Library Of Congress Reading Room Access

Thomas jefferson building exhibition spaces selected areas serving special clientele.

Library of congress reading room access.

Every day hundreds of books and bound periodical volumes are delivered from the stacks for use in the main reading room. In 1972 it was named the microform reading room to indicate the variety of microformats in the collection that now numbers some six million pieces in hundreds of distinct collections. Links are provided to all research centers and reading rooms as well as all services available for public researchers and scholars. Even lawmakers spouses can t walk into the congressional.

Access to library of congress reading rooms a valid reader identification card is the minimum requirement for access to the library s public reading rooms. A researcher using a laptop in the european reading room at the library of congress. The starting point for researchers using the library of congress both on site and remotely via the web. Every day hundreds of books and bound periodical volumes are delivered from the stacks for use in the main reading room.

The library of congress is the world s largest library offering access to the creative record of the united states and extensive materials from around the world both on site and online. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the united states. It also maintains the national audio visual conservation center in culpeper virginia. Photo by michaela mcnichol.

The collection may be consulted by any adult engaged in serious research who presents a valid library of congress issued reader card and agrees to adhere to the division s rules for the use of rare materials. Congressional reading rooms the kluge center and various meeting rooms. Please use the library of congress ask a librarian form. Some reading rooms have supplemental registration procedures and or conditions of use some reading rooms require researchers to be 18 years of age.

The library of congress has actively acquired microforms since the early 1940s. The library is housed in three buildings on capitol hill in washington d c. The library of congress lc is the research library that officially serves the united states congress and is the de facto national library of the united states. This historic room is through its catalogs the primary entrance into the library s research collections and the principal reading room for work in the humanities and social sciences including local history and genealogy.