Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents

The Weekly Compilation is issued every Monday and contains statements, messages, and other Presidential material released by the White House during the preceding week. It includes such material as proclamations, executive orders, speeches, press conferences, communications to Congress and Federal agencies, statements regarding bill signings and vetoes, appointments, nominations, reorganization plans, resignations, and retirements. It also lists acts approved by the President, nominations submitted to the Senate, and other White House announcements and press releases. The contents of the Weekly Compilation are compiled annually into the Public Papers of the Presidents.

Indexes:	There are quarterly, semiannual and annual indexes. There is an annual cumulated index with individual print volumes.     State of the Union messages are listed under "Addresses to the Nation."
Internet:	1993 on, via GPO Access www.access.gpo.gov/nara/nara003.html     Search by keyword. 1994 on, via GPO Gate www.gpo.ucop.edu/     Search by keyword, or browse weekly tables-of-contents linked to text.     Select Weekly Compilation from the drop-down menu.
Print:	Government Information Center 1965 - 1985: GS 4.114: 1985 - present: AE 2. 109:

Public Papers of the Presidents

The Public Papers is an edited annual cumulation of the Weekly Compilation. Volumes for each president have been published from the Hoover administration (1929) on, except for Franklin Roosevelt's administration. Only during the Carter and Reagan administrations is the text of proclamations and executive orders included, but the volumes for the others have tables which give the Federal Register page number where the text can be found.

Indexes:	Each annual volume has an index
Internet:	1995 on, via GPO Access: www.access.gpo.gov/nara/pubpaps/srchpaps.html
Print:	1929-1933 and 1945 - Main Library J80 A28

Proclamations & Executive Orders

Proclamations and executive orders are two forms of executive fiat and are issued in separate, numbered series. While they both have the same legal effect, executive orders "usually involve an exercise of presidential authority related to government business, while proclamations are announcements of policy or of matters requiring public notice."

[Source: Legal Research in a Nutshell. 1992]

Proclamations and executive orders have been published in a variety of places since 1789:
1789-1983	CIS Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations. Congressional Information Service. Microfiche collection at UC Riverside and the California State Library (Law Library). Index: CIS Index to Presidential Executive Orders & Proclamations Reference F 70 .A55
1789- present	United States Statutes at Large. Contains proclamations only. Reference KF 50 A3 (UCSB has 1845 -)
1845-1936	Presidential Executive Orders Numbers 1-7403 (1845-June 1936). Index: Presidential Executive Orders: Numbered Series (1862-1938) Main, microfiche area: J80 A73 1944a v. 1: List ; v.2: Index This is not an index specifically to the microfilm, and the numbering and date ranges covered do not correspond. Use it to identify the date of an executive order.
1936- present	Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Title 3: The President. Internet: www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html (1997- ) Reference: K70 A3 C57 Use the Weekly Compilation or the Federal Register to update the CFR.
1936- present	Federal Register. Index: Government Information Center reference in print The Public Papers of the Presidents gives Federal Register page numbers. Internet: www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html (1994- ) Print: Government Information Center reference 1936 - paper kept two years, replaced by microform: AE 2. 106:
1945- present	Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders [1945-1989]. Internet: www.nara.gov/fedreg/codhome.html Reference KF70 A473 Contains selected Proclamations and Executive Orders
1977-Jan 1989	Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States (Carter & Reagan only) Main Library J80 A28
1993- present	Internet: Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Print: Government Information Center reference: 1965 - 1985: GS 4.114: 1985 - present: AE 2. 109:

Other Presidential Documents Resources

A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents [1789-1897].
Main Library and Special Collections: J81 .B97

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Presidential Documents

A compilation of links from the University of Michigan Documents Center.