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It is important to remember that this is an index to documents from the Executive Branch only. Other indices exist which cover documents for the legislative and judicial branches. This index leads to high quality, archival microfiche of the documents which are currently located in Government Publications (University of Washington Libraries), beginning at Microfiche Cabinet #10.
The Executive Branch Documents Index provides access to material issued by federal departments and agencies, including annual reports, general publications, serials, instructions, rules, circulars, decisions, and registers as identified by the Government Printing Office’s own library shelflist.
The indices are organized in two sets: 1789-1909 and 1910-1932. The information is further organized into groups or clusters of agencies. Each part may be for one agency or several agencies and consists of a subject index, a reference bibliography and a supplementary index.
There are seven parts:
The subject index covers both topics and personal names. When you find the entry you are looking for, look for the CIS accession number (ex: W2507-1). SuDoc numbers will also be listed in the subject index, so be sure you have the accession number rather than the SuDocs number. You will need this to search the Reference Bibliography. When you look up the accession number in the Reference Bibliography, you will find another, expanded, description of the documents available which will help determine if the documents are the ones you are seeking. You can then take the accession number to the microfiche cabinets to find the microfiche copy of the document(s).
The Supplementary index is organized under SuDoc number, title, and agency report number. It also contains guides. These can be very helpful; CIS is known for its excellent guides.
Final note: you must, with this index more than with most indices, read the spine and front cover of the volumes in order to find the information you need.