Skip to Main Content

American Women: Resources from the Serial & Government Publications Collections

Government Publications

Schutz Group Photographers (Washington, D.C.). 1st International Congress of Working Women called by the National Womens' Trade Union League of America, Washington, D.C., October 28, 1919. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

 

The Serial and Government Publications Division holds U.S. government publications as well as publications from the United Nations. The reference staff can assist you in finding these, additional documents from other sections of the Library, or documents that we may not hold. This guide points to resources that are specific to the topic of American Women, but there are many additional reference works, guides, and research databases available that can help in finding more documents related to this subject.

Issues important to women are also policies of interest to governments and international organizations. Employment, health, education, and economic parity can be researched at state, national, and international levels through government publications housed in the Serial and Government Publications Division.

The majority of any government's publications are serial in nature. The Division's collection includes periodicals published by the federal government, state and local governments, foreign governments, and international organizations. Official serial publications of U.S. states and foreign governments are housed in the division until bound. In addition to government-produced periodicals, the division has depository collections for

  • U.S. publications issued by the U.S. Government Printing Office
  • the United Nations (UN)
  • the European Union (EU)

Special “blue-ribbon” panels established by the President of the United States are, by law, deposited with the Library and made available through the division as federal advisory committee documents. Also, the Library has established exchange and special agreements with a number of international organizations and foreign governments in order to receive needed publications and documents. Organizations such as the Organization of American States, the International Labour Organization, and many UN affiliated organizations share their publications with the Library.