The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and the Law Library Microform Consortium (LLMC) announce the completion of a six-year project to digitize state legislative journals for all 50 states. For most states, the coverage starts in the early to mid-19th century and ends in the late 20th century. 

The decision to initiate this project was in response to the inconsistent online availability of these important governmental materials. Recognizing this need, CRL offered LLMC its complete collection of legislative journals for digitization and preservation. CRL’s entire collection was digitized with the exception of volumes previously scanned by LLMC.  Upon completion, over 8,000 volumes of legislative journals were digitized as part of this project.

These materials are now accessible to all LLMC and CRL members as full-text searchable PDFs. We anticipate that lawyers, legislators, librarians, academics, and other researchers from across the country will welcome the availability and improved accessibility of these vital state legislative materials.

In furtherance of its mission to protect legal materials electronically and in print, LLMC is storing the scanned books in underground secure storage to ensure the long-term preservation of the originals. LLMC’s historical state legislative journal coverage will continue to expand due to other ongoing projects and we anticipate coverage for all 50 states going back to colonial and territorial legislatures.