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Digital Access to the Congressional Record Expanded

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A few weeks ago, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the Library of Congress released for the first time public access to electronic versions of digitized historical content. The GPO has partnered with the Library of Congress to release the digital version of the bound Congressional Record from 1981-1990 on GPO's GovInfo website (https://www.govinfo.gov/). This release covers debates and proceedings of the 98th thru the 101st Congresses, exactly as it appears in the permanent bound editions. Prior to this release, there were no official digital releases of the Congressional Record during the 1980s that the public could access freely online. The GPO and the Library of Congress  released the digital version of the historical Congressional Record for the 1990s in September and will continue to collaborate on this important project and release digital versions of the bound Congressional Record back to the first one published by GPO on March 5, 1873.

The GPO’s GovInfo website will eventually replace the Federal Digital System (FDsys) public website. As of this writing the GovInfo site and its content are in beta-testing, but anything you are used to finding through FDsys can now be accessed through GovInfo. GovInfo, with a cleaner design, increased search and browse options, and mobile-friendly interface will eventually replace FDsys.

Law Center users who would like to access digital versions of the complete Congressional Record are currently able to do so through HeinOnlin's U.S. Congressional Documents library. It is heartening, though, to see that all citizens now  have increased access to the reports of Congress throughout our nation’s history.


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