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Collection Policy Statement Index

Contents:

I. Scope
II. Current Materials
III. Selective Materials
IV. Exclusions
V. Other

I. Scope

The Library of Congress acquires for its permanent collections all important legal publications and an ample selection of the less important works in this field. These requirements are in conformity with other collections policy statements, and include publications at the international, national, state or provincial, county, and municipal levels, as well as non-governmental publications.

II. Current materials

With the exceptions noted, the Library of Congress acquires all current publications the following categories:

1. U.S. bills and U.S. Government documents, in accordance with Government Publications - United States, Section I (GOU).
2. Publications of the American Bar Association.
3. Official gazettes of all countries.
4. Constitutions and proceedings of constitutional conventions, including published draft versions and reports of debates and committees on draft versions.
5. Codes, compilations, revisions or other consolidations of laws, including draft versions.
6. Proceedings, reports, etc., of code and law revision commissions.
7. Chronological publications of laws and session laws.
8. Codes, compilations, revisions or other consolidations of administrative and ministerial rules and regulations, including draft versions.
9. Chronological publications of administrative and ministerial rules and regulations.
10. Commentaries on specific laws, codes, and rules and regulations.
11. Indexes to laws, and rules and regulations.
12. Court decisions and reports, and the decisions and rulings of administrative courts having the effect of judicial decisions.
13. Digests and indexes of the decisions and reports of courts, and the decisions and rulings of administrative courts and agencies.
14. Citators and noters-up of the decisions and reports of courts and the decisions and rulings of administrative courts and agencies.
15. Court rules and rules of practice and procedure of judicial and administrative courts and agencies.
16. Treatises, texts, form books, collections of addresses, essays, lectures and other expositions on legal subjects.
17. Legal bibliographies, both general and those on particular phases of law and jurisprudence.
18. Legal dictionaries and encyclopedias and dictionaries of words and phrases which define the language of a country by authoritative legal sources.
19. Translations of constitutions, laws, codes, rules and regulations, treatises, texts and commentaries into English.
20. Directories of the legal profession.
21. Catalogs of law library collections.
22. Autobiographies and biographies of lawyers and jurists.
23. Legal newspapers of the U.S. cities listed in Government Publications-United States, Section IV.E (GOU).
24. Legislative histories of the United States at the Federal level, including source materials.
25. Records and briefs of the U.S. Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal; British House of Lords appeal records and cases of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain.

III. Selective materials

The Library of Congress acquires and retains for its permanent collections the following types of legal materials on a selective basis:

1. Separate issues and compilations of laws and rules and regulations on special subjects.
2. Legal periodicals and their indexes.
3. Law school theses, dissertations and theses on legal subjects.
4. Loose-leaf services.
5. Law school casebooks.
6. Legislative histories, including source materials, for the United States below the Federal level and for foreign jurisdictions.
7. Translations of Anglo-American constitutions, laws, codes, rules and regulations, outstanding treatises, texts, and commentaries into languages other than English, to meet continuing Congressional demands. (cf. Translations, Section II.E. (TRN).
8. Publications of bar associations and legal societies of the United States other than the American Bar Association, those of foreign countries, and international bar associations on legal societies.
9. Law school catalogs and yearbooks.
10. Manuscripts in or relating to the field of law.

IV. Exclusions

The Library of Congress does not actively seek to acquire or permanently retain the following types of publications in the field of law:

1. Extracts, separates, or unrevised reprints or reimpressions of books, reprints and extracts from journals, and reprints of specific acts.
2. Law school newsletters, newspapers, announcements, and materials for examinations.
3. Current acquisition lists of other libraries.
4. Press releases.
5. House organs.
6. Legislative bills of U.S. States and foreign countries.
7. Pamphlet materials.
8. Textbooks and other publications below the college level.
9. Other

This statement does not preclude the acquisition of materials falling outside the above policies, for the permanent collections or for temporary use, when such materials contain information of particular concern to Congress and to the United States Government which is not found elsewhere in the Library's collections or which is assembled in such a manner as to facilitate reference or research use.

Note: Formerly Acquisitions Policy Statement No. 64.
March 1973

adk 8/15/94

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