Since October 20, 1972, the State Law Library has participated in the Federal Depository Library Program. We are excited to celebrate our 50th anniversary of making federal government documents available freely to the public! Read on to learn more about the FDLP and the types of federal government documents available at our library.

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established in order to disseminate federal government documents to the American public. Since 1895, the FDLP has been administered by the U.S. Government Publishing Office. You can read a brief history of the program on the FDLP's website.

Through the FDLP, many types of federal government documents are made available to the public, including journals, handbooks, reports, proceedings, and manuals. The public has free access to government documents in these libraries in accordance with Title 44 of the United States Code.

There are two types of depositories in the FDLP: regional and selective depositories. Regional depositories receive copies of all federal government documents. Each state can have a maximum of two regional depositories. In Texas, our two regional depositories are the Texas State Library and Archives in Austin as well as the Texas Tech University Library in Lubbock.

The SLL participates in the FDLP as a selective federal depository. This means we do not receive copies of all federal government documents. Instead, we receive a subset. Here are some examples of government documents available at the library:

• The Code of Federal Regulations 
• The United States Code
• The United States Statutes at Large
• The Federal Register
• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, with Forms
• Pro Tem: Presidents Pro Tempore of the United States Senate Since 1789
• Congress Pictorial Directory

If you need help finding a particular government document, we'd be happy to assist! You can also find a federal depository near you on the Government Publishing Office website.