Hansard: the official, verbatim record of parliamentary debates and proceedings. Hansard is the name of the British family originally responsible for publishing the proceedings of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. Most Commonwealth jurisdictions produce a Hansard.

Hansard Subject Indexes - provide subject access to debates in the Legislative Assembly. Each subject heading includes the names of all members who spoke on that topic along with the page numbers where the remarks may be read. Referring to the instructions given in the Help file under Other Searches (no. 5), use the search capabilities of Adobe Reader to find a relevant subject heading, and then get from the page number indicated in the index to the corresponding page in the text.

Hansard Speaker Indexes Under each member’s name is a list of all topics spoken on by that member along with the page number where the remarks may be read. Referring to the instructions given in the Help file under Other Searches (no. 5), use the search capabilities of Adobe Reader to find a relevant member's name, and then get from the page number indicated in the index to the corresponding page in the text.

Scrapbook Hansard is an historical collection of newspaper clippings and a few speech transcripts covering Alberta's legislative debates from 1906 to 1971. Library staff began compiling articles as early as 1937 in order to retain a record of what transpired in the Assembly. This collection is a valuable resource for researching the early history of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta prior to the creation of Alberta Hansard, the official record of the debates of the Legislative Assembly, in 1972.

The Order Paper is the equivalent of the daily agenda for the Assembly; it lists all items of the day's business available for consideration. It is produced daily during session along with the Votes and Proceedings.

Votes and Proceedings are essentially the minutes of the House. It is a summary of what was done, and the decisions and votes on House business. Votes and Proceedings differ from Hansard, which is a complete transcript of what was said in the House.

Required Tablings are documents required by law or by Standing Order to be filed with the Assembly. Some examples of Required Tablings are annual reports, committee reports, and business plans.

Sessional Papers is any document, whether it be a report, letter, information package, or Required Tabling that a Member files with the Assembly.

Intersessional Deposits is any return, report or other periodic statement that is to be laid before the Assembly in accordance with an Act or any resolution or Standing Order of the Assembly and is deposited with the Clerk when the Assembly stands adjourned for a period of more than 14 days.

Government Motions are resolutions sponsored by Ministers. They are not proposals for laws. They provide a way for the Government to promote or clarify its policies, establish procedures, appoint officers of the Legislative Assembly, set up special committees, or guide the order of business.

Private Members' Motions are resolutions sponsored by private Members — any Member that isn't part of Cabinet. Private Members of the governing party are also often referred to as ""backbenchers,"" because they sit in the back rows behind the Cabinet Ministers. Private Members' Motions (also called Motions Other Than Government Motions) ask the Government to take an action, such as introducing a Bill or changing a policy.

Written Questions are questions that are either not urgent enough to qualify as oral questions or that require long or detailed responses.

Motions for Returns request that the Government produce specific documents for the information of the Assembly. A Written Question or a Motion for a Returns must be accepted or rejected within 15 sitting days of its appearance on the Order Paper. If agreed to, the Government is required to table a response within 30 sitting days.

Journals consist of all the Votes and Proceedings of a session and is the permanent official record of the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. The Journals are published following the prorogation of a session or the dissolution of a Legislature.

Journals Appendix The Journals' Appendices contain valuable information such as a listing of all Sessional Papers, Written Questions, Motions for Returns, Bills, and Committee of Supply business.