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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 397Usually 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.)
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.
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).
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 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.
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 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).
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.
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 5-West section 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 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 collection of the History, Newspaper and Philosophy Library. 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 5-West section 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.
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:
Q. 630.942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Agriculture.
Q. 636.089 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Agriculture: Animal health.
Q. 301.29 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Anthropology: Aborigines.
Q. 941.58 IR47 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Civil disorder.
Q. 960 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: Africa.
Q. 994.03 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: Australia.
Q. 971.03 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: Canada.
Q. 327.71 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: Canadian boundary.
Q. 382 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: East India.
Q. 325.342 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: General.
Q. 993.1 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: New Zealand.
Q. 972.904 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Colonies: West Indies.
Q. 365.3 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Crime and punishment: Transportation.
Q. 365.942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Crime and punishment: Prisons.
Q. 364.36 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Crime and punishment: Juvenile offenders.
Q. 351.74 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Crime and punishment: Police.
Q. 365.942 IR42 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Crime and punishment: Penal servitude.
Q. 027.242 B862I Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Education: British Museum.
Q. 709.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Education: Fine arts.
Q. 370.942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Education: General.
Q. 371.96 IN4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Education: Poorer classes.
Q. 027.3 I68 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Education: Public libraries.
Q. 507 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Education: Scientific and technical.
Q. 325.242 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Emigration.
Q. 338.19 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Famine (Ireland).
Q. 639.2 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Fisheries.
Q. 338.27 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Fuel and power: Coal trade.
Q. 338.47 IR42 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Fuel and power: Gas.
Q. 622.007 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Fuel and power: Mining royalties.
Q. 622.8 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. [Fuel and power]: mining accidents.
Q. 338.27 IR42 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. [Fuel and power]: Mining districts.
Q. 354.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Government: Civil service.
Q. 354.42 IR42 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Government: Diplomatic service.
Q. 324.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Government: Elections.
Q. 352.042 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Government: Municipal corporations.
Q. 614.3 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Health: Food and drugs.
Q. 614.0942 IR42 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Health: General.
Q. 616.9 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Health: Infectious diseases.
Q. 610.69 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Health: Medical profession.
Q. 614.58 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Health: mental.
Q. 331.1942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Industrial relations.
Q. 745.2 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Industrial revolution: Design.
Q. 382.0942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Industrial revolution: Trade.
Q. 331.31 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Industrial revolution: Children's employment.
Q. 331.0942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Industrial revolution: Factories.
Q. 338.47 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Industrial revolution: Textiles.
Q. 368.3 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Insurance: friendly societies.
Q. 608.742 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Inventions: General.
Q. 347.9942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Legal administration: General.
Q. 343.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Legal administration: Criminal law.
Q. 347.6 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Marriage and divorce.
Q. 355.0942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Military and naval.
Q. 338.54 IR42 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Monetary policy : Commercial distress.
Q. 332.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Monetary policy: Currency.
Q. 332.4 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Monetary policy: Decimal coinage.
Q. 332.1 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Monetary policy: General.
Q. 332.2 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Monetary policy: Savings banks.
Q. 336.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. National finance: General.
Q. 336.24 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. National finance: Income tax.
Q. 336.272 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Newspapers.
Q. 362.5 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Poor law.
Q. 312.42 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Population.
Q. 322.1 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Religion.
Q. 614.864 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Shipping safety.
Q. 326.1 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Slave trade.
Q. 364.173 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Social problems: Drunkenness.
Q. 364.172 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Social problems: Gambling.
Q. 658.87 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Social problems: Sunday observance.
Q. 792.0942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Stage and theatre.
Q. 347.75 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Trade and industry: Navigation laws.
Q. 338.54 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Trade and industry: Depression.
Q. 662.2 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Trade and industry: Explosives.
Q. 338.47 IR43 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Trade and industry: Silver and gold wares.
Q. 338.17 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. [Trade and industry]: Tobacco.
Q. 383.1 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. [Trade and industry]: Tobacco.
Q. 380.942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Transport and communications.
Q. 331.833 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Urban areas: Housing.
Q. 711.40942 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Urban areas: Planning.
Q. 628.3 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Urban areas: Sanitation.
Q. 333.912 IR4 Irish University Press series of British parliamentary papers. Urban areas: Water supply.
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.
1803-1820 The Parliamentary Debates Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19
1820-1830 (Series 2) The Parliamentary Debates Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19SER
1830-1891 (Series 3) Hansard's Parliamentary Debates Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19SER
1892-1908 (Series 4) The Parliamentary Debates (Authorised Ed.) Great Britain. Parliament. 328.42 H19SER
1909-1981 (Series 5) Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons Official Report. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 328.42 H19CSER
1980-present (Series 6) Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons Official Report. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. 328.42 H19CSER
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:
1909-1936/37 (5 th series, v. 103) Parliamentary Debates, Official Report, House of Lords Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. 328.42 H19LSER.5
1936/37 (5 th series, v. 104)-1942/43 (5 th series, v. 129) The Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords Official Report Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. 328.42 H19LSER.5
1943/44 (5 th series, v. 130)- Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords Official Report Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. 328.42 H19LSER.5
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)
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.
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Government Documents Library
Last modified by: Leo Dion on 11/4/08