Though both have equal status as law, researchers are rarely concerned with private laws. The separately published slip laws are available in the LRC at KF 50 .U52. In addition, many topical looseleaf services reprint legislation within a few days of passage. Chapter numbering was consecutive, with public and private laws in a single series. Since 1957, all public laws are numbered consecutively in order of approval in one series, with private laws similarly numbered in another series.
Legislation is arranged in chronological order in each volume by public or private law number.
The Statutes at Large provide the historical record of all legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress. Researchers citing to a piece of legislation in the session laws must make reference to the official compilation. Although volumes are supposed to be issued at the close of a congressional session, publication is actually years behind. Consequently, researchers frequently prefer using an unofficial compilation, such as the United States Code Congressional and Administrative News , which is published more quickly. This set reprints the public laws issued during each session of Congress.