Government Documents

Pennsylvania Government Documents

The State Library has been a collector of Pennsylvania Government documents from the beginning of its history. The State Library under a Governor's mandate collects those documents that are for the general public. This includes reports, magazines, educational materials, brochures and a whole host of other types of printed materials. As the world becomes more and more an electronic repository, links to the electronic versions of these documents are available by looking in the State Library's online catalog.

U. S. Federal Depositories

The State Library of Pennsylvania is one of the oldest depositories in the U.S. As a Regional depository, the State Library is a liaison for the other U.S. federal depositories in PA. Many o​f the U.S. documents are available electronically through the State Library's online catalog.

Procedures for State Depository Libraries

The State Library collects the publications of Agencies un​der the Governor’s jurisdiction, legislative and judicial branches of the government of the Commonwealth. According to Title 22, Chapter 143 of the Pennsylvania Code a depository program was created to disperse to various libraries throughout Pennsylvania copies of these documents.

​The legislation states what institutions may be a depository and the termination of that statu​​s by the institution.

Selection of ma​​terials

At the present time there is no specifi​​c selection of materials for Pennsylvania documents. The staff of the State Library will fill as many of the boxes to be shipped as possible with the materials received. According to the PA Code designated libraries must keep materials for five years from receipt of materials. A list of the materials is included with the box.

An annual list of all added materials to the Pennsylvania documents collection will be posted to the State Library’s website. An updated version of t​​he Pennsylvania documents classification scheme will also be posted.

Disposition of ma​​terials

Libraries may dispose of materials ​​that are more than five years of age. There is a Facebook page for documents librarians, both federal and state, in Pennsylvania. This is a closed group so the staff members of the institution must be a friend of the State Library’s documents librarian Kathy Hale. Once the staff member is a friend then the person can list the requested documents for disposal. If the staff member does not get any communication from the list in 90 days then permission has automatically been granted to dispose of the material.

Materials should be listed on the​​ Facebook page in the following manner:

Title, Agency, date (If the item is a serial then lis​t inclusive dates (1998-2005))

Disposition of depository stat​us by Pennsylvania Dep​​ositories

​Title 22, Section 143.7​

The State Librarian is the​ person who is responsible for arranging the cessation of the shipments from the State Library to a Pennsylvania Documents depository library.

Proce​​​dures

1. A library that wishes to drop from the Pennsylvania State Documents Depository Program must send a letter to the State Librarian stating that they wish to relinquish t​​heir status as a Pennsylvania Documents depository. Both the Head Librarian and the Head of the Board of Trustees in the case of a public library or the Director of the Library and the President of the institution should sign the letter in the case of academic libraries as stated in the Pennsylvania Code.
2. The State Libra​​rian or their office contacts the Director of the State Library of Pennsylvania (State Library). The State Librarian indicates that the library wishes to drop their status as a Pennsylvania Depository. The mailings to the depository libraries are currently directed through the Government Documents librarian. The Director would send a communication to the Documents Librarian to cease the distribution of materials to the library withdrawing from the program.
3. A copy of t​he communication from the State Librarian to the Director of the State Library should be kept in the Office of Commonwealth Libraries and the Director’s offices. A copy would also be held by the documents librarian as part of the records retention schedule.
4. The State Librari​an sends an official letter to the Director of the Library of the institution wishing to drop their status in the Pennsylvania that the library has been officially dropped as of a certain date.​​

Pennsylvania Agencies

The State Library is required under The Pennsylvania Code and by MD 205.23 Submission of Commonwealth Publications to the State Library for Distribution to Other Designated Libraries (PDF) to have 70 copies of each of your agency’s publications. This includes any time that you update or change a publication. This is so 50 or 100 years from now there is a place that people can come to learn about the government of Pennsylvania.

The State Library of Pennsylvania is the only Regional Depository Library, the principal resource in Pennsylvania for federal and state government publications, in Pennsylvania.

The Library serves as the official depository for all printed publications of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with more than 50,000 titles, many dating back to colonial times. What would someone find if looking for your agency’s publications at the State Library?

• The 70 copies of your publications are requested because the State Library distributes copies to libraries across Pennsylvania that are designated as depository libraries.

How do you get these publications to the State Library?

1. Send them by interoffice mail to the State Library, PA Documents Section, Room 219 Forum Building; or by U.S. mail or other delivery service to:
   State Library of Pennsylvania
   PA Documents Section – Room 218
   607 South Drive
   Harrisburg, PA 17120.
2. Electronic – send links to electronic documents to ra-digitaldocs@pa.gov
3. Questions about the program? Please contact ra-reflib@pa.gov