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U.S. Congressional Serial Set
What It Is and Its History


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How the Serial Set Is Bound  |   Definitions  



Depository and International Exchange Libraries receive the same edition as the "posterity libraries." Also beginning with the 96th Congress in 1979, all Reports, both Senate and House, whether they are public or private, and all Documents are arranged and bound in numerical sequence, making it easier for the user. Very little departmental material is now submitted for printing as a Congressional Document and printed in both Document and Departmental editions.

During the 1st Session of the 100th Congress in 1987, background material on the Iran-Contra Investigation was submitted for printing both as a numbered Senate Report and a numbered House Report. The Senate material consisted of 35 volumes and the House material consisted of 30 volumes which were duplicative. I sent a recommendation to the Joint Committee on Printing suggesting that only the Senate material actually be bound as part of the Serial Set. I also recommended that the House material be assigned Serial Numbers in order to include it in the Serial Set, and that it be cross-referenced to the Senate volumes. The Joint Committee adopted my recommendation thus saving over half a million dollars.

In order to further reduce the cost of preparation of the Congressional Serial Set, and because many libraries were having space problems, the Serial Set Committee recommended that the Set be offered to Depository Libraries and International Exchange libraries in microfiche format as well as the bound format beginning with the 96th Congress. To provide flexibility in filing and to increase the usability of the microfiche set, only one Document or Report would be put on a piece of fiche. Also, Documents and Reports would be filmed as soon as they were issued and sent to those libraries that chose to receive the microfiche. In order to turn this myriad of microfiche into the microfiche edition of the United States Congressional Serial Set, dividers and a single fiche containing the Title Page and/or Table of Contents for each volume is provided at the end of the Congress.

Polymer Divider provided at end of each Congress to turn myriad of microfiche of Documents and Reports into U.S. Congressional Serial Set in microfiche
Polymer Divider provided at end of Congress to turn myriad of microfiche of Documents and Reports into U.S. Congressional Serial Set in microfiche
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How the Serial Set Is Bound  |   Definitions  



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Last updated: September 5, 2000 
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