The Boston Public Library (BPL) was the first large municipally funded public library in the United States. Although the library was founded in 1848, the original idea was first proposed by French ventriloquist Alexandre Vattemare in 1841. In 1854, the library opened to the public in two rooms in a schoolhouse on Mason Street. Just four years later, the building on Boylston Street opened with 88,789 items. In 1871, the BPL was the first library in the country to open a branch, and by 1895, when the new central library was opened in Copley Square, 29 branches and reading rooms had opened. Charles Follen McKim was the principal architect of the new building, which is noted for its perfect proportions, magnificent murals, and beautiful ornamentation throughout the building. The tremendous growth of the library made it necessary to build an addition, and in 1972, the new building designed by Philip Johnson was opened.

A thorough descriptive list of 225 printed constitutions, statute compilations, session acts and resolutions passed by properly authorized bodies of the Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation, Creek (or Muskogee) Nation, Indian Territory, Nez Perce tribe, Omaha Tribe, Osage Nation, Ottawa Tribe, Sac and Fox Nation, Seminole Nation, Seneca Nation, State of Sequoyah, Stockbridge and Munsee Tribe, and the Winnebago Tribe. Each chapter begins with a brief history of the tribe or nation and each entry contains useful biographical, historical and bibliographical notes. The author observes that many of these items have not been "recorded in any connection, and the scant biographical information about the others are widely scattered and often imperfect" (Preface). xxi, 124 pp.