The Library of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives contains hundreds of books and other works related to the history and operations of the House and its Members. Below are some of the highlights of the Library's collection,
- Legislative Journals for the House and Senate, dating from the early part of the nineteenth century to the most recently completed session. These Journals contain the daily procedures, bill and amendment proposals, speeches, debates, and other announcements that occur on the House Floor during Session. Although the Library holds most of the Journals, there are some gaps. Contact the Archives to make certain that the year/session you are researching is here.
- Legislative Histories for the House and Senate, dating from the early part of the twentieth century to the most recently completed session. The Histories contain summaries of the Bills and Acts proposed and/or accepted during that Session.
- Smull's Legislative Handbooks, 1867-1925, contain history, rules, and other facts about the Commonwealth. Also, brief biographical sketches of Members of the three branches of Pennsylvania government are included.
- Pennsylvania Manuals, beginning in 1923, pick up where Smull's Legislative Handbooks stop. The Manuals contain biographical sketches and photographs of the Members of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of the Pennsylvania government. They also contain history and trivia about the Commonwealth, election results in every district and the Constitution of Pennsylvania. The Manuals are published at the beginning of every two-year Session.
- Laws of Pennsylvania contain the actual text of the Bills that were accepted as Acts or Laws during the year/Session.
Also found in the Library's collection are biographies, memoirs and novels and other works written by and/or about current and former Members, books on Pennsylvania government, and Pennsylvania history. Many of the books housed in the Library have been donated by former Members as part of their Personal Papers collections.
The Library of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is a non-lending library, but the holdings are available for viewing during the Archives' open hours. A computerized catalog of the Library's holdings is available in the reading room and will be made available on this site in the future.