Research Guides: British/UK Parliamentary Papers Research Guide: Indexes & Catalogs

General Indexes

Annual Catalogues of British Official and Parliamentary Publications, 1894-1909 (1975)
Reprints of the catalogues covering 1894-1909.
Annual Catalogues of British Official and Parliamentary Publications, 1910-1919. (1975)
Reprints of the Quarterly List of Official Publications and the Quarterly List of Parliamentary Publications, 1910-1919.
Catalogue of British Official Publications Not Published by HMSO (1980 to 2000)
Volumes from 1980 to 1996 have the phrase "Not Published by HMSO." These are published bi-monthly with annual cumulations and list the many official publications issued by government departments, agencies and other bodies as well as by commercial publishers. Emory does not subscribe to all of these but individual titles can be found in discoverE.
HMSO Agency Catalogue
The HMSO catalogues have been published under a variety of titles, Consolidated List of Government Publications, Government Publications, HMSO Annual Catalogue.
Catalogues and indexes of British Government Publications, 1920-1970. 5 volumes (1974)
A reprint of the annual catalogues from 1920 to 1970 and of the indexes covering 1936 to 1970. Woodruff library holds the first three volumes only.
The Stationery Office Annual Catalogue (1996 to 2001 and 2008 to 2013)
In 1996, the Stationery Office, in a privatization move, took over most of the publishing and distribution functions of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, or HMSO. Their catalogs succeeded those of HMSO as important records of government publications. Both the Monthly and Annual Catalogues are indexed.

Indexes to Sessional Papers: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

Numerous general and special indexes exist for the British House of Commons Sessional Papers. The Sessional Indexes prepared by the House of Commons Library form the last volume of Papers for each session and so are easily identified in the microfiche collection.

Hansard's Catalogue and Breviate of Parliamentary Papers, 1696-1834 (1953)
Call No: J301 .M3 1953A (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
This is a reprint of the original work which abstracted and indexed papers of the House of Commons (and those communicated to to the Commons by the House of Lords) from 1696-1834
List of Commons Sessional Papers, 1701-1750 (1968)
Call No: CD1042 .A2 L51 V.1 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
This index lists all known surviving House of Commons Sessional Papers printed in the first half of the eighteenth century and their locations. It is volume one of the List and Index Society Series.
House of Commons Papers, General Index to the Accounts and Papers, Reports of Commissioners, Estimates, &c, &c. 1801-1852 (1938)
Call No: J301 .M3 1801-1852 ( Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
General Index to Reports of Select Committees (1854)
Call No: J301 .M3 1801-1852A (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
General index to the bills printed by order of the House of Commons: 1801-1852 (1853)
Call No: J301 .M3 1801-1852B (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
General Alphabetical Index to the Bills, Reports, Estimates, Accounts and Papers Printed by Order of the House of Commons and to the Papers Presented by Command, 1852-1899 3 volumes (1909)
Call No: J301 .M3 1852-1899 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
The four titles above provide rather broad subject indexing to the Sessional Papers.
Select List of British Parliamentary Papers, 1833-1899 (1953)
Call No: J301 .M3 1953 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
A list and index of Parliamentary Papers for the period 1833-1899 dealing with social, economic and constitutional issues as well as questions of law and administration.
Subject Catalogue of the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 1801-1900 5 volumes (1988)
Call No: Z2019 .C63 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
This work divides the papers into nineteen broad subject groups with subdivisions leading to more precise categories. This is the best catalog for 19th century pariliamentary papers.

Indexes to Sessional Papers: Twentieth Century

General Index to the Bills, Reports, and Papers printed by order of the House of Commons and to the Reports and Papers Presented by Command, 1900 to 1948-49 (1960)
Call No: J301 .M3 1900-1949 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
General Alphabetical Index to the bills, Reports, and papers Printed by Order of the House of Commons and to the Reports and papers Presented by Command, 1950-1958-59
Call No: J301 .M3 1963 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
General Alphabetical Index to the Bills, Reports, and Papers printed by Order of the House of Commons and to the Reports and Papers Presented by Command 1959-60 to 1968-69 (1975)
Call No: J301 .M3 1959-69 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
The three titles above are cumulations of the Sessional Indexes for the periods covered. Arrangement is by subject although the later index also lists committee chairmen and personal authors.

Specialized Indexes: Chairmen and Authors

British Government Publications: Index to Chairmen of Committees and Commissions of Inquiry 3 volumes (1982)
Call No: Z2009 .R535 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
Covers 1800 to 1978.
Committee Reports Published by HMSO Indexed by Chairman (1984 to 1996)
Call No: Z2009 .G83 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
Index to Chairmen: Reports of Official Committees (1984 to present)
Call No: Z2009 .G83 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)

Specialized Indexes: Command Papers

A Numerical Finding List of British Command Papers Published 1833-1961/62 (1967)
Call No: Z2009 .D5 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
British Command Papers: A Numerical Finding List, 1962/63-1976/77 (1982)
Call No: Z2009 .B76 1982 (Library Service Center - Non-Circulating)
These two works allow one to identify a Command Paper in the Sessional Papers when only the command number is known.

Specialized Indexes: Foreign Affairs

A Century of Diplomatic Blue Books, 1814-1914 (1938)
Call No: Z2009 .T4 (Robert W. Woodruff Library: Stacks)
A Breviate of British Diplomatic Blue Books, 1919-1939 (1963)
Call No: Z2009 .V6 (Robert W. Woodruff Library: Stacks)
An Index of British Treaties, 1101-1968 3 volumes (1970)
Call No: JX636 1892 Index 1101-1968 (Robert W. Woodruff Library: Stacks)
A comprehensive index to British treaties including not only the contents of the Treaty Series of the Sessional Papers but also the contents of numerous other sources.
An Index of British Treaties ... 4 volumes (1970)
Online
A 1991 reprint of An Index of British Treaties, 1101-1968 , with a fourth volume for the years 1969-1988.

Specialized Indexes: Royal Commissions

A Finding List of British Royal Commission Reports, 1860-1935 (1935)
Royal Commissions are set up to investigate a particular topic and report their findings to the Sovereign. This list is arranged into broad subject areas and notes those reports that are included in the Sessional Papers. Royal Commission reports after 1935 are listed in the Sessional Indexes, however, minutes of evidence and other related papers are not considered Parliamentarly Papers (they are Non-Parliamentary Papers, and so are listed only in the Stationary Office Annual Catalogue or the Catalogue of Government Publications of the HMSO.

Specialized Indexes: Serials

Serial Publications in the British Parliamentary Papers, 1900-1968: a bibliography (1971)
Call No: Z2009 .R63 (Robert W. Woodruff Library: Stacks)

Non-Parliamentary Publications

Sectional Lists
Non-Parliamentary Publications are listed in the Stationary Office Annual Catalogue and in the Catalogue of British Official Publications Not Published by the Stationary Office.

Sectional Lists normally cover the publications of a particular government agency, listing out-of-print as well as in-print publications. As such they act as indexes to non-parliamentary publications and as useful subject bibliographies. Woodruff Library stopped receiving Sectional Lists in 1996.