General State Document Resources

• A Guide to the Microfilm Collection of Early State Records, prepared by the Library of Congress in association with the University of North Carolina. [Washington, D.C.]: Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service, 1950. Olin Ref Z1223.5.A1 U47 +, and Suppl.
  Index to the legislative, constitutional, administrative, executive, and court records that were included in LC's State Records Microfilm Project. Most materials date from the seventeenth though nineteenth centuries. Cornell does not own the microfilm set, but may borrow reels from the Center for Research Libraries via Interlibrary Loan.

• State Document Checklists: a Historical Bibliography, by Susan L. Dow. 2nd ed. Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein & Co., 2000. Olin Ref Z1223.5 A1 D68x 2000
  A state document checklist is defined as a regularly published bibliographic list of all current state documents...identified to have been published by the state. This volume attempts to include all state document checklists so defined for all 50 states.

• State Reference Publications. Topeka, KS: Government Research Service, 1998.Olin Ref + JK 2679 S791
  A bibliographic guide to the most currently available (as of 1998)general reference publications, such as legislative manuals and blue books, for each of the states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. It also provides internet addresses for state government Web sites.

• Tapping State Government Information Sources. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2003. Olin Ref +Z 1223.5 A1 T36 2003
  For each state, describes the Depository system and published indexes to documents of that state, and lists useful addresses and telephone numbers, essential state publications (e.g., directories, financial/budgetary resources, legal resources, statistical resources, etc.), and government web sites. Also includes a section on general resources covering all 50 states.

• [Various State Manuals, Guides, Almanacs and "Blue Books"] see Olin Ref JK 2493 through JK 8243
  Most state governments issue annual legislative manuals and other reference books that contain information on that state's legislative process, its judiciary, and its executive branch and agencies. They may also include historical information, statistical data, directories, maps, charts, the texts of important state documents such as constitutions, and even essays on topics of interest. The Florida Handbook, for example, contains sections on "Women in Government" and "Native Americans in Florida." They are arranged not by state, but by region (e.g., New England states would be shelved together, as would western states, etc.).

Legislative Resources

• Guide to State Legislative and Administrative Materials. 4th ed. 1988. Olin Ref + KF 1 G94 1988
  For each state, provides data in standardized format on the availability of bills, hearings, legislative digests, committee reports, debates, journals, legislative manuals and directories, slip laws, session laws, codes, attorneys general opinions, executive orders, administrative regulations, state law guides, etc.The Law Library has the 2000 edition.

• Inside the Legislative Process: a Comprehensive Survey of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries in Cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Denver, Colo. : National Conference of State Legislatures, 1998.Olin Ref + JK 2495 I57
  Loose-leaf. Describes the parliamentary practices within each state legislature, including legislative organization, bills and bill processing, committee procedures, floor action, and general legislative procedures.

• National Survey of State Laws. 4th ed. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 2003. Olin Ref KF 386 N27
  While not comprehensive, a very handy overview of state laws in major subject areas. Organized under broad category (e.g., Family Laws) and then by subject (Abortion, Adoption, Child Abuse), compares in tabular form the differences among the 50 states. Includes citations to the primary state laws for further research.

• American Automobile Association. Digest of Motor Laws. 1961 - date. Latest in Olin Ref KF2230 Z9 A51; also Uris Ref HE5619 A51
  "Summary of regulations governing registration and operation of passenger cars in the United States, Canal Zone, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Provinces of Canada."

• State Constitutions of the United States. Washington, DC : Congressional Quarterly, 1998. Olin Ref KF 4530 M33x 1998
  Includes the full text of constitutions for both states and U.S. territories, amended and current up through January 1, 1998. State constitutions are also available online through State Capital Universe. (see entry below)

• State Legislative Sourcebook. Topeka, KS.: Government Research Service annual, 2003.Olin Ref + JK 2495 S792
  Provides basic data and lists sources of information concerning all 50 state legislative processes, including internet sites, printed directories, office telephone numbers, lobbying registration contacts, and more.

• Internet Sites of the State Legislatures. (NCSLnet)
  Produced by the National Conference of State Legislatures, NCSLnet is the electronic information network for state legislatures, providing comprehensive services through web, directory and news servers. NCSLnet provides immediate access to all NCSL products, plust a research database of more than 500,000 documents encompassing legislative research reports, current and past legislation, statutes, and 50-state surveys.

• State Capital Universe. Bethesda, Md. : Congressional Information Services, 1998-. Library Catalog or Find Databases

  The most comprehensive and authoritative source of legislative and administrative information at the state level, similar to Congressional Universe in appearance and structure. It consists of several sections, the most important of which are:

  Bills	Allows searching for state bills and state bill tracking reports by keyword and/or bill number
  Statutes	Search for state statutes by keyword or for statutory code section by citation. Contains full text of state constitutions, also searchable by keyword.
  Regulations	Provides the full text of state regulatory reports, proposed regulations, state registers, and administrative codes, all keyword searchable.
  Issues	Offers information from State Net Capitol Journals, LegisBriefs, State Legislatures Magazine, State Legislatures Reports, and articles from newspapers that are considered the state newspapers of record, usually those published in the state's capital (e.g, Albany Times-Union, Austin-American Statesman).
  Members	Links to the State Legislative Directory, containing state legislators' biographical information, mailing address and phone number.
  List of links	An annotated set of links to Web sites about the state legislative process, including official state sites and association sites.

• FindLaw
  Contains some of the same information as State Capital Universe: consolidated state laws, regulations, bill information, state court opinions, etc. Structured quite differently, and more effectively used if you know exactly what you're looking for. Links often connect directly to sites created by state legislatures.

• Stateline.org: your source for news on the states.
  Stateline.org follows the development of major policy issues on the public agenda in the states. For such topics as welfare reform, land use, taxes, health care and education, the site provides original articles, links to newspaper coverage, and background information at the state level. Daily news summaries are posted each weekday with links to the full stories. For each state, the site maintains a profile of policy issues, current news, statistics, and background information. The web site and its features can be searched by keyword and date, and the site offers Internet resource links and a current awareness service.

• StateList: The Electronic Source for State Publication Lists
  This site provides links to state publication checklists and shipping lists that are currently available on the Internet from 32 states. For further details on the StateList Project, please see the project description.

CU Library Catalog Overview

Search Commands, Subject Searching, Keyword Searching, and other functions of the online catalog are explained on these web pages.

The Cornell University Library Catalog includes the holdings for all of the libraries on the Ithaca campus, in addition to those of the Geneva Experiment Station. It contains records for books, computer files, government documents, manuscripts and archives, maps, musical scores, periodicals, serials, sound recordings, and visual materials received and cataloged since 1973. There are also records for most pre-1973 items, and for items that are on order or in process.

Connect to the Cornell University Library Catalog

When to Check the Card Catalog

When the book you want was published before 1973 and it's not in the CU Library Catalog, check the card catalog located in the John M. Olin Library. This card catalog contains cards for authors, subjects and titles filed in an alphabetical, word-by-word arrangement for books cataloged through December 1972. Whenever you cannot locate the material you need, ask at a reference desk for assistance.