Brown University celebrated 150 years as a Federal Depository Library. The document discusses Brown's designation in 1861 by Senator James Simmons according to a new law allowing each Senator to assign one depository in their state. This made Brown the oldest depository library in Rhode Island. The exhibit commemorates Brown's service meeting the government information needs of the Brown community and Rhode Island residents. It touches on early printed documents, the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, the role of the U.S. Government Printing Office, Rhode Island and Brown University history found in government documents, and the Federal Depository Library Program.

1. Brown University Celebrates
150 Years of Service as a
Federal Depository Library

2. 150 Years as a Federal Depository Library
The Brown University Library marks July 29, 1861, as its official designation date
as a Federal Depository Library. While the library received copies of federal
government documents through various channels since its inception in 1764,
Senator James F. Simmons designated the library in 1861 in accordance with a
newly enacted law [11 Stat. 379] granting each Senator the authority to assign
one depository in his state. Brown is the oldest depository library in Rhode
Island and among the oldest in the nation.
This exhibit commemorates 150+ years of the library’s service in meeting the
government information needs of the Brown community and the people of
Rhode Island. The exhibit touches on the following themes:
• Early printed government documents
• The U.S. Congressional Serial Set
• The role of the U.S. Government Printing Office
• Rhode Island history in U.S. government documents
• Life at Brown University in 1861
• About Senator James F. Simmons
• Rhode Island’s congressional support of Depository Libraries
• Government information in the making: Brown’s role on the national stage
• The Federal Depository Library Program

3. Government Document No. 1
The first official document produced by the
government of what would become the
United States of America is today known
simply as “Government Document No. 1.”
Dated September 22, 1774, the document
was a 6¾ inch by 4¼ inch broadside, or
public notice, issued by the First Continental
Congress and printed in Philadelphia, where
From: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150 the Congress was meeting. William and
Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011.
The original Government Document No. 1 is housed in the Library Thomas Bradford, who provided all printing
Company of Philadelphia. for the Continental Congress from 1774 to
1776, printed it. Signed by Charles
Thomson, Secretary, it called for the non-
importation of British goods “until the sense
of Congress, on the means to be taken for
preservation of the Liberties of America, is
made public.”

4. While the original (and only) copy of
Government Document No. 1 is housed
in the Library Company of Philadelphia,
Brown University Library and the John
Carter Brown Library own copies of a
number of other official documents from
that time period printed by the same
publisher, William and Thomas Bradford.
In addition, Brown’s collections include
material from the colonial period, like this
24-page pamphlet written in 1765 by
Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island’s colonial
governor and chancellor of the newly
created College of Rhode Island, what is
today Brown University.
From: Brown University Library, Sidney S. Rider Collection on Rhode
Island History, John Hay Library (photo courtesy of the Center for Digital
Scholarship).

5. Congressional Serial Set
In the early days of the new nation, Congress developed
a system for organizing its documents for posterity.
Beginning in 1817, serial numbers were assigned to
Senate and House documents, congressional committee
reports, presidential and executive publications, treaty
materials, and other selected documents. This
numbering scheme proved to be an orderly and
convenient way of identifying and preserving the
documents and reports issued by Congress. Known
today as the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, these
publications have been produced continuously since
that time.
The Serial Set contains innumerable unique and
unusual items, including the first published work of the
artist James McNeil Whistler (at right), who as a young
man worked briefly as an engraver in the cartographic
section of the U.S. Coast Survey. Other notable
historical documents in the Serial Set include a reprint
of Jefferson’s Bible, early reports from Lewis and Clark,
correspondence surrounding the revolt on the ship
Amistad, a description by Commodore Matthew Perry of
his journeys to Japan, the records of the War of the
Rebellion, the annual ethnological reports from the
Smithsonian Institution, as well as reports of numerous
congressional investigative committees covering topics
ranging from Pearl Harbor to Iran-Contra.
The Brown University Library holds the only From: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150
comprehensive print copy of the Serial Set in RI. Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011.

6. Digital Congressional Serial Set
In commemoration of its150th year as a Federal Depository Library, the Brown University Library purchased access to the
digital version of the entire U.S. Congressional Serial Set collection (produced by ProQuest). The digital collection covers al l
House and Senate reports and documents from 1789 on, including, for example, the following documents:
Below at left: A letter from the Governor of Rhode Island in 1789 to Below at right: A resolution from 2001 expressing the sense
George Washington, President of the United States, laying out RI’s desires of Congress that the George Washington letter to Touro
to maintain friendly relations with the US government, despite the fact that Synagogue in Newport, RI, is one of the most significant
RI had not yet ratified the new federal Constitution. The US Constitution early statements buttressing the American constitutional
was officially approved in June 1788 when nine states had ratified it. RI was guarantee of religious freedom.
the last of the original 13 states to ultimately ratify; after initially rejecting
the Constitution by popular referendum in March 1788, RI finally held a
ratifying convention (as specified by the Constitutional Convention) in May
1790, and passed it by the narrowest of margins (32 to 30).

7. Printing Government Documents
Up through the 1850s, Congress relied exclusively on
newspapers and other private printers to carry out the
printing of government documents. However, perennial cost
overruns and repeated instances of scandals, fraud, and
corruption eventually led to public outcry and a number of
major congressional investigations. Ultimately, Congress
established its own Government Printing Office (GPO)
with passage of Joint Resolution 25 (at left), signed by
President James Buchanan on June 23, 1860.
GPO opened for business on March 4, 1861 (the same day
as Abraham Lincoln’s presidential inauguration) and has
occupied the corner of North Capitol Street NW and H
Street NW in the District of Columbia for its entire history.
The original 1861 building (below) was replaced in 1903,
and in 1930 a new addition was erected that essentially
doubled the size of the building.
From: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150
Years of Service to the Nation, Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011.

8. The Emancipation Proclamation
In 1862, the young Government Printing Office undertook the most significant printing job of its day, or perhaps any since then: the
production of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. After drafting a “Preliminary Proclamation” and previewing it with
Secretary of State William Seward and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles on July 13, Lincoln raised the matter in a Cabinet meeting on
July 22, to mixed reaction. On September 22, five days after the Union army turned back the Confederate army’s advance into the North
at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln brought the document before the Cabinet again, and the proclamation was ordered to be printed.
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in
general orders format, as an order from the
Commander-in-Chief to the armed forces, thus
making it unnecessary to go through Congress
to activate the Proclamation. GPO printed
fifteen thousand copies of General Orders,
Number 139, dated September 24, 1862, which
included the Proclamation. Copies were
distributed among the various military
commanders and their troops.
The printed version of the final Emancipation
Proclamation was printed by GPO and issued
January 3, 1863. Well aware of its significance,
Public Printer John Defrees closely followed the
progress of the Proclamation, writing in
December 1862 to President Lincoln’s
secretary, John G. Nicolay, “Only a few events
stand out prominently on the page of the
history of each century… The proposed
proclamation of the President will be that one
of this century.”
The Brown University Library owns a copy of a rare first printing or 'trial issue’ of the Proclamation, which preceded the final form. Fifty
copies are known to have been printed and signed by President Lincoln (negative photocopy shown above on left); of those, twelve are
known to still exist today. At right is the image of a letter between Lincoln and Salmon P. Chase, dated September 2, 1862, which contains
draft text of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Text adapted from: Keeping America Informed The U.S . Government Printing Office 150 Years of Service to the Nation,
Washington : U.S.G.P.O., 2011. Photos courtesy of the Brown University Center for Digital Scholarship.

9. Rhode Island History in U.S. Government Documents…
At the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, the United States
Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, moved the school and its “practice
ship” the USS Constitution to Newport, RI. The academy remained in
Newport, based at Fort Adams and leasing the Atlantic Hotel, from
May 1861 until August 1865, when it returned to Annapolis. The
March 19, 1862, letter from the Secretary of the Navy (at left) detailed
the events leading up the move to Newport:
“The naval school and public property at Annapolis attracted the attention of the
disloyal and disaffected about the period when the conspiracy culminated. Some
demonstrations were made towards seizing the property, and also the frigate
Constitution, which had been placed at Annapolis, in connexion with the school, for
the benefit of the youths who were being educated for the public service. Prompt
measures rescued the frigate and government property from desecration and plunder,
and the young men, under the superintendence and guidance of Captain Blake,
contributed in no small degree to the result. As it was impossible, in the then existing
condition of affairs in Annapolis and in Maryland, to continue the school at that point,
and as the valuable public property was in jeopardy, it became necessary to remove the
institution elsewhere. Newport, Rhode Island presented many advantages, and the War
Department tendered Fort Adams for the temporary occupation of the students, which
was at once accepted, and the school, with the frigate and other public property, were
removed thither.”
Above: Front page of Senate Executive Document No. 35 (1862),
in U.S. Congressional Serial Set Volume 1122. Image from
ProQuest Congressional digital Serial Set collection.
At right: U.S.S. Constitution off Goat Island (RI), c. 1861.
Photo from Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial exhibit, U.S. Naval
War College Museum, Newport, RI.

10. Rhode Island History in U.S. Government Documents…
Following devastating floods in downtown Providence caused by hurricanes
in 1938 and 1954, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers developed plans to
erect a hurricane barrier at the northern end of Narragansett Bay at the
mouth of the Providence River.
In his testimony before the Senate Committee on Public Works, Providence
Mayor Walter Reynolds described the destruction from Hurricane Carol in
1954: $40 million in commercial property loss, “telephone service was
seriously disrupted and electrical power in the city was almost completely shut
off,” “a depth of 4 to 5 feet of water in our high-value downtown district,
thousands of parked automobiles submerged…”
The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier was the first structure of its type to be
approved for construction in the United States (as part of the comprehensive
Flood Control Act of 1958). The project was completed in 1966 at a cost of
$16 million. At this same hearing, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts
spoke in support of the New Bedford hurricane dike project. That project was
completed in 1962 and is the largest stone structure in the eastern US.
Above: Front page of Senate hearing on projects included in the Flood
Control Act of 1958 (from ProQuest Congressional Digital Collection).
At right: Fox Point hurricane barrier, Providence, RI. Photo from
Providence Department of Public Works.

11. Brown in 1861…
• President Barnas Sears (Brown Class of 1825)
was the university’s 5th president (serving
from 1855 to 1868)
• The Brown faculty consisted of 11 men
(including President Sears)
• 232 men were enrolled as Brown students
• Typical first-term classes were:
o Greek composition and history
o Livy, with Latin composition and the
history of Rome
o Geometry
• Students lived in rooms on the upper floors
of University Hall; pranks such as rolling
paving stones or cannon balls down the full
length of the hallways were common until the The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 affected campus in a
summer of 1860, when much to the dismay of number of ways:
students, partitions were built dividing the • Enrollment dropped to 205 during the war
floors into two sections • A list of 21 current students who had enlisted in the
• The university library was located on the first floor Army since the beginning of the war was featured in the
of Manning Hall and consisted of approximately November 1861 issue of The Brunonian
29,000 volumes and assorted pamphlets • At its September 1861 meeting, the Brown Corporation
• Rubin Guild (Brown Class of 1847) was the conferred an honorary degree to US Army Brigadier
university librarian (serving from 1847 to 1893) General Ambrose E. Burnside, who commanded the 1st
Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry
Image above right: Western view of Brown University, Providence,
[1861], from New York Public Library’s Digital Gallery

12. Brown in 1861…
Newspapers during the week of July 29, 1861, were ablaze with news of the Battle of
Bull Run (fought July 21, 1861), the first major land battle of the American Civil War.
Troops from the 2d Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, led by Colonel Ambrose E.
Burnside, fought in the battle which claimed many casualties on both sides.
Major Sullivan Ballou (Brown Class of 1852) died on July 29 from
wounds sustained at Bull Run. His remains are buried in Swan Point
Cemetery in Providence.
A letter from Major Ballou to his wife dated a month before the battle
was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary on the Civil War in 2002.
The letter read in part:
“I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how
great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of the
Revolution. And I am willing – perfectly willing – to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain
this Government, and to pay that debt…”
According to Civil War Record of Brown University, compiled by Brevet Major Henry
Burrage (Brown Class of 1861) and published in 1920, 417 Brown graduates and non-
graduates served in military duty during the Civil War (for both the North and the
South); of those, 39 died in service.

13. About Senator James Fowler Simmons…
• Designated Brown as a Federal Depository Library
in the summer of 1861
• Born near Little Compton, RI, September 10, 1795
• Moved to Providence in 1812; employed in various
manufacturing concerns in RI, MA, and NH
• Moved to Johnston, RI, in 1827
• Member of RI state House of Representatives 1828-
1841
• Elected as a Whig to the US Senate, served from
March 4, 1841, to March 3, 1847; unsuccessful
candidate in 1846 and 1850
• Again elected to the US Senate as a Republican in
1856 election; began term on March 4, 1857
• Lost reelection try in March 1862 to William
Sprague IV
• In 1861-62, involved in a scandal for obtaining a War Department contract for the
manufacture of rifles for a Providence businessman and receiving five percent commission
• Senate committee issued report in July 1862 stating that, while no laws were violated, his
actions were “indefensible”; Simmons resigned August 15 before an expulsion vote could be
taken; the remainder of his term was filled by Samuel G. Arnold, Jr.
• Died in Johnston, RI, July 10, 1864 (interment in North End Cemetery, Providence, RI)

14. RI’s Congressional Support for Depository Libraries…
Senator James Simmons named Brown as a Federal Depository Library in 1861. Other members of Congress
from Rhode Island also have been supportive of depository libraries over the years, including:
Henry Bowen Anthony (Brown Class of 1833), Senator from 1859 to 1884; a former
editor of the Providence Journal, was chair of the Joint Committee on Printing
(overseeing the Government Printing Office) for 25 years; bequeathed to Brown
University Library the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays.
Adin Ballou Capron, represented RI's 2nd congressional district from 1897 until
his death in 1911; designated the Westerly Public Library as a Federal Depository
Library in 1909.
John E. Fogarty, represented RI's 2nd congressional district from 1941 to 1944
and again from 1945 until his death in 1967; champion of the Library Services
and Construction Act; 1963 recipient of American Library Trustee Association’s
Citation of Merit; 1966 Lifetime Membership honoree by American Library
Association; designated the Warwick Public Library as a Federal Depository
Library in 1966.

15. RI’s Congressional Support for Depository Libraries…
Senator James Simmons named Brown as a Federal Depository Library in 1861. Other members of Congress
from Rhode Island also have been supportive of depository libraries over the years, including:
Claiborne Pell, Senator from 1961to 1997; wrote the legislation that established the
National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities;
sponsored a program which provided financial aid for the needy to attend college
(later renamed Pell Grants in his honor); long-time member of the Joint Committee
on Printing and the Joint Committee on the Library (Library of Congress);
champion of the Library Services and Construction Act.
Patrick J. Kennedy, representative RI’s 1st congressional district from 1995 to
2011; member of the House Appropriations Committee from 2001 to 2011,which
oversaw funding for federal programs, including library programs; designated the
Roger Williams University Library as a Federal Depository Library in 2003.
Lincoln D. Chafee (Brown Class of 1975), Senator from 1999 to 2007;
designated the Newport Public Library as a Federal Depository Library in 2002.

16. RI’s Congressional Support for Depository Libraries…
Senator James Simmons named Brown as a Federal Depository Library in 1861. Other members of Congress
from Rhode Island also have been supportive of depository libraries over the years, including:
Jack Reed, Representative from 1991 to 1997, Senator from 1997 to present;
author of numerous bills that provided funds and support for libraries, museums,
and schools; named Library Journal's 2002 Politician of the Year; 1994 recipient of
Friends of Libraries USA Public Service award; named Library Champion by
American Library Association; contributed Congressional Record statements honoring
RI depository libraries in 1995 and 2011.
James Langevin, Representative from 2001 to present; as Rhode Island Secretary of
State (1994-2001), oversaw the RI State Library and the State Publications
Clearinghouse Program, and established the state's Public Information Center; in
1998 published, “Access Denied,” a report based on research by Brown University
students which examined compliance with RI’s Open Meetings Law.
Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator from 2007 to present; member of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee which oversees programs
supporting education and libraries; as successor to the Senate seat held by James
Simmons in 1861, he requested that a ceremonial flag be flown above the US
Capitol building on July 29, 2011, the 150th anniversary of Brown University’s
Federal Depository Library designation.

17. Government Documents in the Making:
Brown’s Role on the National Stage…
John E. Savage
An Wang Professor of Computer Science, Brown University
Testified on April 12, 2011, at a hearing before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary’s
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. The committee was investigating threats associated
with cyber security and ways to respond to cyber crime and terrorism.
For a copy of Professor Savage’s testimony, see
http://judiciary.senate.gov/pdf/11-04-12%20Savage%20Testimony.pdf
Martin A. Weinstock
Professor of Dermatology and Community Health, Brown University
Testified on May 20, 2010, before the US House of Representatives Committee on
Appropriations, requesting funding in the Department of Defense budget for melanoma
research.
For a copy of Dr. Weinstock’s testimony, see
http://josiah.brown.edu/record=b5708380~S7 (Part 4, Page 234)

18. Government Documents in the Making:
Brown’s Role on the National Stage…
Joan M. Teno
Professor of Community Health and Medicine and Associate Director of the Center
for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University
Testified on September 24, 2008, before the US Senate Special Committee on Aging on
“Honoring Final Wishes: How To Respect American's Choices at the End of Life.”
For a copy of Dr. Teno’s testimony, see http://josiah.brown.edu/record=b4941876~S7
See also
http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2011/07/hospice
for recent information on Dr. Teno’s research on hospice care
for dementia patients.

19. Government Documents in the Making:
Brown’s Role on the National Stage…
Glenn C. Loury
Merton P. Stoltz Professor of Social Sciences, Department of Economics,
Brown University
Testified on October 4, 2007, before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress as it examined the
human, societal, and economic costs of America’s prison incarceration rates.
For a copy of Professor Loury’s testimony, see http://josiah.brown.edu/record=b4469984~S7
James W. Head
Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor, Department of Geological
Sciences, Brown University
Came to Brown University in 1973, following his work with the NASA Apollo program, in which he
analyzed potential landing sites, studied returned lunar samples and data, and provided training
for the Apollo astronauts.
For a copy of one of Professor Head’s early publications describing significant achievements in
NASA’s planetary geology program, see
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770013028_1977013028.pdf

20. The Federal Depository Library Program
The origins of the Federal Depository Library Program date
back to 1813 when Congress first authorized legislation to send
one copy of the House and Senate Journals and other
congressional documents to certain universities, historical
societies, state libraries, and other institutions. Congress
believed that one of the most effective ways to provide the
public with the information needed to hold the government
accountable was to place these fundamental documents in
local libraries where people would have free access to them.
In 1858-1859, Congress formalized the system and gave each Member of Congress the
ability to designate a depository library is their district or state. Brown University Library
was designated a depository in 1861, making it one of the oldest in the nation. The
administration of the Federal Depository Library Program was transferred to the US
Government Printing Office in 1895.
There are ten depository libraries in RI and 1,210 depository libraries nationwide. Together
these libraries work to meet the federal government information needs of their local
communities. Each library selects the material that supports their local programs and
interests, and provides services to help connect users to the federal government information
they need. The FDLP is one of the key building blocks of an “informed citizenry.”

21. Federal Government Information Today…
The vast majority of government information today is created
and produced digitally and disseminated via the web. From
congressional debates to decennial census data, from public
health reports to matters on foreign relations, from
environmental studies on climate change to the latest change
in the unemployment rate, users can identify and access
government information through a variety of online channels.
Staff at Federal Depository Libraries help students, researchers,
and the public at large find and use the government information
they need in all forms – historical and current, print and digital.
Documents to the People!

22. For more information on the government documents collections
at Brown University Library and the Federal Depository Library
Program, please contact Dan O’Mahony at govdocs@brown.edu.