Library of Congress —
  Parts 1 & 2

by Dae Powell

Have you ever been to the Library of Congress?


H

Have you ever done genealogical research there?

Did the maze of buildings and stacks of books overwhelm you?

I can answer "Yes" to all these questions, so I know it really helps to go there PREPARED.


Researchers go to Salt Lake City or even local Family History Centers prepared for their searches.  The Library of Congress (LoC) should be no different.  We take our forms and list of needed information (which applies to ALL research), but the (LoC) has its own peculiar organization.  We can prepare for that, too.

In this two-part presentation, I'll share with you what I found at the Library of Congress—in person and online.


In Person: A Few Areas of General Genealogical Interest

Thanks to certain twisted individuals, both foreign and domestic, we cannot enter a government building without a search of our person and belongings.  The (LoC) will not disappoint you in that regard.  Oh!  Your briefcase, purse, bag and other carrying devices will be inspected when you depart the buildings, too.

The hours of operation vary by season and by location.  You can always access the current hours online at Library of Congress - Hours

Library of Congress consists of three buildings:

  1. Thomas Jefferson Building is directly east of the Capitol Bldg.  This is where you will find the following:
    1. Genealogy
    2. Local History
    3. African and Middle Eastern
    4. Asian
    5. European
    6. Hispanic
    7. Folklife
    8. Microform
    9. Computer Catalog Services
    10. Children's Literature
    I spent 80% of my genealogical research time in here.  Room G20 on first floor is the Genealogy Room, but I recommend you go to the second floor first (main reception desk) and get a researcher's card and (separate) copy card.  The researcher's card speeds up book requests.  You only need a picture ID.  The copy card is used at more machines and the price of copies with the card is less than without it.


  2. John Adams Building is directly east of the Jefferson Bldg.  This is where you will find the following:
    1. Geography and Maps
    2. Photoduplication Services
    3. Business Reference Services
    4. Science
    I spent 10% of my genealogical research time in here (and 90% of my money), and it wasn't just the maps, either.  The Photoduplication Services were outstanding.  Yes, they charge for their services, but the fees are reasonable and vary with the materials and quantities requested.  I made paper copies of microfilm and microfiche.  They've added a service since I was there last.  Now they can be put on CD-ROM!  I suggest caution, however, because the minimum charge per CD-ROM is $20.  The main advantage is obvious — once on CD-ROM, it can be printed any number of times!  Oh!  For printed books in English, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available, too.  This allows you to copy, paste and quote text into your family histories, not just an image of text from a book.


  3. James Madison Building is on Independence Ave., directly south of the Jefferson Building.  This is where you will find the following:
    1. Newspaper and Current Periodical
    2. Prints and Photographs
    3. Manuscript
    4. Copyright Office
    5. Motion Picture and Television
    6. Performing Arts — Music
    7. Law Library

It was in the Jefferson Bldg., on the ground floor near the gift shop, that I found the Orientation Theatre.  The presentation took about 15 mins and was well worth it.  It was here I learned that the (LoC) does not have every book published in the U.S.—not even every copyrighted publication.  <gasp>  The Librarian of Congress determines which books shall be retained there.  Besides this fact,

  1. Some publications are not copyrighted;
  2. Many were published afore the present copyright laws; and
  3. Some publishers may not have complied with copyright deposit requirements.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Good

Bad

Ugly


The Library of Congress Catalog

When referencing the LoC Catalog, some of the more relevant topics for genealogists are as follows (listed alphabetically):

Topic Letter Symbol
American History E
Armies UA
Bibliographies Z
Biographies CT
British History DS
Genealogy CS
Geography G
Heraldry CR
Marines VE
Naval Seamen VD  (no snickering)
Newspapers AN
Official Documents J
Periodicals AP
Religion BX
US Local History F

Dear Myrtle has written a review of James C. Neagles' book, THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, A Guide to Genealogical & Historical Research.  She lists it as copyright 1990, ISBN: 0-916489-48-5 from Ancestry Publishing.  I found it on Amazon.com NOT discounted at $39.95.  Although not entirely essential, it sounds like an excellent reference to prepare yourself for the LoC.

Another resource from the LoC is the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) .  Published by the Library of Congress, it indexes manuscripts located in private libraries, university libraries, records housed in churches, etc.

I've discussed some areas of the Library of Congress for genealogical research VISITS.  Next I'll show you some of the excellent resources the LoC has ONLINE, too.  My online experience with the LoC isn't as rich as the actual visits I've made, but I'll show you just how valuable the LoC-Online can be—especially if you cannot travel there.



ShoeString

Library of Congress—Online!
  A Few Areas of General Genealogical Interest

On AOL, you find the LoC at:  AOL Keyword:  LOC

Online otherwise, you find it at www.loc.gov


Boolean Searching

Use Boolean operators and nesting to search for combinations of words or phrases.  Enter Boolean operators (i.e., AND, OR, NOT) in either uppercase or lowercase.  Searches are NOT case sensitive.

Note: Boolean operators and nesting (using parentheses) may not be used in Basic Search types: Author/Creator, Title, Subject, LCCN-ISBN-ISSN, Call Number or Keyword.


Concept Search Examples Retrieval Formula


AND
Retrieves only records containing both terms.  "AND" limits the number of "hits."

Dae AND Jayne
"Civil War" AND Virginia


OR
Retrieves records containing either one or more terms.  "OR" expands the number of "hits."

sixties OR 60s OR 1860s
labor OR labour
roots OR genealogy OR "family history"


NOT
Excludes records containing the second term.  "NOT" limits the number of "hits."
"southern states" NOT mississippi
"civil war" NOT american



Boolean Searching—Advanced


Use parentheses ( ) to group portions of Boolean queries for more complex searches.

((color OR colour) AND (slave OR bonded)) NOT (alabama OR florida)
powell AND (canright OR ferguson)
(women OR woman) AND genealogy

Many of you are familiar with wildcards for characters such as ? or %.  The Library of Congress does not recognize these, however it does recognize "contained in."




Some Categories of Genealogical Interest

  1.  Genealogical Guides and Handbooks

  2. African-American

  3. England and the UK
    • Sources for Research in English Genealogy (Library of Congress)
      This guide has been prepared primarily as an aid to finding information about English genealogy at the Library of Congress.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/england.html
      as of 5 March 04
    • Microform: British Government Documents (Library of Congress)
      This finding aid contains selected microform collections in the Library of Congress Microform Reading Room that contain British government publications and documents.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/microform/brit_govt.html
      20 Aug 03
    • Sources for Research in Irish Genealogy
      This guide has been prepared primarily as an aid for those who are researching Irish genealogy and local history at the Library of Congress.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/ireland.html
      as of 5 March 04
    • Sources for Research in Scottish Genealogy
      This guide has been prepared primarily as an aid for those who are researching Scottish genealogy and local history at the Library of Congress.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/scotland.html
      as of 5 March 04

  4. Immigration

  5. Hispanic

  6. Religion

  7. Canada
    • SELECTED INTERNET RESOURCES: Canada: Libraries and Archives (Library of Congress)
      Links to external web sites regarding Canadian libraries and archives
    • Alcove 9--Canada: Libraries and Archives
      Internet sites related to Canadian libraries and archives
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/main/alcove9/canada/library.html
      09 Mar 04

  8. Denmark
    • Danish Immigration to America: An Annotated Bibliography of Resources (Library of Congress)
      This bibliography contains titles that describe Scandinavian emigrations in general, both within Scandinavia and beyond.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/danish.html
      05 Mar 04

  9. Hebraic
    • About the Hebraic Collections, African and Middle Eastern
      Information about the Hebraic collections, African Middle Eastern Reading Room, Library of Congress.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/hs/hscoll.html
      07 Nov 03

  10. Iceland
    • Icelandic and Faroese Collections at the Library of Congress
      This page provides a description of the highlights of the Icelandic collections at the Library of Congress
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/coll/icel.html
      17 May 02

  11. Norway
    • A Select Bibliography of Works: Norwegian-American Immigration and Local History.  Norwegian migration to North American began on July 4, 1825, with the sailing of the sloop Restauration from Stavanger bound for New York City.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/norway.html
      05 Mar 04

  12. Russia

  13. Microform
    • A Guide to the Microform Collections: A (Library of Congress)
      These vast collections represent global information ranging from human prehistory to unidentified flying objects.  The formats are as diverse as newspaper clippings.  Has links to the rest, plus indices.
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/microform/guide/a.html
      15 Aug 03

  14. Czechoslovakia

  15. Employment Records

  16. Surnames

Earlier I promised I'd share how to get around materials that the LoC won't send out via Inter-Library Loan (ILL).  Here it is:

Many items requested on ILL are now being scanned and delivered as digital files.  ILL customers can now download and print these items as soon as the citation appears on the Digital Interlibrary Loan link, shown below:

http://www.loc.gov/rr/loan/illscanhome.html


You can request that "your" items be scanned, too.  The Library of Congress no longer accepts paper or fax ILL requests, but they will be accepted using an ISO protocol compliant email request form.  To access the form, have your local library go to: Interlibrary Loan Request Form at the following address: 

http://www.loc.gov/rr/loan/illrequest.html

Your local librarian must fill out the form (not you), and include all "mandatory" information, and as much other information as possible.  She will click on "Submit," and your request will be received in the CALM (Collections Access, Loan and Management) Division at the Library of Congress.  The mandatory information includes:

  1. Requesting Library Account Number  (if your library does not have an account, they can call: 202-707-5441, from 9:00 - 5:00 EST M-F)
  2. ILL Request Number
  3. Requesting Library Name
  4. Book/Journal Title


Photoduplication Services via the Internet

Unlike CALM, the good folks over in the Adams Building still accept faxes and mail, thus further justifying the postal rate increases, I suppose.  I prefer email, and they accept that, too.  Before you rush to order scans, prints and CD-ROMS, however, I suggest you check three things first:

  1. Search American Memory, or through the virtual reading rooms such as the Prints & Photographs Division or Geography and Maps Division to see if the images you want are available.  Write down the digital ID for them to reference.
    American Memory:  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/
  2. Write down the item's title, type of material, the LoC Control Number and the Call Number on the Photoduplication Service order form.  Services and pricing information can be found on the Digital Imaging Services Web page:
    http://www.loc.gov/preserv/pds/digital.html
  3. Check your wallet!  These are not inexpensive.  A digital color photographic print measuring 30" x 40" that meets archival standards costs $203.00.  Ok, that is the highest price I know of, but even 300 dpi images copied to CD-ROM run 75 cents each.  One hundred of those on a CD-ROM would be $75, with plenty room on the disk for more.

I hope this whets your appetite for the research at the Library of Congress.  I've not gone in depth into any one subject and I've not discussed Surname studies and similar areas of interest at all, but they are there!  Your tax dollars help pay for this resource—use it often.  Use it well.




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Last Updated 20-August-2007
ShoeString

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