LibGuides: Official Publications: Home

What is covered in this guide?

This guide primarily addresses British Official Publications. However it does highlight a selection of official sources from key European and International Organisations which may be of relevance to your research.

The majority of the resources recommended in this guide are available online. The online tools have transformed research in this area as paper based research across official publications was a very laborious process in the past. However, some materials remain tricky to track down, especially when you are hunting amongst vast collections such as verbatim parliamentary debates - so please ask if you need further help.

Key Databases for UK Official Publications research

Public Information Online This link opens in a new window
PIO is a web-based archive of searchable Parliamentary and Official documents. Includes Civil Service yearbook. Also available via the HeinOnline search interface
Read more about PIO in the Library blog post.
UK Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
Fully searchable full text archive of House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (HCPP), also known as Sessional Papers or Blue Books, dating from 1715 through to today. Includes, Bills, House of Common Papers and Command Papers. Hansard debates archive also available. House of Lords Parliamentary Papers and House of Commons Public Petitions to Parliament also now included.
Proquest LibGuide is available to support users.

A vast collection of primary source archives are also available. For full details, take a look at the Primary Sources LibGuide where you can explore the archives by time period, region and theme. A few highlights include following - but do explore the guide where you will find many more examples

British Online Archives This link opens in a new window Digital primary source collections, covering a wide range of historical topics.
Permanent access is available to all collections.
Digital National Security Archive This link opens in a new window Access to selected government documents covering US policy towards world events from 1945 to present. Collections on Japan, China and specific elements of U.S. diplomacy.
Access to the following collections:
- China and the United States: From Hostility to Engagement, 1960-1998
- CIA Covert Operations, Part III: From Kennedy to Nixon, 1961-1974
- CIA Family Jewels Indexed
- Cuban Missile Crisis: 50th Anniversary Update
- Japan and the United States: Diplomatic, Security, and Economic Relations, 1977–1992 (Japan and the U.S., 1977-1992)
- Japan and the United States: Diplomatic, Security, and Economic Relations, Part III, 1961-2000 (Japan and the U.S., 1961-2000)
- Kissinger Conversations Supplements I & II: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977
- Kissinger Telephone Conversations: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977
- Kissinger Transcripts: A Verbatim Record of U.S. Diplomacy, 1969-1977
- Presidential Directives on National Security, Part I: From Truman to Clinton (Presidential Directives)
- Presidential Directives on National Security, Part II: From Truman to George W. Bush (Presidential Directives, Part II)
- President's Daily Brief: Nixon, Ford and the CIA, 1969-1977
- U.S. Intelligence and China: Collection, Analysis and Covert Action
State Papers Online This link opens in a new window Digitised manuscripts of British government papers from 1509 to 1782. Content includes correspondence, reports, memoranda, and parliamentary drafts. Parts I-IV Early Modern and Parts I-IV 18th Century available: Parts I & II: The Tudors, 1509-1603 Henry VIII-Elizabeth I . Parts III & IV: The Stuarts and Commonwealth, James I - Anne I, 1603-1714 . C18 Parts I-IV: 1714-1782, papers domestic and foreign Stuart and Cumberland papers from the Royal Archives
Enhanced access: Parts I-IV Early Modern, Parts I-IV 18th Century, Stuart and Cumberland papers now available.