Federal and state documents

Pennsylvania State Documents Depository

The State Library is the official depository for printed publications of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This collection provides an historical repository of materials of the government of Pennsylvania from the 1700s to the present. A system of depository libraries has been set up so that many state publications can be used at locations outside of Harrisburg. Many of the publications are available electronically and may be located and accessed through our catalog.

Federal Documents Depository

The State Library participates in the U.S. Government Printing Office Federal Depository Program. The collection dates back to the mid 1800s, with new materials being received on a continual basis. The State Library is the Regional Federal Depository Library for the Commonwealth; and, as such, receives a copy of every U.S. government publication distributed to depository libraries. Many federal publications are published electronically and may be located and accessed through our catalog, while others are available on the web at the U.S. Government Printing Office Access or USA.gov. For more information about conducting research with our Documents collection, please check out the Documents Research Guide.