United States Department of Labor

Wirtz Labor Library FAQs

Features of the Main Collection

• Over 38,000 cataloged titles, of publications related to labor movement, labor supply, child labor, women employment, wages and hours in industries, industrial health and safety, safety standards.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletins and reports since 1895 to present.
• Women's Bureau Bulletins since 1918 to present.
• Current subscriptions to over 250 print journals.
• Historical journal collection including such titles as American Economic Review, 1911- present and Monthly Labor Review, 1918-present.
• Partial federal depository library for Government Printing Office materials.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1883- to present.
• Extensive publication collection of Bureau of Labor Statistics and International Labor Organization materials.
• Historic collection of state government documents and reports relating to labor conditions.
• Over 3,000 periodicals and newspapers of American and foreign trade unions.
• Large collection of foreign labor statistics.
• Departmental publications such as Producer Price Index, Consumer Price Index and Occupational Outlook Quarterly.
• Official portraits of United State Department of Labor Secretaries.
• Annual reports of the Secretary of Labor (1913-present).
• International Labour Organization publications and conference reports (1919-present).
• Labor Hall of Fame Inductees Video Collections (1989-present).
• Wholesale Price Index (WPI)which became the Producer Price Index in 1978 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be traced back to 1890.
• Statistical collection of labor and economic periodicals published by United States government agencies and foreign government agencies.

Features of the Law Library

• Over 30,000 volumes of legal materials are in the collection related to federal labor laws including related fields such as immigration, bankruptcy and trust law.
• Over 125 different titles in the collection of administrative decisions by various labor organizations both inside and outside the DOL,usually referred to by acronym. Some in this collection include ARB, BRB, ALJ, and WH.
• Congressional Information Service’s complete Congressional publications, which includes committee prints, hearings, reports and executive documents from 1984 to present.
• Legislative histories relating to the subject area of labor including the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA), the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
• Bound set of the Federal Register (August 1977 to present).

Features of the Microform Collection

• Over 9500 reels of microfilm.
• Code of Federal Regulations from their original publication in 1939 to 1985.
• Federal Registers from their original publication in 1936 to 1993.
• Congressional Globe and Congressional Record from 1873 to 1985.
• Statutes at Large from 1789 to 1953.
• Historic U.S. & foreign labor periodicals and newspapers from all fifty states.
• Collections of manuscripts from prominent labor leaders such as Terence Powderly, The Kester Collection, John Mitchell, Eugene Debbs & Samuel Gompers.
• The Sears Christmas Catalog, often used as a barometer of the economy, starting in 1888.
• Regional Reporters 1st Series: Atlantic, North Western, & South Eastern

Features of the Taylor Room Collection

• Constitution and by-laws of the American trade unions publications from 1800's to 1950's.
• Various labor publications of Women's Bureau; Transportation industries; Steel and automobile industries; Mining industries.
• Annual reports of different state labor statistics from 1800-1930.
• State government statistical abstracts from 1900-1930.
• State censuses from 1800's to 1930's.
• Factories and Inspections reports from various countries from 1825-1930.
• Additional historic holdings are housed in the George Meany Memorial Archives through an agreement between the Archives and the Department of Labor.

Features of the Folio Collection

• Over 850 titles of historical old and significance of labor-related oversize newspapers.
• Over 240 original OCLC records.
• Over 2500 items in this special collection, primarily of trade union serials, both domestics & foreign which date back, in some cases to the early 1890's.
• Wide variety of items including newspapers, periodicals and statistical summaries which described the labor movement in the country & abroad.
• Due to the fragile condition and importance of the material in this collection, it is housed separately from the Main Library and is available to researchers by appointment only.