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  • Library Catalog
    Search our library catalog to find what published materials we hold.  The catalog includes collections in Hartford and at the two Library Service Centers.
  • Search the Catalog and Other Resources
    Search the library catalog, researchIT CT (journal articles), digital collections or websites.
  • Databases
    An alphabetical listing of online searchable databases with legal, biographical, genealogical, government, and general information, including indexes, journals, and online newspapers available on-site at the Connecticut State Library.
  • Digital Collections
    Our digital collections feature materials from the State Library, the Museum of Connecticut History, and the Connecticut State Archives.
  • State Archives Finding Aids
    The State Archives holds records from more than 70 Connecticut state government departments, commissions, and offices, covering the colonial period to the present. We also hold files from many non-governmental institutions, organizations, and churches, as well as collections of tax lists and other official records from Connecticut towns.

Specific State Library Collections:

  • Congressional Serial Set
    The United States Congressional Serial Set is a bound compilation of House and Senate Documents and House and Senate Reports. Publication began with the 15th Congress/1st session (1817). Documents of the first fourteen Congresses (1789-1816) were published in the American State Papers.
  • Connecticut State Documents
    Comprehensive, historical collections of primary materials by and about Connecticut state agencies.
  • Connecticut Library for Accessible Books Collection
    Recorded books & necessary playback equipment, Braille books and magazines (available for free loan by mail to state residents who are unable to read conventional print because of a visual or physical disability).
  • Federal Documents
    Regional Federal Depository Library for Connecticut and Rhode Island; receives and retains all publications, in all formats, distributed by the U. S. Government Printing Office. Comprehensive collection of Presidential materials (executive orders, papers, commission reports, budgets), Congressional materials (reports, documents, hearings, public acts, Congressional Record); judicial materials (rulings, reports, studies); federal agency publications (annual reports, periodicals, studies, administrative decisions, regulatory material); extensive historical coverage.
  • Genealogy Indexes
    Our state-wide slip indexes include the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, The Church Records Index, The Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Marriage and Death Notices, a Family & Bible Records Index, and a Probate Estate Paper Index.
  • Law and Legislation
    In addition to a full array of subject-specific legal reference books available via traditional print and databases, our law collection also includes Statutes, regulations, and case law from all 50 States and Federal jurisdictions; CT Appellate and Supreme as well as U.S. Supreme Court records and briefs; Periodicals, encyclopedias, online resources); Current and historical statutes and session laws of the American states; Current and historical Connecticut legislative documents, including all bills, acts, committee hearings, and Senate and House Proceedings.
  • Legislative Archives (Permanent Bill File)
    The library maintains files of every bill introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly since 1911.  Earliest years encompass final versions only while files beginning in the 1950s may include substitute versions, file copies, amendments, as well as supplementary material like fiscal notes & constituent letters.  From the 1980s through the early 2000s, bill files may contain added testimony not added to bound transcript volumes in our collection.

     

    Select years have been scanned and digitally archived in CTDA.  Beginning in 2023, these files will be preserved in digital format only

  • Legislative Histories
    The State Library maintains the only complete collection of transcripts from Connecticut legislative committee hearings and proceedings from both chambers of the General Assembly.
  • Library Service Center
    Libraries (only) may borrow from the Center collections in Middletown to supplement their own collections.
  • Local Government
    Records and publications of Connecticut towns, boroughs, cities, counties and school districts from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
  • Museum collection
    Artifacts of Connecticut industry, history, and culture, including firearms, numismatics, hand and machine tools, clocks, architecture, militaria, mass produced consumer goods, and material culture. Library materials on artifact collection areas; Connecticut manufacturers’ catalogs; materials relating to Colt Manufacturing Co.; museum administration, collection management, exhibitions, and conservation.
  • Newspaper Resources
    The most comprehensive collection of Connecticut newspapers known to exist.
  • State Archives Collections
  • State Government Publications in the Connecticut Digital Archive
    The Connecticut Digital Archive ensures that publications of Connecticut state government issued only in electronic format would be collected, cataloged, and preserved for current and future use. Official publications of the agencies of the State of Connecticut. Many of the documents are born-digital and are not readily available through any other portal. We recommend consulting our online catalog when searching this collection.
  • Vertical Files
    Biography/Obituary; Genealogical File, Government Information Services, History and Genealogy, Newspaper and Law/Legislative Reference Pamphlet File.
  • Works Projects Administration (WPA)
    WPA Art Inventory