House of Commons Parliamentary Papers at your fingertips

Are you looking for official United Kingdom Parliamentary papers? Then look at the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers database (HCPP), incorporating the 18th Century Official Parliamentary Publications Portal 1688-1834.

A rich resource, HCPP gives you full-text online access to Parliamentary papers from the late 17th century to 2004, such as Command Papers, committee reports and policy documents. Content is relevant to a wide range of subjects, including history, politics, law and science.

Carrying out a search

To start your search, simply click the 'SEARCH' link. Boxes for different search fields are provided, with a basic keyword search box at the top.

 

If you already have details of the document(s) you want, use some of the specific search fields to focus your search, for example by searching for words in the title, limiting the search by document type or narrowing the range of years being searched. Use the document number search to find Command and other papers for which you have the number, such as Cm 732.

 

After running a search, a results list will be displayed. Click on the title of a result to get more information about that item. Click the 'Full text' link in an item record to view the document in PDF format, with the option to download. You can also save records directly to bibliographic management software, such as EndNote.

  

Getting help

You should look at the 'HELP' section of HCPP to become familiar with the resource and to get the most from it. The Library's page on finding Parliamentary publications provides general information on HCPP, as well as links to additional resources for locating Parliamentary debates and recent papers online.

Alternatively, contact your subject liaison librarian for help and advice on using the database.

 

This is one of a series of tips to help you save time and effort finding information

This tip was written by Ross Connell, Liaison Librarian for Law & Politics and International Relations.

July 2011

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