CRS Index
Congressional Information Service. Index to Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service. (CD-ROM). Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, 1916–.
This index covers the microfilm and microfiche set Major Studies and Issue Briefs of the Congressional Research Service. These briefs are prepared by the research agency of Congress for congressional committees and individual senators and representatives, and can give insight into how policy issues were addressed at the time each report was written. The Major Studies and Issue Briefs covers dates since 1916 and a wide range of subject matter, but as the set’s title implies, all CRS reports are not included.
If constituents become aware of Congressional Research Service publications which are not part of this set, Penny Hill Press is a commercial publisher that has a selection of CRS publications for sale.
Other organizations that have made CRS reports freely available on the web for their area of interest are the National Library for the Environment and the U.S. Department of State. Some congressional representatives have posted CRS reports on their web sites. As a last resort, congressional representatives can sometimes obtain a copy of CRS publications for their constituents upon request.
The citations in the CRS Index list the year of the microfilm reel or microfiche, followed by a dash, the reel or fiche number, and the frame number. The CRS Index on CD-ROM has both an index giving all searchable terms and a thesaurus giving the subject descriptors used by the indexers for each report. Authors and titles are also searchable. Use the help menu for guidance on how to search by specific parts of the record, such as title, or how to combine search terms. In order to find a report in the microfilm or microfiche, you will need the report number and the film and frame number if it is given.
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