Find official publications

Official publications are documents produced by organisations that may be considered official bodies and available to the public. They're important primary sources of information for many subjects, especially the social sciences, many sciences, and history.

This guide gives you an overview of key official publications resources and what material they include.

If you're new to official publications and want to know how they can support your studies: check out our Library Research Skills Moodle module.

British official publications

These are the publications of, or for, the government and its departments. The library has extensive holdings of British official publications in print and online. 

See our full list of official publications databases.

Key databases

The University subscribes to the following resources on behalf of Kent students and staff:

  • U.K. Parliamentary Papers:
    • 18th, 19th and 20th Century House of Commons Parliamentary Papers
    • House of Lords papers from 1800-1910
    • Hansard from 1803 to 2005
  • State Papers Online 1509-1714: British State Papers from 1509 to 1714; covers papers of the Secretaries of State from Henry VIII to Queen Anne
  • British and Foreign State Papers: large collection of legal and political documents relating to the political and commercial affairs of nations and their relations with each other
  • Public Affairs Information Service(PAIS):  include  journal articles, books, government documents, statistics, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, microfiche and internet material. Coverage is from 1972 to the present.
  • JustisOne: access original legislation from common law jurisdictions around the world and UK Legislation as enacted also includes law reports
  • Lexis®Library and Westlaw UK: both contain up-to-date legislation and law reports

Useful sites for government information

Many official publications are freely available online:

  • British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILLI): original legislation, law commission reports and transcripts of cases from England and Wales, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey and St Helena.
  • Google: if you know details of the document you're looking for, Google is a good place to start
  • GOV.UK: current information on government services and publications
  • Hansard: The official report of all Parliamentary debates, dating back over 200 years.
  • Law Commission an independent body that reviews and recommends reform of the law of England and Wales
  • legislation.gov.uk: UK legislation; check statement at the start of legislation to see if it's been updated
  • National Archives web archive: historic information on current and previous government departments from 1996
  • Official Documents: all Command Papers and key departmental papers
  • TSO/The Stationery Office: to access information on in-print titles
  • UK Parliament: Official UK Parliament site offers information on the House of Commons, the House of Lords and national parliamentary services.

European Union publications

  • LibrarySearch: the Library has digital access to EU publications published since 1997; you can search for these by title 
  • Europa: The European Union's free information portal
  • Publications Office of the European Union: digital access to official information and data from the EU, including EUR-Lex, the EU Open Data Portal and EU publications
  • European Sources Online: keep up to date with the latest developments concerning Europe, its countries and regions, its communities and institutions; offers an expert selection of information on topics from a wide range of information sources and includes many links to full text
  • European Research Papers Archive is a searchable joint access point to 9 major series of online research papers   

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