Some may regret the passing of libraries receiving goverment information in paper form. But the goal of digitization isn't sensory deprivation; and anyway, paper materials started to disappear before the Internet came along — think microfiche, microfilm, even microcards (and yes, we have some of those at NYPL). Maybe someday all official goverment documents will be available online. However, not yet — there are still paper, and microform, collections here at SIBL.

Empire State Plaza - Source: WikipediaThis post suggests some general sources for New York State government documents, including from NYPL's depository collection. Of particular importance is the Checklist, listed below under Indexes. In addition, there is a list of a few key websites, most of which have access to official primary documents and other materials. Separate posts will follow for Executive, Legislative and Judicial New York State depository collections at NYPL.

A reminder: The call numbers for books listed below may point to some of our open-shelf items. You'll recognize them by the *R and Library of Congress format. Other titles may need to be requested at our Access Services desk. When in doubt, check with one of our Reference Librarians for help.

If you need to know more, please pay us a visit at SIBL or contact our AskNYPL service.

Indexes

Websites

New York (State) Governor
Principal site for New York State government information, as well as links to other key official sites — most important of which are those of the State's executive agencies. This is where the latest Executive Budget and the Governor's latest speeches and press releases can be found.

New York (State) Senate
New York State Legislative information: Current Bills and Resolutions, Statutes, Constitution, Chapter Laws, Vetoes, Senate member directory, Senate legislative schedule, etc.

New York (State) Assembly
New York State Assembly Calendar, Hearing Schedules, Committees Agenda, Legislative Reports, Member Directory. Help to understand the state legislative process. Searching Bill information by bill no. or keyword.

New York State Library and Archives - Photo by Matt H. Wade - Source: Wikipedia New York State Library
Access to Excelsior, the Library's Catalog; the Checklist of Official Publications of the State of New York; and the New York State Government Information Locator Service.

Legislative History Tutorial
Descriptions of Governor's Bill, Veto and Recall Jackets from the New York State Library.

New York State Archives
Access to online documents (including Bill Jackets) and more. An important repository for research.

Bibliographies, Guides and Indexes to New York State Documents and Related Resources
From the New York State Library as well.