January 14, 2008

Purdue Libraries teams with LexisNexis to digitize Congressional Record

LexisNexis, a leading global provider of information and services solutions, will scan and digitize the indexes of Purdue's holdings from the Record and incorporate them into their online full-text, LexisNexis Congressional Record Permanent Digital Collection, the most comprehensive online collection of congressional information available. LexisNexis will provide Purdue with access to the entire digital Congressional Record, as well as to a complete microfiche edition of the content.

"This will be a great resource for people to track legislative matters that impact their family, community, state, country and many facets of their lives," said Marianne Ryan, associate dean for learning and Purdue Libraries' liaison with LexisNexis. "It's also a tremendous benefit to Purdue in that it will increase access and provide stronger search capabilities to important information."

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress and is published daily when Congress is in session. It contains the full text of the House and Senate debates that take place on the floor of Congress, its Daily Digest and its extended remarks. Researchers in many disciplines use it as a primary information source.

"It's certainly going to make it a lot easier and more convenient for researchers and students to access governmental and political information, especially when they're on a tight timeframe," said Bert Chapman, government information, political science librarian and associate professor of library science at Purdue. "In the bigger picture it's not just a record on the results, but the debates on the decisions that guide our nation. Of course, anyone can also find the voting records of our House and Senate leaders through the Record. People won't have to leave their own computer to come up with a fact of record."

The digitization is the latest step in Purdue Libraries' efforts to provide easy access to important holdings. Purdue, along with the rest of the Big Ten and the University of Chicago - all part of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation – entered into an agreement with Google last spring to digitize collections that each university deems key to its mission. Purdue also worked with the Tippecanoe County Historical Association to digitize works from George Winter's mid-1800s-era artwork and writings on Native American Tribes of Indiana.

Writer: Jim Bush, (765) 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu 

Sources:  Rachel Schurz, Marketing Associate, Purdue University Libraries, (765) 496-3294, rschurz@purdue.edu 

Bert Chapman (765) 494-2837, chapmanb@purdue.edu 

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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