DEPOSITORY LIBRARIES IN THE US
The
European Union has established a network of depository libraries across the US
to provide Americans with access to many of its official publications. All depositories
automatically receive, free of charge, one copy of most EU periodical and monograph
publications. The collections are available to the public during each library's
regular hours of operation, free of charge and without any conditions. Many of
the libraries also offer interlibrary loan services.
The official publications contain information ranging from
policy developments in all sectors of EU activity to statistics on trade, demographics,
agriculture, transport, energy and economic indicators.
Of particular importance is the
Official
Journal of the European Union, the approximate equivalent of the US
Federal Register. The "C" section of the Official Journal
includes important notices and other information; the "C E" electronic
(only) section contains proposed legislation; the "C A" section contains
special annexes to legislation and notices of competitions for EU employment;
the "L" section has the final texts of legislation. Annual indices and
the Directory
of Community Legislation in Force provide subject and numeric reference
access to legislation. Depository collections routinely receive the "C"
and "L" sections and indices and may receive the "C A" section
by request. The "C E" section is available on
EUR-Lex--the
portal to EU law--as are all versions of the Official Journal
from 1998 to present free of charge. Depositories also hold the legislative proposals
and communications of the Commission in their original
"COM" document form, as well as reports and debates of the European
Parliament (also available on
EUROPARL),
opinions of the European Economic
and Social Committee and decisions of the Court of Justice (also available
on Curia). European
Documentation Centres elsewhere in the world may be found
here.
Click on state on map or click here
for complete text list of depository libraries.
