The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)

This seven-volume set offers a core collection of hand-selected titles in 58 curriculum-specific subject areas. Volumes are organized into broad subject areas such as Humanities, Languages and Literature, History, Social Sciences and Professional Studies, Science and Technology, and Interdisciplinary and Area Studies. The seventh volume provides helpful cross-referencing indexes which explain the relationship between RCL subject taxonomy and LC ranges. New to this edition are the inclusion of interdisciplinary subject areas and the selection of electronic resources and web sites essential for undergraduate library collections. Non-book selections will be easily identified by a graphic indicator included in the item record. All selections will be assigned an audience level marker indicating whether the title is most appropriate for lower-division undergraduate, upper-division undergraduate, faculty, or general readership. Records will also include a notation if they previously appeared in BCL3 (Books for College Libraries, 1988) or have been reviewed by Choice.