Index to Committee Agendas and Background Material

Background Information

The Collection:

The Government Publications Department of Mills Memorial Library holds a collection of Regional Council Committee Agendas and Background Materials.

The agendas, with accompanying materials, are a useful source of information on a variety of municipal matters (e.g. waste management, social services and transportation issues). The packages contain all the reports and letters tabled with the committee clerks for distribution to the members in preparation for meetings.

The materials are held in binders in the Government Publications books stacks. Tabs separate the agendas by package date. Item numbers are prominently displayed at the top right hand corner of the pages.

Using the Collection:

Users knowing the exact date or dates a topic was discussed can go directly to that time period in the committee agendas. Scan the subject lines in the reports to determine relevancy.

Users uncertain of the exact date should consult the Index.

Scope of the Index:

The Index is not comprehensive. Emphasis is placed on subjects appropriate to the research and teaching needs of McMaster University.

Items appearing on a frequent (monthly, quarterly, etc.) Basis are noted as "Regular Agenda Items," followed by the frequency in parentheses. Individual dates and item numbers are not listed.

The indexing terms are adapted, with modifications, from the Urban Thesaurus: A Vocabulary for Indexing and Retrieving Urban Literature (Center for Urban Regionalism, Kent State University, 1968).

Using the Index:

1. Select your topic from the list of hot topics on othe main page.

2. To search the entire document for a specific word, click on Browse the Entire Index from the main page. If you're using Netscape, click on "Find" from your toolbar, then key in the word you are looking for. If you're using Internet Explorer, click on "Edit" from your drop-down menu, select "Find (on this page)," then key in the word you are looking for.

3. Once you've identified useful entries, note the complete citations. For example

Bicycle Racks, TSC, March 28, 1994, Item 1(b)
Subject	Committee	Agenda Date	Item Number

4. Select Committee Abbreviations/Dates of Coverage from the main page to get the full name of the committee and the call number.

5. Go to the specified call number in the Government Publications stacks. Locate the appropriate volume based on the agenda date, using the tabs. Locate the required item number in the package.

Committee Abbreviations/Dates of Coverage