Personal Papers of Members of Congress
- Update a Research Collection [PDF]
Provide an update for research collections in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.
Unlike the records produced by House committees and officers, files generated by a congressional office during a Member’s service remain the Member’s property. In 2008, the House passed House Concurrent Resolution 307, declaring that papers of Members are “crucial to the public’s understanding of the role of Congress in making the Nation’s laws,” and many Members choose to donate their papers to a repository, such as a college or university, where their records are preserved and made accessible to the public.
About this object After 34 years in Congress, Texas Representative Hatton Sumners began the monumental task of packing up his office and personal papers.
Records typically available in these collections document the Member’s role with regard to:
- Legislation
- Committees
- Constituents
- House and party leadership
- Congressional membership organizations and caucuses
These records may include: campaign files; newspaper and magazine clippings; correspondence; invitations; bill files; briefing books; staff files; memorabilia; newsletters; personal files of the Member; photographs; political files; press files; publications; reference files; scrapbooks; speech files; district files; and voting records.
Because the records of Members are located in repositories dispersed throughout the country, the online Biographical Directory of the United States Congress is a useful tool for locating collections. On a Member’s profile page, there is a link for “Research Collections” on the navigation bar on the left-hand side of the page, which lists repositories containing primary collections of papers, as well as those with a few items related to the Member.
Repositories for Congressional Papers
The Association of Centers for the Study of Congress is a group of repositories that promote the preservation and use of congressional personal papers and research materials.
The Center for Legislative Archives List of Congressional Collections provides an index to repositories with collections of personal papers of Members of Congress.