GPO Seeks Publications for 150th Anniversary Exhibit

  • Last Updated: December 31, 1969
  • Published: September 17, 2010

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has played a key role in the timeline of America with its printing services. As part of the year-long celebration of GPO's 150th anniversary, an exhibit highlighting the agency's influence and involvement in American life is being planned. The exhibit is expected to open in March 2011 and will feature materials printed by GPO that reflect major events and policies in United States history, such as the Emancipation Proclamation, declarations of war, and treaties of peace. Also included will be materials from everyday life, such as tax forms, Social Security cards, and a variety of agency informational publications.

Many of the items that GPO would like to feature have been preserved through the Federal Depository Library Program. It is our hope that Federal depository libraries that have these materials would be willing to lend them to GPO for several months. The following is a preliminary list of the publications GPO would like to exhibit:

Congressional Hearings

  • Ervin Committee Watergate
  • Fulbright Vietnam
  • Impeachment Proceedings (Clinton including Starr Report)
  • Confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice

Presidential Materials

  • Wilson Request for Declaration of War, April 1917
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address, March 1933
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt's Request for Declaration of War, December 1941
  • Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 1961
  • Obama Inaugural Address, January 2009

Specific Federal Publications

  • Congressional Record, First Issue 1873
  • Federal Register, First Issue 1935
  • Surgeon General's Report on Smoking, 1964

Miscellaneous Federal Publications

  • Agriculture Yearbook
  • Diseases of the Horse
  • Dr. Seuss World War II books
  • Infant and Child Care
  • Jefferson Bible
  • National Park Publications (Early and Current)
  • Official Records of the War of Rebellion (One or Two Volumes)
  • Tax Forms (Early and Current)
  • Watergate Transcripts
  • Works Progress Administration (WPA) Publications
  • World War II materials
  • Various Posters


If your library would be interested in loaning any of these materials to GPO, please fill out the form below. GPO will review the submissions and contact libraries to arrange the loan of the materials selected for display. GPO will cover the costs of the shipment of materials for the exhibit.

UPDATE: GPO is no longer accepting materials for the exhibit.