Executive Department and Agency Publications in the 20th Century 

About this Section

The publications of the executive branch and its myriad of departments, agencies, bureaus, offices, and commissions, are the most numerous and diverse of the three branches. The publications reflect the political, economic, social, scientific, and cultural history of the nation. They come in every type and format including monographs, periodicals, posters, pamphlets, maps, technical reports, statistics, data, kits, videos, and Web sites. No library has a complete collection of executive department publications. However, with the advent of digital production of government information and the decline of print production, the Government Printing Office (GPO) has turned its attention to the preservation of and continued access to the print heritage of our nation. GPO and the nation's federal depository libraries have embarked on a plan to locate, catalog, and build a number of complete archives throughout the nation. Indiana University is proposing a plan to become one of these archives. While this guide could not possibly identify all executive department and agency publications, it provides a discussion of the development of executive agency publications in the twentieth century, current indexing and access tools for identifying historical materials, and recommendation for obtaining material. The erratic and complex history of the production, indexing, and distribution of executive agency publications helps explain the difficult task for researchers and librarians in identifying all of these information resources.

Printing and Production

Government printing in the nineteenth century was dominated by Congress and commercial printers until 1860, and afterward the Government Printing Office (GPO). The House and Senate contracted with private printers to produce documents authorized by special legislation detailing the number of copies and method of distribution. The government made such liberal expenditures for the production and distribution of documents that public printing became a lucrative patronage plum for the party in charge. By 1860 expenditures were so out-of-control that Congress created its own Government Printing Office authorized and directed to do all of the printing and binding legislated by the House and Senate, and that of the executive, and judicial departments. Congress was fairly successful in the nineteenth century in limiting the amount of printing done outside the Government Printing Office. However, by the end of the nineteenth century there were four branch printing offices of the GPO operating at the Treasury, Navy, Interior, and State departments and there were "rogue" printing plants at the Post Office, War, and Agriculture Departments, Weather Bureau, and Surgeon-General's Office. Congress passed the Printing Act of 1895 in an effort to centralize, as far as possible, all of the printing and binding at GPO, and to create a Superintendent of Documents within GPO in charge of the sale, distribution, and indexing of public documents. With the 1895 Printing Act Congress mandated that all printing be done under the control of GPO and that an inventory of these documents be provided by way of monthly, annual, and biennial indexes. By 1917 Congress had abolished printing offices at the Treasury, Interior, Labor, State, War, Navy, and Agriculture Departments, and the Census Bureau, and consolidated most printing at GPO.

During WWI Congress authorized some executive departments and war boards to have their printing done at commercial plants. After the war, Congress attempted to rein back in the printing operations established outside GPO by issuing legislation that reiterated that all printing and binding for the Executive Office, executive departments, independent offices, and judiciary be done at GPO. Unfortunately, after WWI printing had become a political tool in the power struggle between Congress and the executive branch and by 1921 there were 342 printing operations operating outside GPO.

As the United States became a complex industrial society and a participant in the world economic and political stage, the power of the President and executive branch expanded rapidly. The President used printing powers to bypass Congress and advance his social agenda and programs directly to the people. The executive branch sought to increase printing to distribute the results of a greatly expanded government-sponsored research program in all areas of science, medicine, and technology. Congress sought to control the power of the President and executive agencies by controlling the number and types of items that could be submitted for publication by GPO and severely limiting appropriations to agencies for printing. While Congress appropriated large sums for research, they consistently failed to increase printing appropriations to print the research. Executive agencies complained that hundreds of important manuscripts went unpublished for lack of funding and that this was impeding the spread of scientific knowledge. This hostile Congressional environment forced the executive branch to find other funds and printing options to produce their documents. By 1962 the Joint Committee on Printing estimated that 60-65% of government documents were produced outside the Government Printing Office, and 352 presses operated outside the control of GPO.

The consequence of this trend for the researcher is that large numbers of documents, especially technical reports, were printed outside the control of GPO, and therefore, escaped the required indexing and distribution functions of GPO and the Superintendent of Documents. Agencies operating outside GPO decided how items would be printed, how many, to whom they would be distributed, and whether for free or for sale. The 1962 Depository Library Act sought to bring more documents into the depository library program by requiring agencies to provide GPO copies of all its non-GPO documents for distribution and listing in the Monthly Catalog. Agencies failed to comply whole-heartedly with this new mandate because it required them to add significantly to their print runs for distribution to federal depository libraries. Vast numbers of documents still eluded GPO's distribution and indexing system. To reduce this burden and increase cooperation, in 1977 the Joint Committee on Printing agreed to allow agencies to send just two copies of non-GPO materials to GPO, one to be used as a master and the other to create microfiche copies for distribution to depository libraries. Fugitive documents remain a significant problem for the researcher. It was estimated in 1997 that more than 50% of all tangible government information products were not being made available to GPO and the federal depository libraries.

Brief bibliography:

100 GPO Years 1861-1961: A History of United States Public Printing. Government Printing Office, 1961.

Merritt, LeRoy Charles. United States Government as Publisher. University of Chicago Press, 1943.

Miller, Sarah Jordan. "The Depository Library System: A history of the distribution of Federal Government publications to libraries of the United States from the early years to 1895." PhD. Dissertation, Columbia University, 1980.

Moorehead, Joe. Introduction to United States Government Information Sources. Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1999. (Government Publications Reference ZA5055.U6 M67 1999)

Schmeckebier, Laurence F. The Government Printing Office: It's history, activities and organization. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1925.

Walters, John Spencer. "The Presuperhighway: Politics of U.S. Government Printing and Publishing, 1917-1960" Journal of Government Information, v. 23, no. 2 (March-April 1996): 93-121.

Chronological Guide to Government Printing

Distribution and Availability

Federal Depository Libraries

The new government recognized the need to distribute news about the workings of the new government and authorized printing and distribution of the laws and Journals of Congress to the states, who were urged to distribute them to a "convenient place in each county" or other local governmental unit "conducive to the general information of the people." (Miller, p. 63) The legislation does not mention libraries, but some libraries received them being the best place for the distribution of information to the people. The earliest statutory distribution to libraries was the House and Senate Journals and Acts in 1805 to the Library of Congress. In 1809 the Library of Congress was also authorized to receive two copies of all printed reports and public documents laid before Congress.

In 1813, Congress passed the first legislation authorizing the distribution of public documents to libraries. The legislation mandated the distribution of the House and Senate Journals, and "documents published under the orders of the Senate and House" to the executives of states and territories, each branch of every state and territorial legislature, each university and college in each state, and to the incorporated historical societies in each state. (United States Statutes at Large, 13th Congress, 2nd Session, Resolution I, approved December 27, 1813) Distribution began with the State Paper Series and in 1817 with the Congressional Series of House and Senate Reports and Documents of the 15th Congress. The number and type of libraries authorized to receive government publications increased in 1858 when Congressmen were authorized to designate one institution in their congressional district to receive publications issued by Congress. In 1859 Senators were authorized to designate one institution each statewide to receive the Journals, Reports and Documents of Congress. The legislation of 1858 and 1859 created the system of libraries congressionally-designated to receive publications of the United States government still in existence today. Although early legislation did not specify distribution to state libraries, but to state executives, most of these documents ended up in the state libraries. Not until 1895 did legislation provide for sending documents to "state libraries" rather than to "states." Land grant colleges and universities became Congressionally-designated depositories in 1907. The number of designated depositories expanded again in 1962 when Congressmen could appoint two libraries per congressional district, Senators two libraries each, and up to two regional comprehensive collections could be designated for each state. In 1977 libraries of accredited law schools were given depository status.

Depository Items

Until 1895 the only material required to be distributed to the congressionally-designated depository libraries were the Journals of the House and Senate, and Congressional Reports and Documents included as part of the United States Congressional Serial Set. This distribution did not include executive branch publications not issued as part of the Serial Set, judicial branch publications, bills and resolutions, laws or Congressional debates as printed in the Annals of Congress, and later the Congressional Globe, Register of Debates, and Congressional Record.

In the nineteenth century while most executive department documents were printed as House and/or Senate documents and sent to libraries as part of the Serial Set, Congress continued to pass special legislation for printing, or purchasing from printers other titles of interest to the government and for distributing them. Sometimes Congress authorized mass printings that were distributed primarily by Congressmen. For example, four hundred thousand copies of the Annual report of the Department of Agriculture were issued each year from 1884 through 1891. Three hundred thousand went to House representatives for distribution, 70,000 to Senators, and 30,000 to the Department itself. (Miller, p. 508) On the other hand some publications were printed in very small numbers and distribution was limited to a few institutions. In the case of United States Exploring Expedition, During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, under the Command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N. (10 vols) published in 1845 only 100 copies were printed on superior paper with numerous plates. These were distributed to foreign countries, federal agencies, members of the expedition, the Library of Congress, and state governments. Efforts to expand the printing and distribution of this title failed. (Miller, p. 271) Another means of distribution was to authorize the agency responsible for issuing the publication to distribute as they saw fit.

Acquisition of these documents was difficult and erratic. Some libraries received a windfall of documents from a special distribution authorized by Congress in 1871. Legislation in 1859 authorized the Secretary of the Interior to obtain from other departments and offices all duplicates not distributed or needed by the office. This resulted in locating thousands of volumes published by the government in the last 40-50 years. Congress authorized the Department of Interior to offer the documents first to the Library of Congress and then to members of Congress to be distributed to depository libraries in their states and districts. Libraries often received documents as gifts from their Congressman. In addition, libraries could obtain copies by requesting them from the issuing agency. However, since there was no record or list of items issued, libraries had no means of knowing what had been issued or available for request, and there was no formal process for acquiring materials and no means to purchase them.

This changed in 1895 with the passage of the Printing Act. Distribution was expanded to include "all publications of the Executive Department, not intended for their special use, but made for distribution" and depository libraries would now also receive the Statutes at Large, Congressional Record, and Official Register (of Patents). Most significantly, the Printing Act created the office of the Superintendent of Documents in the Government Printing Office in charge of distributing, indexing and selling government publications. The Act required, for the first time, the Superintendent to begin a program of indexes and catalogs to record the printing of all government materials. It also provided for the sale of government publications. The Monthly Catalog, begun in 1895, provided libraries, for the first time, with a timely, current list of documents printed, where obtainable, and their price.

The 1895 Printing Act provided for the distribution among depository libraries an accumulation of nearly one million volumes of old documents. In addition, the Superintendent was responsible for distributing all documents printed by GPO and not classified as for "internal use only." Until 1922 designated depository libraries received all government publications available for distribution under the 1895 Printing Act. In 1907 GPO's Documents Division urged more selective distribution of documents arguing that "on the one hand horses or cattle books were sent to districts in which automobiles and electric cars held sway and where cattle were represented only in butcher shops and dairies. On the other hand, rural districts were flooded with Flags of Maritime Nations instead of books published for their use." (100 GPO Years, p. 90) Libraries also complained that they were being inundated with materials that they did not want or need and did not have the space or time to process. Libraries were instructed to send back unwanted publications to GPO, but this was a costly process for both the libraries and GPO and some materials were discarded rather than returned to the Superintendent of Documents for redistribution or sale. In 1923 depository libraries were allowed to select from a list the categories or classes of items that they wanted sent to them. At this time three-fourth of the depository libraries chose to receive half or less than half of the items available for distribution. In addition, until 1962 libraries were required to retain government documents received through the federal depository library program permanently. The Depository Library Act of 1962 reduced the retention requirement to five years and provided procedures for discarding unwanted documents.

Fugitive Documents

Prior to the first World War, the amount of printing done outside the Government Printing Office was comparatively small. The Government Printing Office received, distributed and indexed the majority of documents printed. However, after WWI the number of documents printed by executive agency printing operations outside the GPO umbrella increased exponentially. These non-GPO or fugitive documents were not made available to GPO for distribution to depository libraries or indexed in the Monthly Catalog. By 1962 the Joint Committee on Printing estimated that 60-65% of government documents were produced outside the Government Printing Office, and 352 presses operated outside the control of GPO. The consequence of this trend for the researcher is that large numbers of documents, especially technical reports, were printed outside the control of GPO, and therefore, escaped the required indexing and distribution functions of GPO and the Superintendent of Documents. In general, if GPO printed a document it was listed in the government sales and document indexes and copies made available for distribution to federal depository libraries and GPO's Public Documents Library. The Depository Library Act of 1962 required all government publications, including those labeled as non-GPO publications, ones printed at field printing plants by federal agencies and not printed at GPO, to be sent to GPO for distribution to federal depository libraries. Agencies failed to comply whole-heartedly with this new mandate because it required them to add significantly to their print runs for distribution to federal depository libraries. Vast numbers of documents still eluded GPO's distribution and indexing system. In 1977 to reduce this burden and increase cooperation, the Joint Committee on Printing agreed to allow agencies to send just two copies of non-GPO materials to GPO, one to be used as a master and the other to create microfiche copies for distribution to depository libraries. Fugitive documents remain a significant problem for the researcher. By the late twentieth century it is estimated that over 50% of tangible documents are not printed or routed through GPO, bypassing the indexing, cataloging, and distribution system that makes government information available to the public.

While the 1962 Depository Library Act allowed for the designation of no more than two libraries in the state that would maintain a complete collection of all depository items, there is no complete collection of government publications in the United States. The collection of GPO's Public Documents Library is probably the most complete. In 1859 legislation moved the responsibility of distributing documents to the Department of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior was required to obtain from other departments and offices all duplicates not distributed or needed for use. This resulted in acquisition of thousands of volumes published by the government in the last half century. In 1869 the Department of Interior created the office of Superintendent of Public Documents responsible for collecting, arranging, classifying, preserving, and distributing documents. In 1895 this responsibility was transferred to the Government Printing Office and the new Superintendent of Documents. With the new indexing, cataloging program, the Public Documents library maintained a collection of everything listed in the Documents Catalog and Monthly Catalog, and maintained records of documents received, but not distributed due to lack of supply. GPO's Public Documents library records became the basis for the majority of indexes available today.

Indiana's Historical Depository Libraries

There are currently 33 federal depository libraries in Indiana, 21 academic, 6 public, 5 law, and 1 state library/regional depository library. Approximately half of these libraries were added after the 1962 Depository Library Act which allowed the House of Representatives to name 2 depository libraries per congressional district and each senator two depository libraries in the state.

Indiana has several sizable historical federal depository library collections. The oldest and most complete collection is the Indiana State Library established in 1825. Its federal documents collection began with the Congressional documents of the 16th Congress, 1819 (Miller, p. 268). States were among the first entities Congress identified to receive regular distributions of government publications. Although early legislation did not specify distribution to state libraries, but to state executives, most of these documents ended up on the state libraries. Not until 1895 did legislation provide for sending documents to "state libraries" rather than to "states." The Indiana State Library was designated a regional federal depository in 1962. Regional depositories are required to accept all materials available for distribution and retain them permanently, with some exceptions. In addition, other depository libraries in the state are required to send lists of any documents they wish to discard to the Regional depository to allow the library to fill any gaps in their collection. Unfortunately, the Indiana State Library does not provide an online catalog of its holdings.

The next oldest and most complete collection in the state is available from Indiana University's main campus in Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana University began as a state seminary in 1824 and became Indiana College in 1828. The first book collection was donated by IU's first President, Andrew Wylie in 1829. Shortly thereafter in December 1830 a joint resolution of Indiana's General Assembly authorized the deposit of two boxes of documents received from the federal government for the new library (Joint Resolution of December 31, 1830, Indiana Special Acts, passed at the 15th Session of the General Assembly, 1831). This distribution was made according to the 1813 Congressional legislation authorizing deposit of the House and Senate Journals and House and Senate Documents and Reports to each College and University in the state. An analysis of the library's catalog in 1842 showed that United States documents comprised 24% of the collection, more than any other category, the next being the classics at 17%. Unfortunately, the entire library collection was destroyed by fire in 1854. The core of the new IU library collection consisted of a substantial gift of government documents from the Indiana State Library. The Indiana State legislature directed the State Librarian to transfer to IU "a complete set of journals of both houses of the legislature, a copy of all laws enacted since the organization of the state, and all reports from the several departments of state and of those received from other states and from the general government together with all other books and documents received of which there are duplications now in the state library or shall be hereafter received." (Lowell, p. 61). In 1883 the library was again destroyed by fire. IU petitioned the state legislature for either money to replace the library collection or a transfer of the Indiana State Library collection to IU. The IU President argued that the students and researchers at IU would make better use of the state library collection than the people of the state. The State Legislature did not give the State Library collection to IU, but appropriated a significant amount to rebuild the collection. Since the fire of 1883, IU has been a full federal depository receiving close to 100% of materials available for distribution. IU has also tried to acquire non-GPO, fugitive documents when possible. In addition, IU has purchased many of the commercial products that have improved and increased access to historical documents. All government documents since 1976 are included in its online catalog, IUCAT, and IU is currently cataloging its historical collection as it is moved to IU's secure preservation facility, ALF.

In addition, to the Indiana State Library and Indiana University, Purdue University, Allen County Public Library, and the University of Notre Dame have the oldest and largest federal depository collections in Indiana. Purdue University has been a federal depository since 1907. It has received over 80% of items available for distribution since that time. Purdue University libraries have also purchased a variety of commercial indexes and collections to enhance access to historical documents. Approximately 40-50% of its documents collection is cataloged in its online catalog, THOR.

The Allen County Public Library is the largest public library collection in the state. It became a federal depository in 1896 and has maintained a high selection rate of over 90% until very recently. It has purchased some commercial resources to enhance its collection including the U.S. Congressional Serial Set on microfiche. Unfortunately, it's historical government documents collection is not included in its online catalog.

While the University of Notre Dame lists its date of official depository designation as 1883, the first report by the Secretary of the Interior of distributions to depository libraries shows a distribution to the University in 1859. The second report of the Secretary of the Interior on distributions made in 1878 lists a disbursement to the University library. Its collection clearly pre-dates the 1883 official designation, a period when there was a general reaffirmation of depository designation by Congressmen.

Brief bibliography:

Hernon, PeterCharles R. McClure, and Gary P. Purcell. GPO's Depository Library Program: A Descriptive Analysis. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1985.

Lowell, Mildred Hawksworth. "Indiana University Libraries, 1829-1942." Ph.D. diss. University of Chicago, 1957.

Miller, Sarah Jordan. "The Depository Library System: A History of the Distribution of Federal Government Publications to Libraries of the United States from the Early Years of the Nation to 1895." Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1980.

Official List of Depository Libraries Consisting of Designated, Geological, and Official Gazette Depositories. Government Printing Office, 1909.

Schwarzkopf, LeRoy C. "The Depository Library Program and Access by the Public to Official Publications of the United States Government," Government Publications Review 5, no. 2 (1978): 147-156.

Chronological Guide to Government Publications Distribution

Indexing and Cataloging of Executive Department Publications

Indexes and Printed Catalogs

The large number and variety of publications issued by executive branch agencies makes good indexing and cataloging necessary to identify and locate needed material. While modern indexing has improved researchers' ability to identify relevant executive branch publications, there is still no complete index to all of these publications. The CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, 1789-1969 is the best source for locating executive branch documents issued as part of the Serial Set. However, after 1875, more and more executive publications were not published as part of the Serial Set. Three early attempts at identifying and indexing government publications include, Poore's Descriptive Catalogue, 1774-1881 and Ames' Comprehensive Index, 1881-1893 which lack entries for a very large number of executive department publications, and the Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1909 which is a list of all the documents in the Government Printing Office Public Documents Library. The Checklist lists the series of reports issued by executive agencies, but not individual titles. A subject index was planned for this title, but not completed until decades later.

The 1895 Printing Act instructed GPO to develop a comprehensive system of indexing and cataloging all government publications. From this mandate three tools were created - the Document Catalogue, 1895-1940, a comprehensive index of government publications, the Document Index, 1895-1933, a consolidated index of congressional publications, and the Monthly Catalog, 1895 to present, a catalogue of currently printed government publications with price and availability. The Monthly Catalog gave libraries, for the first time, a means of identifying what had been published and what they could expect to receive as federal depositories or purchase, if not chosen for distribution. While these indexes were thorough in the listing of documents published by GPO they did not list all documents published by executive departments and agencies outside GPO.

Several commercial indexes have improved access by incorporating titles in the earlier indexes and adding subject and keyword features. The Monthly Catalog has a cumulative subject index 1900-1971. The 1909 Checklist was updated by the 5 volume Checklist of United States Public Documents, 1789-1970 which indexes all information found in the 1909 Checklist, the Document Catalogue and the Monthly Catalog, and some items never listed in any of these catalogs (some libraries, e.g. Purdue University, have the 1976 supplemental volumes that add titles for 1971-1976). The Cumulative Title Index to U.S. Government Publications, 1789-1976 provides an alphabetical title index to the 1976 Checklist. Probably the best indexes for executive department publications have been produced by the Congressional Information Service (CIS). The CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, 1789-1969 is available in print and fully searchable online as part of the LexisNexis Congressional Indexes, 1789-1969. In addition, the CIS Executive Branch Documents Indexes, 1789-1909 and 1910-1932 provide access by subject, name, title, agency report numbers, and superintendent of documents number. Again these indexes are based on the catalogs of GPO's Public Documents library. Unfortunately, none of these indexes include all executive branch publications, because as noted above increasingly after WWI executive department documents were not sent to GPO for publication, cataloging, and distribution.

General Catalogs, Checklists, and Indexes, 1774-1989
(in chronological order of documents indexed)

 

Online Cataloging

Bibliographic records for government documents were not routinely available for inclusion in online catalogs until 1976 when GPO adopted the national standards for online cataloging. Since then virtually every publication that has been listed in the Monthly Catalog has been cataloged and made available for location in WorldCat, the world's largest and most comprehensive bibliographic database. In addition, some federal depository libraries have purchased the catalog records that represent their collections since 1976 and loaded them into their online catalog. Efforts are underway by individual libraries and GPO to catalog historical documents. The goal of GPO's National Bibliography Program is to create a comprehensive catalog of public documents including every document issued or published that is not confidential in nature. Indiana University libraries have embarked on a concerted effort to catalog its historical documents as they move items to a secure, preservation facility. While many pre-1976 are still not listed in online catalogs, the number is growing as part of GPO's plan to locate, document, and preserve historical documents.