Authenticated, full-text access to essential federal legislative publications, including the Congressional Record, House and Senate calendars, bills, public and private laws, and full-text hearings, reports, documents, and Committee prints from the past several Congresses. Check ProQuest Congressional and HeinOnline for additional as well as historical materials.
Contemporary and historical publications from the U.S. Congress, including the Congressional Record, bills, hearings, reports, and Committee prints. Many added value features are included, among them topic-focused pages, links to social media and news sources, Congress in context (essays to explain legislative developments at a particular historical moment), and links to proposed and adopted federal regulations.
This is the online version of the print indexes, CIS indexing and abstracting of congressional publications, and the CIS Legislative Histories (1970-present). It also includes electronic full text of selected congressional reports, documents, prints, bills and the Congressional Record; prepared statements and selected question and answer transcripts from committee hearings (1988-present); full text hearings (1824 to present); bill tracking reports that follow bills through Congress and the text of bills; public laws and the United States Code Service; the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations; biographical and financial information and voting records of members; rosters, charters and schedules for committees and subcommittees. Lastly, this database also includes access to some newspapers (Roll Call, Washington Post, The Hill) that follow political news.
Congress.gov is a comprehensive site for Congressional information ranging from Congressional publications to information about members, voting records, treaties, nominations, Law Library and Congressional Research Services, reports, etc. Scroll to the bottom of the Congress.gov homepage to find additional links.
HeinOnline is available courtesy of the Northeastern School of Law Library. The database includes a rich repository of both contemporary and historical Congressional materials.
Selected Congressional Publications
The Library provides access to both contemporary and historical collections of Congressional materials.
The Bound edition is the permanent version of the Record. Content may differ slightly from that of the predecessor Daily editions due to slight revision and rearrangement of the text. Pages are numbered continuously and no longer carry the H, S, and E prefixes (House, Senate, and Extension of Remarks).
Published biweekly when Congress is in session. In this digital index, the History of Bills is a separate database. The History is included in the print edition of the Index.
United States legislative and executive documents from the start of the republic in 1789 to the beginning of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set in 1817.
Important documents of the United States Congress including reports, journals (1817-1952), Senate executive documents, treaties (after 1978), committee reports, executive reports to congress, and more.
Use Proquest Congressional to locate a broad range of Congressional publications, including hearings, reports, documents, and Committee prints. We provide access to all published hearings from 1824 to present (1824-2003 generously funded by the Office of the Provost; 2004 to present, courtesy of the School of Law Library).
This is the online version of the print indexes, CIS indexing and abstracting of congressional publications, and the CIS Legislative Histories (1970-present). It also includes electronic full text of selected congressional reports, documents, prints, bills and the Congressional Record; prepared statements and selected question and answer transcripts from committee hearings (1988-present); full text hearings (1824 to present); bill tracking reports that follow bills through Congress and the text of bills; public laws and the United States Code Service; the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations; biographical and financial information and voting records of members; rosters, charters and schedules for committees and subcommittees. Lastly, this database also includes access to some newspapers (Roll Call, Washington Post, The Hill) that follow political news.
Other Legislative Branch Agenices - Congressional Research Service (CRS)
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) deserves special mention because of the scope, quality, and relevance of its research output. CRS researchers are experts in their fields and bring years of experience and analytical insight to their work.
The CRS prepares thoroughly researched studies of issues and government programs for members of Congress. Topics are as varied as the work/interests of Congress, so the scope is great.
Historically, CRS materials weren't routinely made available to the public and had to be sought through a variety of intermediary organizations which made it their business to collect CRS reports. Some of those organizations are noted below for readers in search of historical materials.
The CRS site on Congress.gov has been the official site for reports since 2018 when public access was initiated.
Historically, UNT has a leader in the effort to digitize and preserve government information. Pre-2018 CRS reports may be found on this site.
Other Legislative Branch Resources
In addition to Congress, the legislative branch includes a number of other important agencies. Please see the separate section on CRS, the Congressonal Research Service.
As self-described on its web page, "Since 1975, CBO has produced independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process."
From the GAO web page, "GAO provides Congress, the heads of executive agencies, and the public with timely, fact-based, non-partisan information that can be used to improve government and save taxpayers billions of dollars. Our work is done at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees or is statutorily required by public laws or committee reports, per our Congressional Protocols."
The GAO reports include evaluations and investigations of many federal programs and agencies. For a broader range of publications, use the Reports and Testimonies link on the GAO website.
United States legislative and executive documents from the start of the republic in 1789 to the beginning of the U.S. Congressional Serial Set in 1817.
Coverage of developments in Congress in specific and the federal government in general. Excellent source on government activity written in lay persons' terms.
HeinOnline is available courtesy of the Northeastern School of Law Library.
Full text legal documents including regulations and other government publications, reports, Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) and UN Treaty series, and law reviews and journals.
Modern legislative history indexing and documents for the United States Congress.
This is the online version of the print indexes, CIS indexing and abstracting of congressional publications, and the CIS Legislative Histories (1970-present). It also includes electronic full text of selected congressional reports, documents, prints, bills and the Congressional Record; prepared statements and selected question and answer transcripts from committee hearings (1988-present); full text hearings (1824 to present); bill tracking reports that follow bills through Congress and the text of bills; public laws and the United States Code Service; the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations; biographical and financial information and voting records of members; rosters, charters and schedules for committees and subcommittees. Lastly, this database also includes access to some newspapers (Roll Call, Washington Post, The Hill) that follow political news.
Important documents of the United States Congress including reports, journals (1817-1952), Senate executive documents, treaties (after 1978), committee reports, executive reports to congress, and more.
A summary of a research article that appears at the beginning of the document. Reading the abstract may help you decide if you want to read the full article.
A geographic information system (GIS) software developed by Esri. ArcGIS enables you to analyze, visualize, and interpret spatial data for better decision-making.
Written content on a narrow subject and published in a periodical or website. In some contexts, academics may use article as a shortened form of journal article.
A group of libraries in New England that work together to share resources with students, faculty, and staff of member libraries. Northeastern University is a member of this group. Requesting a consortium library card is free to Northeastern students.
A free library available to people who work, live or attend school in Massachusetts. Boston Public Library's collection includes physical and digital access to books, journals, and films.
A label of letters and/or numbers that tell you where the resource can be found in the library. Call numbers are displayed on print books and physical resources and correspond with a topic or subject area.
Catalog
A list of all the items in a library's physical collection. Modern catalogs are searchable databases. Catalogs include information about the item's:
title
creator
publication
subject
availability
location in the library
Also called a catalogue, OPAC. Historically a card catalog.
Software that can help you collect, organize, and cite sources. The library provides training on five specific citation managers: BibTeX, EndNote, Mendeley, RefWorks, and Zotero. Also called citation management software, citation management tool or reference manager.
Physical materials assigned by an instructor and held at the library. These materials are generally restricted to in-building use for a limited period. At faculty discretion, some materials may be checked out overnight or for a few days.
A searchable collection of similar items. Library databases include resources for research. Examples include: a newspaper database, such as Access World News, or a humanities scholarly journal database, such as JSTOR.
A searchable online storage space for video files, images, and documents. Specialized digital repositories collect materials related to a theme or institution.
Northeastern University Library manages the Digital Repository Service (DRS). The DRS collects digital material related to Northeastern University's history and academic work.
A unique number assigned to some digital content. DOIs do not change even if the online location or ownership of the resource changes.
Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD)
A digital version of a thesis or dissertation produced by a master's or Ph.D. student. Most theses and dissertations written by Northeastern University students are ETDs. Interested researchers can find Northeastern ETDs in the Digital Repository Service. Theses and dissertations written before 2007 are only available in print format in the Northeastern University Archives.
A broad category of research in which existing research is reviewed to clarify what is known. Evidence synthesis uses explicit and reproducible methods. Common types of evidence synthesis include systematic reviews, scoping reviews, integrative reviews, and umbrella reviews.
The entirety of an article or book, as opposed to a summary or description. Libraries often provide access to the full text as an attached file or in a web reader.
A computer-based means of storing, analyzing, and displaying geographic data. Researchers use Geographic Information Systems to create maps and charts.
A way of examining and interpreting data about geographic locations, or spatial data. Geospatial analysis examines spatial data to gain insights and identify patterns or trends. Also called geospacial analysis.
A library service that allows you to request resources your library does not have. At Northeastern University, this service is free. Materials are delivered electronically when possible.
A meaningful word or phrase in a source’s database or catalog record. Keywords are often used as search terms to retrieve records that contain the word or phrase.
A search setting that removes search results based on source attributes. Limiters vary by database but often include publication date, material type, and language. Also called: filter or facet.
Marginalia
Notes, comments, annotations, sketches, added to the margins of a text. These can be typed or hand-written. Marginalia can include headers, footnotes, and sidenotes. In some cases, marginalia are written by the author of a text, but is often notes made by a reader.
Metadata
Information associated with a resource, usually organized in a specific way. The word metadata means "data about data".
Metadata varies but often includes title, creator, and format. Descriptive metadata makes it possible to find and identify resources in a collection. When the metadata in a collection is standardized, the predefined structure is called a metadata schema.
Research or data available for free. Open access resources are sometimes labeled with an unlocked padlock symbol. These resources often have permissive licenses that support re-use and sharing.
Words used to connect multiple search terms to bring back targeted results. Operators can be used to reduce or expand the number of search results. Operators include:
Well-regarded review process used by some academic journals. Relevant experts review articles for quality and originality before publication. Articles reviewed using this process are called peer reviewed articles. Less often, these articles are called refereed articles.
A free and open-source Geographic Information System (GIS) application. This tool set enables you to capture, analyze, visualize, and share geographic data. QGIS is a Mac-friendly alternative to ArcGIS.
To transfer information from one format to another. Example: Scanning a paper newspaper to create an online or PDF version. Reformatting includes digitization.
A webpage or pages created by librarians to guide your research in a field or course. Research guides include links to resources, tutorials, and other information.
The removal of a published article from a journal. A journal’s editors or editorial board can decide to retract an article when it has serious errors. Errors that can result in retraction include:
A book or article written by academic researchers and published by an academic press or journal. Scholarly sources contain original research and commentary.
Scholarly articles are published in journals focused on a field of study. also called academic articles.
Scholarly books are in-depth investigations of a topic. They are often written by a single author or group. Alternatively in anthologies, chapters are contributed by different authors.
Common filetype (.shp) for points, lines, or polygons. This filetype is widely used in Geographic Information Systems, specifically ArcGIS. Various free shapefiles are available online.
A library database that searches a broad range of resources. Material in Scholar OneSearch includes:
Scholarly, newspaper and other articles
books & eBooks
streaming music and video
board games
archival material
Scholar OneSearch also includes information about material held at Northeastern’s libraries. Researchers can use ScholarOne Search to organize their research and manage borrowed items. To best serve Northeastern University's widespread community, ScholarOne Search has different views:
The Online / Global network view shows all online material.
The Boston view shows all online material and items held at Snell Library.
The Oakland view shows all online material and items held at the F. W. Olin Library.
Appropriate views for each global campus are included on their Global Campus Portal.
A source focused on sharing news and information of interest to an industry. Trade publications are often published by industry associations. Periodicals related to an industry are called trade journals.
An unrepeated string of numbers and letters used to recognize and differentiate material. Also called an identification number. Examples include American citizen's’ social security numbers or published books' ISBNs. A persistent identifier (PID) is a long-lasting type of unique identifier. Persistent identifiers allow you to locate a resource with a URL. Examples include electronic articles' Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and digital materials' handles.