LibGuide for working with Official Publications material
Official Publications material is requested in and fetched to the Rare Books Reading Room, regardless of publication date. Most OP material can be fetched within an hour, but more complex enquiries may take longer, particularly on Saturdays. The LibGuide linked above provides links to online resources and is recommended as the most up-to-date guide to Official Publications.
NB: Limited access to Official Publications (Summer 2025)
Owing to essential building work, there will be no access to certain Official Publications materials from 23 June to 31 August 2025. The affected area includes a wide range of UK and international official materials. If you require access to any Official Publications titles over the summer period, we advise contacting the team at the earliest opportunity as we may be able to fetch material in advance (before 23 June) and keep it reserved for your visit. Please email rarebooks@lib.cam.ac.uk for further assistance.
The Official Publications collection includes publications of :
- the governments of the United Kingdom, the Irish Republic, members of the Commonwealth, and some of the foreign countries;
- more than fifty intergovernmental organisations including the United Nations and its specialist agencies, and the European Union.
The Official Publications collection is accessed in a number of ways. Much current material is being published online; follow our Electronic resources link for a range of useful sources together with guidance notes. Since 1999 the more important works have been catalogued on the online catalogue. Pre-1999 material is accessible through a subject catalogue on cards in the Rare Books Reading Room annexe. It is in three sections: the United Kingdom; foreign and Commonwealth countries (except India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) and intergovernmental organisations; India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Blue Books (British Parliamentary Papers) have their own set of bound indexes standing next to the card catalogue. Indexes to House of Lords papers are available on request.
A small part of the collection can be ordered to the Modern Collections Desk. Pre-1900 material in these classes has been removed to closed access for conservation reasons, and should be requested to Rare Books as usual. This part of the collection includes:
- a small reference collection (class OPR)
OPR1 General (incl. census material)
OPR2 British Isles
OPR3 European countries
OPR4 Asia
OPR5 Africa
OPR6 Australasia
OPR7 America
OPR8 United Nations
OPR10 Statistical abstracts of countries – current issues
OPR12 Histories of Parliament); - Hansard (also available electronically at the UK Parliament website);
- Journals of the House of Lords and the House of Commons;
- Statutes of the Realm, together with the most recent consolidations supplemented by annual volumes to date;
- British and Foreign State Papers;
- certain publications of the Record Commissioners and The National Archives;
- British census reports from 1801 (material for the 1901 and 2001 censuses is also available electronically at the National Statistics Online website).