports from committees and commissions, accounts, and command papers. The legislative process usually involves both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. A bill must be passed by both houses before it becomes law as an official Act of Parliament. A bill may be introduced in either house. For more information about Parliament in Great Britain, please refer to An Introduction to Parliament. Sessional Papers: Sessional Papers are documents that concern the daily operations of the houses of Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Sessional papers include Command Papers, House of Commons Papers and Bills, and House of Lords Papers and Bills. Sessional papers are also referred to as Parliamentary Papers. Command Papers: Command Papers are government documents that are concerned with government policy, the reports of Royal commissions, treaties, and other annual reports. Command papers are presented to Parliament by government ministers. House of Commons Papers and Bills: House of Commons papers are documents that are created as the result of its work. They can include reports from committees and accounts from official bodies of government. House of Commons bills can be either public bills or private bills. Public bills undergo a process of discussion, amendment, and revision before they pass and turn into Acts of Parliament. Private bills are concerned with individuals or specific local areas of the U.K., and become Local Acts or Personal Acts if they are passed. House of Lords Papers and Bills: House of Lords papers and bills are similar to those of the House of Commons, except the House of Lords is not permitted to deal with taxation. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): Parliamentary debates, also referred to as Hansard, are available in the Main Library stacks. The debates have been divided into six separate series containing many separate volumes. Indexes to the debates are shelved with the volumes at the end of each session as part of the set.
Legislation	Acts of Parliament: Public General Acts are public bills which have passed in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Local and Personal Acts begin as private bills and turn into Acts when they have passed both houses. General Synod Measures are measures passed by the General Synod of the Church of England. Acts of Parliament that are held by the UIUC library may be found by using UIUC's Online Library Catalog. The Law Library has several finding aids and reference books in its collection that may assist in identifying legislation. Note that the Law Library uses the Library of Congress classification system; the prefixes KD through KDK indicate coverage of the law of the United Kingdom and of Ireland. The titles listed below, with call numbers, are a small sample of the resources available at the Law Library: UIUC Law Stacks, KD310.H34x 1973 Halsbury's Laws of England. 4th ed. This is a useful legal encyclopedia for English law, with annual cumulative supplements. UIUC Law Stacks, KD140.H34X Halsbury's Laws of England Annual Abridgment.   Annual volumes from 1977 to the present. UIUC Law Stacks, KD135.H31985 LIST Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales. 4th ed. List of statutes. Halsbury's Statutes of England publishes, indexes, and annotates current Acts of Parliament. UIUC Law Stacks, KD135.H31985 INDEX Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales. 4th ed. Tables of statutes and general index. UIUC Law Stacks, KD142.6 .I8 Is it in force? ... : a guide to the commencement of statutes passed since ... / prepared by Butterworths Editorial Staff. This guide allows you to check on the current status of Acts of Parliament. Volumes from 2002 to the present.
How to Use Indexes	Depending on the type of information you are searching for, it may be necessary to use an index. The Government Documents Library collects indexes that can be used to find both historical and current materials. The United Kingdom's Government publisher is Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). HMSO publishes both Parliamentary and non-Parliamentary publications. HMSO also publishes the primary index to U.K. government publications, the HMSO Monthly Catalogue (also called the Stationery Office Monthly Catalogue), which is cumulated in the Annual Catalogue. A cumulative subject index to the Annual Catalogue is published every five years.  There are a variety of other indexes to use when looking for U.K. government publications, and some of them may be more appropriate depending on the time period and scope of your research. HMSO Annual Catalogue: The HMSO Annual Catalogue, the official catalog of U.K. government publications, is located in the Government Documents Library, call number 015.42G79CO2. The Annual Catalogue cumulates the Monthly Catalogue, and the Government Documents Library retains the Monthly Catalogues until superseded by the Annual Catalogue. The Annual Catalogue lists publications by type, with separate categories for Parliamentary Publications, Public General Acts, Local Acts, Measures of the General Synod, and a classified section of non-parliamentary publications listed by government department or body. How to use the HMSO Annual Catalogue: An alphabetical index in the back of each annual catalogue provides access to citations by subject heading term, authors, chairmen, and editors. Subject Searching: 1. Use the Alphabetical Index of Subject Headings You can use the subject heading index to find the appropriate subject for your topic. Once you have found your subject and the relevant page numbers, turn to the relevant citation. Typical entries from the subject heading index look like these, taken from page 539 of the 2001 Annual Catalogue: Changing driver beliefs, attitudes & behaviour: Scotland..............................518 Channel Tunnel rail link: Evidence.......................................................84, 290 Channel Tunnel rail link: Reports.........................................................74, 397 Usually Parliamentary publications are listed twice and non-Parliamentary publications are listed once. 2. Look at the citation for your subject to determine the relevant bibliographic information. Bibliographic Information In order to find an item, it is necessary to know the session year(s), series, and number. The parliamentary session year does not necessarily correspond with the calendar year, as it begins in November and runs to the next October. New sessions also begin after a general election, so there may be multiple sessions for one year. Series corresponds to the type of parliamentary paper, such as Command Papers, House of Commons Papers, House of Commons Bills, etc. Each series is numbered consecutively throughout the session year. Example---the series, number, and session year of the following citation are in bold: p. 84 House of Commons papers (Cm.) 422-i Channel Tunnel rail link: minutes of evidence, Monday, 9 April 2001: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; London and Continental Railways; Railtrack.--Committee of Public Accounts--Alan Williams (chairman).--p. 1-35.: 30 cm.-- 0 10 242301 6 --9.00[pounds] 3. Use the bibliographic information from the citation to locate the item at the UIUC Library. Since this citation was found in the 2001 annual catalog, in order to find the actual document one would look for the microfiche copy of House of Commons paper 422-i in the 2000/2001 session set of microfiche held in the Government Documents Library. Parliamentary publications are available in either the Government Documents Library or the Main Library stacks, depending on the time period of your research. For call numbers and location information, please refer to the Finding Items at the UIUC Library section. Chronology of Indexes: The following tables list the titles and call numbers of the general indexes that can be used to find British Government publications. All of these titles are available in the Government Documents Library. When doing research, be aware that many of the indexes only cover a certain time period. 1696 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. [General] index. Q.015.42IR4 v.1 (1696-1834) Catalogue of parliamentary reports, and a breviate of their contents: arranged under heads according to the subjects. 1715 House of Commons Sessional Papers of the Eighteenth Century. Q. 328.42 G79HEINDEX (1715-1800).  v.1 (1715-1760). v. 2 (1761-1800). 1800 1801 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. [General] index. Q.015.42IR4 v. 2,3,5 (1801-1852). v.4 (1852-1869). v.6 (1870-19). v.7 (1880-1889). v.8 (1890-1899). Checklist of British parliamentary papers in the Irish University Press 1000-volume series, 1801-1899. Q.015.42IR42 1834 1852 General alphabetical index to the bills, reports, estimates, accounts, and papers, printed by order of the House of Commons, and to the papers presented by command, 1852-1899. Q.328.42 GRBCOINDEX1852-99. 1899 1900 General Index to the bills, reports, estimates, accounts, and papers printed by order of the House of Commons and to the reports and papers presented by command, 1900 to 1948-49. 328.42 GRBCOINDEX1900-49 (1900-1949). 1920 HMSO annual catalogue. 015.42 G79CO (1920-1984). 1922 Cumulative index to the annual catalogues of Her Majesty's Stationery Office publications, 1922-1972 / compiled by Ruth Matteson Blackmore with an introduction by James Gordon Olle. 015.42 G79COINDEX1922-72 1949 1950 House of Commons parliamentary papers. 328.42 GRCINDEX (1950-1964; 1973-1974).   General alphabetical index to the bills, reports, and papers printed by order of the House of Commons, and to the reports and papers presented by command. 328.42 GRBCINDEX (1950 - 1958/59). 1985 HMSO annual catalogue. 015.42 G79CO2 (1985-present). 1990 2000 2005   Official Publications not issued by HMSO: Official publications not issued by HMSO are issued by departments that are responsible for their own publications such as any nationalized industry, the Geological Survey, the Patent Office, and the Admiralty. Publications of this type can include periodicals, newspapers, serials, leaflets, atlases, and posters. An index of these publications is available in the Government Documents Library, the Catalogue of British official publications not published by HMSO (015.410533 C28). It indexes publications from 1981 to the present. The catalog groups the publications by the name of the publishing body or government department, and then items are arranged alphabetically.
Finding Items at UIUC	British Government publications are available in many different formats at the UIUC library. Depending on the time period of your research, it may be necessary to use paper copy (original or reprint), microform, or microfiche. In both paper and microform copies, the Sessional Papers are arranged chronologically by session year (s). In many cases the library owns the same materials in more than one format. Older (pre-1979/80) Sessional Papers are not cataloged, but are available in the D and E ranges in the Sub-Basement of the Main Library stacks. Since finding these materials at the UIUC library can be a multi-step process, please consult a librarian if you need any help locating materials for your research. Parliamentary Publications in the UIUC library: Parliamentary publications from the 1979/1980 session and later are available on microfiche and are filed in numerical order by session and series. The Government Documents Library keeps parliamentary papers from the 1993/94 session to the present, and earlier sessions can be found in the microforms area on deck 7 in the Main Library stacks. Parliamentary papers from the 1978/1979 session and previous sessions are available in bound volumes and are located in the D and E ranges in the Sub-Basement of the Main Library stacks. An index is shelved as the last volume for each session, and can be used to locate a particular paper within the session. The parliamentary papers from the 1978/1970 session and earlier are not cataloged, and have no call number. The volumes are shelved according to session and subject. Irish University Press: The Irish University Press has reprinted important Parliamentary Papers from the nineteenth century. These volumes collect Parliamentary Papers by subject such as crime and punishment, education, monetary policy, and social problems. Indexes to the Irish University Press series of Parliamentary papers are available in the Government Documents Library: Catalogue of British parliamentary papers in the Irish University Press 1000-volume series and area studies series, 1801-1900. Q. 015.42 IR423 Checklist of British parliamentary papers in the Irish University Press 1000-volume series, 1801-1899. Q. 015.42 IR42 The Irish University press reprint volumes are located in the Main Library Stacks. The reprint volumes are cataloged, and can be searched for in UIUC's Online Library Catalog. To see a list of titles and call numbers, please refer to the following list of the Irish University Press series of British Parliamentary papers. Other Publications: The House of Commons Debates, also known as Hansard, are catalogued and stored in the stacks of the main library. The debates are divided into six series for time periods ranging from 1803 to the present. The first four series in Hansard, covering the period 1803-1908, also include the House of Lords Debates. Years Title Author Call No. Location 1803-1820 The Parliamentary Debates Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19 Deck 4 East 1820-1830 (Series 2) The Parliamentary Debates Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19SER.2 Deck 4 East 1830-1891 (Series 3) Hansard's Parliamentary Debates Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19SER.3 Deck 4 East 1892-1908 (Series 4) The Parliamentary Debates (Authorised Ed.) Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19SER.4 Deck 4 East 1909-1981 (Series 5) Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons Official Report. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 328.42 H19CSER.5 Deck 4 East 1980-present (Series 6) Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons Official Report. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 328.42 H19CSER.6 Deck 4 East House of Lords Debates are available in the first four series of Hansard, listed above, covering the years 1803-1908. From 1909 to the present are also located in the main stacks with the following call numbers: Years Title Author Call No. Location 1909-1936/37 (5th series, v. 103) Parliamentary Debates, Official Report, House of Lords Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. 328.42 H19LSER.5 Deck 4 East 1936/37 (5th series, v. 104)-1942/43 (5th series, v. 129) The Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords Official Report Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. 328.42 H19LSER.5 Deck 4 East 1943/44 (5th series, v. 130)- Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords Official Report Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. 328.42 H19LSER.5 Deck 4 East House of Commons and House of Lords Journals: The Journals for the House of Commons and the House of Lords are the record of the proceedings of the houses, recording the decisions and actions made as opposed to the actual debates. The Journals are located in the Main Library Stacks. Some of the older volumes do not circulate. UIUC Main Stacks Q. 328.42 G791 Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. JOURNALS (1509-1997) UIUC Main Stacks Q. 328.42 G79 Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. JOURNALS. (1547-1996)
British Government Publications on the Internet	There is some full-text access to British Government publications on the Internet. Most coverage begins around 1997 and continues to the present. The links listed below include the home pages of various branches of the U.K. government and different U.K. government information sites. British Government Web Pages: Acts of Parliament Includes full text of Public Acts from 1988-present and full text of Local Acts from 1991-present. Legislation This site includes Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1997, Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland from 1998, Statutory Instruments, and Draft Statutory Instruments from 1997. U.K. Parliament Home Page The home page of Parliament includes an index and a search engine to help you retrieve documents from the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Documents here include debates from both houses, committee reports, and bills. Most information found here dates from 1997 to the present. House of Commons Home Page Information about House of Commons Members, Committees, and House of Commons Publications on the Internet. House of Commons Library Research Papers Papers on a variety of topics are prepared for members of the House of Commons by the House of Commons Library. Papers are available on this site from 1998 to the present, including the 14 June 2005 Modernisation of the House of Commons, 1997-2005, Research Paper 05/46. House of Lords Home Page House of Lords publications on the internet include Debates, Minutes and Order Papers, Public Bills, and Select Committee reports. Directories, Search Tools, and Departmental Web Pages: Direct.gov This portal to government and other trusted Internet information sources indexes web sites in the U.K. at both the local and national levels. Her Majesty's Stationery Office This office moved to the guardianship of the Office of Public Sector Information in early 2005. HMSO still exists to publish British legislative materials and to manage Crown copyright. The HMSO imprint on publications such as Command Papers, etc., remains the same. The National Archives The National Archives span 1,000 years of history from England, Wales, and the UK. Founded in 2003 by merging the Public Records Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission, this collection preserves records of the central government and courts. Office of Public Sector Information The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) sets standards for, provides access to, and manages reuse of official public sector information. It provides online access to UK legislation, licenses the re-use of Crown copyright material, manages the Information Fair Trader Scheme, maintains the Government’s Information Asset Register, and provides advice and guidance on official publishing and Crown copyright. Official Documents The official reference for Command, House of Commons, and some departmental papers, available free in PDF format from May 2005 to date. Selected earlier papers are available in this site's archives. Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland                                                                     This office of the Scottish Administration corresponds to Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) in providing access to government information.