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Presidential Documents
 
Contents:
 
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Public Papers of the Presidents
Proclamations & Executive Orders
Other Presidential Documents Resources
 

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

The Weekly Compilation is issued every Monday and contains statements, messages, and other Presidential material released by the White House during the preceding week. It includes such material as proclamations, executive orders, speeches, press conferences, communications to Congress and Federal agencies, statements regarding bill signings and vetoes, appointments, nominations, reorganization plans, resignations, and retirements. It also lists acts approved by the President, nominations submitted to the Senate, and other White House announcements and press releases. The contents of the Weekly Compilation are compiled annually into the Public Papers of the Presidents.
Internet: 1993-   via GPO Access www.gpoaccess.gov/wcomp/index.html
Search by keyword from 1993-   , or browse from 2001-   .

Public Papers of the President

The Public Papers is an edited annual cumulation of the Weekly Compilation. It has been published from the Hoover administration (1929) on, except for Franklin Roosevelt's administration. Only during the Carter and Reagan administrations is the text of proclamations and executive orders included, but the volumes for the others have tables which give the Federal Register page number where the text can be found.
Location: Storage J 80 .A283   (Request from storage via the library catalog.)
Indexes:
  1. Each annual volume has an index
  2. Cumulated Indexes to the Public Papers of the President of the United States. [1945-1993]
    Storage J 80 .A283 1945-1993   (Request from storage via the library catalog.)
Internet
1992-     via GPO Access:
    1.   Search the Public Papers of the President www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/search.html
    2.   Indexes to volumes of the Public Papers of the Presidents: www.gpoaccess.gov/pubpapers/browse.html

1929-2000   www.hti.umich.edu/p/ppotpus/ Official digitization project
    From the University of Michigan Digital Library, sponsored by the U.S. Government Printing Office.

1929-     via the American Presidency Project www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/   at UC Santa Barbara
    Browse by month and year, or search by keywords.

Proclamations & Executive Orders

Proclamations and executive orders are two forms of executive fiat and are issued in separate, numbered series. While they both have the same legal effect, executive orders "usually involve an exercise of presidential authority related to government business, while proclamations are announcements of policy or of matters requiring public notice."
[Source: Legal Research in a Nutshell. 1992]
Proclamations and executive orders have been published
in a variety of places since 1789:
1789-1941;
2000- present
United States Statutes at Large.
Location: Reference KF 47 .U5
Contains proclamations only.
1845-1936 Presidential Executive Orders Numbers 1-7403 (1845-June 1936).
Location: Gov Info micro (microfilm)
Index: Presidential Executive Orders: Numbered Series (1862-1938)
Gov Info Reference KF 70 .A5 1981
v. 1: List ; v.2: Index
This is not an index specifically to the microfilm, and the numbering and date ranges covered do not correspond.
Use it to identify the date of an executive order.
1929-1933 Herbert Hoover: Proclamations and Executive Orders, March 4 1929-March 4 1933.
Location: Storage J 82 D5 1974   (Request from storage via the library catalog.)
1936- present Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Title 3: The President.
Location: Reference KF 70 A5
Internet: www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/index.html (1997- )
Use the Weekly Compilation or the Federal Register to update the CFR.
1936- present Federal Register.
Location: Current 2 years in paper: Reference KF 70 A2 F292
Previous years on microfilm and microfiche: Gov Info micro
Index: The Public Papers of the Presidents gives Federal Register page numbers.
Internet: www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html (1994- )
1937- present Executive Orders Disposition Tables.
Internet: www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
Reference information starting with EO 7532, January 8, 1937; links to full text starting with EO 12834, January 20, 1993.
1941-2003 US Code Congressional and Administrative News.
Location: Reference KF 48
1945- present Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders [1945-1989].
Location: Reference KF 70 .A473 1945-89
Internet: www.archives.gov/federal_register/codification/
Contains selected Proclamations and Executive Orders
1977-Jan 1989 Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
(Carter & Reagan only)
Location: See above for locations and description
1993- present Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Location: See above for locations and description

Other Presidential Documents Resources

A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents [1789-1916].
Location: Storage J 81 B96g volumes 1-20
To request specific volumes from storage: search by title or call number in the library catalog, click on Storage then on Request Item.

Search the Library Catalog
Browse Subject:   presidents united states correspondence
Keyword: presidents papers or [name] papers
  for example: abraham lincoln papers

Presidential Documents
A compilation of links from the University of Michigan Documents Center.


This Web page is a joint project of:
Carol Doyle, Head, Maps & Government Information, California State University, Fresno
Janet Martorana, California Government Collection Manager, UC Santa Barbara;
Sherry DeDecker, U.S. Documents Collection Manager and Head, Govt. Info. Center, UC Santa Barbara;
Cynthia Jahns, Head, Maps Unit, Science & Engineering Library, UC Santa Cruz.
About This Guide
Revised 12 March 2007        
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Head, Maps & Government Information
Henry Madden Library
California State University, Fresno
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The Madden Library is a selective federal and California depository.