LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE LIBRARY

Legislative library works to answer questions

There is no traditional card catalogue but every piece of
information is meticulously filed. The room appears to hold as
many study tables as shelves but there is an endless wealth of
information available.

This is the Legislative Reference Library (LRL), the department
where a broad range of information is found and obscure questions
are answered.

Legislators preparing bills use the library to gather statistics
and background information, says Jan LeSuer, one of four
reference librarians. They also read how other states deal with
issues, the local response to proposed bills, and the fate of
past proposals.

The clipping files, a collection unique to the LRL, are
frequently used as a resource, LeSuer says. The files, started in
1969, contain articles clipped from almost every Minnesota
newspaper. They are arranged topically, from crime and disabled
housing to public lands and U.S. presidents.

"Legislators are very interested in how issues are covered in the
press. The files provide great background information and give a
sense of how an issue is growing," he says.

The majority of library users belong to the Legislature or a
state government agency.

"Our fist duty is to legislators and their staff. If the public
or a state agency or even the governor comes in, great. But they
may have to work independently," LeSuer says.

The priority given to legislators and their needs is why the
library emphasizes research materials, according to Director
Marilyn Cathcart.

"We do just about anything to get information for a legislator or
legislator's staff--call other states and national associations
and connect into various computer data bases. We're like
detectives," Cathcart says.

Computers give "let-work" new meaning

Originally located in a small room in the Capitol, the department
has grown as the needs of patrons have grown.

Because legislators want up-to-date information from all levels
of government, the LRL uses extensive on-line database systems.
In 1983, the library's records became a part of the State
University System's on-line catalog, PALS. The computer search
service gives quick and easy access to the library's collection
of books, government publications, and reports.

NEXIS, an electronic news service, includes information from
major newspapers, magazines and wire services, and SISP (State
Information Systems Project) indexes information collected by
Minnesota state agencies.

Another valuable service is DIALOG, a vendor of several hundred
data bases which LRL uses to fetch a wide range of information.

"DIALOG bursts our ability to get information beyond our walls,"
Cathcart says. With it and other data bases, LRL staff are able
to answer almost any question.

The information connection

When a person needed information on Eurasian water milfoil, for
example, Cathcart reached for the computer. The search yielded
valuable background articles about the algae that has
contaminated Minnesota lakes.

Other questions are more straightforward. Cathcart says some
people call and ask for the governor's address or a quotation
from former Senator and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. The
LRL staff receives an average of 80 questions every day, she
says.

"During session, most of our questions come from legislators.
After session, we get questions from the public wanting to know
what the Legislature did," Cathcart says.

Instead of waiting for questions to come up, the staff gathers
information they know is of interest to legislators.

Cathcart emphasized that the library is non-partisan, and keeps
requests for information confidential.

"Most library users are concerned about confidentiality because
they have a political agenda, but we don't reveal--and never
will--what we're doing for someone or who we're doing it for,"
she says.

While the LRL can't do as much research for state agencies or the
public as it does for legislators, the staff helps them find the
information they need and will refer them to information sources.

Collections benefit public

The LRL encourages the public to use its unique collections,
Cathcart says. These include special topical files, minutes of
state boards, commissions and agencies, legislative tapes, and
the largest, most complete collection of state documents in
Minnesota.

In addition to the special collections, a broad range of current
and historical information can be found on the library shelves.

Statistical abstracts, association lists, minutes from meetings
of state associations, and over 700 periodicals and newspapers
from around the country are filed in the LRL.

And new information is regularly added to the personality files,
which contain clippings on prominent people from throughout the
state. 

The LRL, which is under the jurisdiction of the Legislative
Coordinating Commission, was created by the Legislature in 1969.
It's required to keep copies of consultants' reports, all reports
and publications from state agencies, and 
to distribute a monthly list of state 
documents.

Library staff members pride themselves on being able to obtain
accurate information quickly, helping to fulfill their belief
that access to good information is an essential factor in the
legislative process, says Cathcart.  


Legislative Reference Library collection:

-- about 26,000 books, pamphlets, and documents;
-- 500 active magazine subscriptions;
-- specialized clipping files filed by subject, district, state
agency or person's name;
-- House and Senate Journals from 1909;
-- Minnesota Statutes from 1941;
-- Minnesota Session Laws from 1871;
-- Depository collection of Minnesota state documents;
-- Minnesota Legislative Manuals from 1871;
-- Governors' proposed budgets;
-- State agency and commission files;
-- Minutes of state boards, commissions and agencies;
-- Interest group ratings of legislators;
-- the monthly LRL Checklist of Minnesota documents; and
-- the bi-monthly LRL Resources listing of new acquisitions.



Originally printed in 1990 in the Session Weekly, a weekly
newsmagazine published by the Minnesota House Public Information
Office.

***Last Update 8/5/94 (jtt) Last Review 8/5/94 (jtt) ***