Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Research

Gather key information

Because congressional offices perform similar functions, the thousands of boxes in congressional collections are often organized into similar categories, which archivists call series. Some common series in congressional papers collections include public relations files, legislative files, constituent files, subject files, federal agency files, scheduling files, office administrative files, and staff files.

Gathering some basic information about your topic can help you identify archival series to explore.

• Time period: Is there a time period of significance? Which of Hawaiʻi's members of Congress were in office at that time--and therefore, whose collections would you consult? (You can find the dates in office of Hawaiʻi members of Congress here.) In many of our congressional collections, speeches and press releases, often found within a Public Relations series, are arranged chronologically. They are always a good place to start.
• Legislation: Is there specific legislation relevant to your topic? Was it introduced or championed by a Hawaiʻi member of Congress? If so, check a collection's Legislative Files series for relevant bill numbers. (NOTE: It's important to know which Congress that a bill was introduced in because bill numbers start again from 1 with every new two-year Congress. For example, in the 117th Congress (2021-2023), S. 989 refers to the Native American Language Resource Center Act of 2022, introduced by Senator Schatz. In the 118th Congress (2023-2025), S. 989 is the North American Energy Act, introduced by Senator Hoeven. You can find other dates of sessions of Congress here.)
• Names of federal agencies: Does your topic involve one or more federal agencies? The Inouye and Matsunaga papers both contain federal agency files within the Subject Files series. In the Fong papers, many agency files can be found within the Legislative series.
• Names of state and city agencies: Does your topic involve one or more state or county agencies? Congressional collections also contain state and local government agency files, found within the Subject Files or Legislative series.
• Names of individuals and organizations: Likewise, the names of individuals or organizations may be found in series such as Subject Files, Legislative, Appropriations, Grants (if the organization is seeking federal funding), or Constituent Services.