Depository collections were set up by Congress as a way of disseminating government information to the general public.

Nearly every congressional district has at least one depository collection. The library that accepts responsibility for a depository collection must ensure free public access to the collection, even if the library is otherwise in a private institution.

The library at Saint Joseph's College became a depository in 1964. It is currently one of 35 depositories in Indiana, and one of only two in the Fifth Congressional District. Our depository presently receives approximately 30% of the publications that the U.S. Government makes available.