Archives - Federal Records

The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was created to make federal government publications available to the public at no cost. The Government Printing Office (GPO) is responsible for printing and distributing government documents and overseeing the FDLP.

There are two types of Depository Libraries, regional and selective. The University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University together are a joint regional depository library.

The State Historical Society has been a selective depository library since 1907. We select about one per cent of all available federal documents, mainly in the areas of archives, libraries, military history, and historic preservation. Historic titles in the collection cover topics such as agriculture, Indians of North America, geology, and various census topics (agriculture, business, housing, population). Agencies whose documents are most often found in the State Historical Society are Census Bureau, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution.

We also have a long run of the Congressional Record, plus many volumes of the Serial Set, and the American State Papers, the precursor to the Serial Set beginning in 1789. The Serial Set can be searched through the CIS U.S. serial set index, which is available for use in the Reading Room. Selected serial set titles, plus other cataloged federal documents, are available to search in WorldCat. We also have some federal documents on microfiche.

Other federal agencies or depository libraries have scanned, digitized, or otherwise made freely available United States government items for the public and federal depository libraries.  These items include, but are not limited to technical reports, historical documents, posters, and databases.  To explore a list of these partnerships, click here.  http://www.fdlp.gov/about-the-fdlp/partnerships 

FEDERAL RECORDS

This record group consists of federal records relating to Dakota Territory and North Dakota. These records were collected and assembled by the State Historical Society beginning in the 1960s. The records include both microforms (federal census records; federal district court records; records of the Department of the Interior, Department of State, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of War, Post Office Department, United States Senate, and the Treasury Department) and original records (General Land Office records for North Dakota; records of the Farm Security Administration, Rural Resettlement Division; and the National Weather Service, Bismarck Weather Bureau records).

View Federal Records on fiNDhistory.

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We are closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. We are closed at noon Christmas Eve if it falls on Mon.-Thurs. and are closed all day if it falls on Fri.-Sun.
State Archives: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F, except state holidays; 2nd Sat. of each month, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Appointments are recommended. To schedule an appointment, please contact us at 701.328.2091 or archives@nd.gov.
State Historical Society offices: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. M-F, except state holidays.

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email: history@nd.gov

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