Presidential Materials 

A very selective guide to some materials produced by the Office of the President.

See also the University of Michigan's guide and the UCSB American Presidency Project.

• White House web site - one of the first place to look for current information from the President.
  
• Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents
  GPO Access, January 20, 2009 and forward.
  Replaces the Weekly Compilation as the official publication of presidential statements, messages, remarks, and other materials released by the White House Press Secretary.  See the Compilation of Presidential Documents page for more information.
  
  
• Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 
  1965-1985 - - GS 4.114: - Ivy Stacks
  1985 - 2000 - AE 2.109: - 3rd floor, New Stacks
  1993 to present - GPOAccess and in print at Law Library
  Includes all official speeches and messages of the President. Indexes include subject, name, and document categories list (e.g., addresses, executive orders, proclamations, news conferences, etc.) Indexes are cumulative.
  
  
• Public Papers of the President - University of California, Santa Barbara
  Public Papers of the President - University of Michigan
  UVA paper holdings:
  GS 4.113: - 1929-1933, 1945-1983 ; AE 2.114: - 1984 to present
  Alderman Library, New Stacks, 3rd floor
  1992 to present available via GPOAccess
  The Weekly Comp is cumulated into the Public Papers of the Presidents. However, there are sometimes materials in the Weekly Comp which do not appear in the Public Papers. There is a cumulative index to each president's papers. Roosevelt has not been done.
  
  
• Presidential Papers
  The LC American Memory project has many presidential papers available, including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln. These vary considerably in scope and coverage. 
  
  
• Presidential Speeches
  The Miller Center for Public Affairs is an excellent resource for Presidential materials. Texts and audio files of presidential speeches from Lincoln to Clinton may be found there. (See the Scripps Library and Multimedia Archive page).  See also the American President Online Reference Resource. 
  
  
• Code of Federal Regulations, Title 3 - AE 2.166/3: (earlier GS 4.2108/6:)
  Current Edition – GIR Reading Room
  1971 – present – microfiche
  Law Library has all editions of CFR.
  Current CFR is available on GPOAccess
  Title 3 of the CFR contains presidential executive orders and proclamations.
  
  
• A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1897 - Y 4.P 93/1:3
  A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1908 - J 81 .B98 - Alderman Stacks
  James D. Richardson compiled this 10 volume set of presidential messages. While not nearly as complete as the modern Public Papers and Weekly Comp it is one of the only sources for early presidential messages. 
  
  
• Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations - microfiche
  1789-1983 - Microforms Room, near LexisNexis (CIS) Serial Set microfiche
  CIS Index to Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations 
  This set of fiche, together with the index, reproduces and indexes all presidential executive orders and proclamations back to Washington. Best place to begin that sort of presidential research.
  Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders is available electronically from April 13, 1945 - January 20, 1989  
  
  
• Presidential Directives
  Presidential Decision Directives (PDD) - Federation of American Scientists
  George Washington University, NSA Archive (Presidential Directives on National Security)
  These are usually related to national security and may not be easily available. A good guide to this sort of presidential material is the Library of Congress, Presidential Directives & Where to Find Them
  

Q: Where are Presidential Executive Orders?


A: Title III of the Code of Federal Regulations - AE 2.106/3: - Microfiche - Maps & Microforms Room, 3 East, Alderman
Executive Orders are also available via GPOAccess in both the Code of Federal Regulations file (back to 1996) and the Compiliation of Presidential Documents  (back to 1993).
Executive Orders are also available in the Federal Register (online back to 1994; AE 2.106:)

A: UVA also owns a large microfiche set entitled Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations. It is shelved in the Maps & Microfilms Room in the CIS fiche area. A printed Index is located on Aisle 12 in the Government Information Reading Room.


Q:How do I find Presidential Decision Directives?
A: Begin by consulting the following:
Presidential Decision Directives (PDD) - Federation of American Scientists
George Washington University, NSA Archive (Presidential Directives on National Security)
These are usually related to national security and may not be easily available. A good guide to this sort of presidential material is the Library of Congress, Presidential Directives & Where to Find Them


Q: Where can I find speeches by early U.S. presidents?
A: Try:
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1897 - Y 4.P 93/1:3
GIR Reading Room
James D. Richardson compiled this 10 volume set of presidential messages. While not nearly as complete as the modern Public Papers and Weekly Comp it is one of the only sources for early presidential messages.

Q: Where can I find Presidential Review Directives?
A: Try Federation of American Scientists

White House web site
Contains major speeches, press releases, executive orders, proclamations, etc.