Library Guides: British Parliamentary Papers: Introduction

Introduction

Most of the Parliamentary Papers in the Library are in either the Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor Paterno, or the Library Annex.

Parliamentary Papers, U.K. This link opens in a new window
Contains the full-text of sessional papers issued since 1715 with supplemental materials from 1688.
Contains documents produced by the British Parliament, including Bills, committee reports, and reports submitted to Parliament. As the working documents of government, the parliamentary papers encompass all areas of social, political, economic and foreign policy, showing how issues were explored and legislation was formed. The collection includes the Official Report of debates in Parliament, from both the House of Commons and House of Lords, supplemented by official histories and proceedings.

The term Parliamentary Papers typically refers to the following types of British government documents:

Journals, Votes, Proceedings and Debates (Records of what was said or done in Parliament)
Bills, Reports, & Papers (Working documents, usually referred to as the Sessional Papers)

U.K. Parliament
The Web page of the U.K. Parliament provides an overview of the workings of Parliament, and includes full-text of recent documents.

For additional background reading on the history and types of documents produced by Parliament consult the following guides:

A Guide to Parliamentary Papers by Percy Ford; F. Ford
Z2009.A1F6 1972, Penn State Erie, Stacks - General Collection.
A guide to parliamentary papers : what they are, how to find them, how to use them by Ford, P. (Percy), 1894-
Publication Date: 1955
Z2009.A1F6, Research Hub, 2nd Paterno - Reference Coll. - In-Library Use.
British Official Publications by J. E. Pemberton
Z2009.P45 1973, Research Hub, 2nd Paterno - Reference Coll. - In-Library Use.