Government Documents
Written by Victoria Horne. Read by Nejla McFarlane
Welcome to this University of Melbourne Library podcast.
Today we are looking at the University of Melbourne’s Government Documents collection.
Government documents are a valuable primary source for many subject areas, in particular, history, politics, and public policy. They are also used for the study and practice of Law. Governments around the world publish a huge amount of material with publications ranging from records of parliamentary debate to legislation, accounts, reports, statistics, periodicals and miscellaneous papers. Material is published for a variety of reasons such as to support the work of government bodies and individuals, and also to satisfy the demand for accountability.
The University of Melbourne Library has an extensive collection of Government publications. It is particularly strong with regard to Australia, Britain, United States, and the European Community. Most of the collection is housed in the Baillieu Library on the third floor in the Government Documents Collection, and on the lower ground floor in the Microforms Collections, as well as the Law Library. Indexes are available for much of the material.
The Government Documents collection on the third floor of the Baillieu Library houses mainly Australian and British material. One of the benefits of this collection is that researchers may browse an almost complete collection of the Australian and Victorian parliamentary debates and parliamentary papers in one location. The debates (also known as Hansard) are the official transcripts of the debates on bills, answers to questions, and members' speeches in Parliament. Parliamentary Papers are reports, and statements from departments, government agencies, committees of inquiry, and royal commissions, and they are a major reference source for information on the role and activities of the parliament and government. Other Australian and Victorian government documents in this collection include Votes and Proceedings, Government Gazettes, Statutes, Rules and Regulations and Year Books. Year Books provide a comprehensive statistical picture of the economy and social conditions in Australia. There are also selected holdings of material for other Australian states and territories. The British government documents in this collection include House of Commons and House of Lords Hansard, and the Irish Press edition of the 18th C Parliamentary papers.
There are other government document collections in other parts of the Library, these include..
Special Collections on the third floor of the Baillieu Library which has a large collection of historic British parliamentary publications.
The Microforms Collection on the lower ground floor of the Baillieu Library also has an extensive collection of United States Congressional material including Hearings, Journals, Debates & Proceedings, and Law & Legislation on microfiche.
And the Law Library holds legislation from Australia, the UK, the US, Canada and also New Zealand.
Material in the government documents collection may not be borrowed, but there are study tables and photocopying facilities for you to use
To find out more information about the Library's collection of Government Documents you can inquire at the Baillieu Library Information Desk. Our Government Documents Guide also has more information and useful links and can be found at www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/sg/addres/govdocs.html