Government Resources

The Library of Congress (LC) is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. The Library of Congress occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Thomas Jefferson Building (1897) is the original separate Library of Congress building (the Library began in 1800 inside the U.S. Capitol.) The John Adams Building was built in 1938 and the James Madison Memorial Building was completed in 1981. 

For more information, check out the History of the Library of Congress or visit the Homepage.

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Native American History and Culture: Finding Pictures An overview of Prints & Photographs Division visual resources, including photographs, drawings, engravings, lithographs, posters, and architectural drawings, related to North American Indigenous communities.

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U.S. Copyright Office Promotes creativity and free expression by administering the nation’s copyright laws and by providing impartial, expert advice on copyright law and policy for the benefit of all.

Click here to visit the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

The Library of Congress and WGBH in Boston have embarked on a project to preserve for posterity the most significant public television and radio programs of the past 60 years: The American Archive of Public Broadcasting. The American Archive will ensure that this rich source for American political, social, and cultural history and creativity will be saved and made available once again to future generations.

Click here to visit the American Folklife Center.

The American Folklife Center (AFC) documents and shares the many expressions of human experience to inspire, revitalize, and perpetuate living cultural traditions. The Center’s vision is to encourage diversity of expression and foster community participation in the collective creation of cultural memory.

Click here to learn more about the Center for the Book.

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress is a community of 56 Affiliated Centers, promoting reading, libraries and literacy through the Library of Congress and its Affiliated Centers across the country. These Centers engage, inspire, and inform diverse audiences through author talks, web-based programs, podcasts, videos, writing challenges for young people, book festivals and other events designed to advance appreciation of the written word. 

Click here to search the database of Chronicling America.

Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1770-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.

Click here to access the Library of Congress' Digital Collections.

The digital collections of the LOC contains a wide variety of topics. Explore the Abraham Lincoln Papers, African American Perspectives, Baseball Cards, Civil War collections, and many more.

Click here to access the Law Library.

The mission of the Law Library of Congress is to provide authoritative legal research, reference and instruction services, and access to an unrivaled collection of U.S., foreign, comparative, and international law.

Click here to access the Library of Congress Catalog.

The Library of Congress Catalog is the main access point for the Library's collections. Use the catalog to look at archival finding aids, E-Resources and more.

Click here to access National Library Service.

National Library Service (NLS) is a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical, perceptual, or reading disability that prevents them from using regular print materials. NLS circulates books and magazines in braille or audio formats, that are instantly downloadable to a personal device or delivered by mail free of charge.

Explore Poetry and Literature.

Browse and learn about the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature, the Poet Laureate, audio recordings, events and more.

Click here to lean about and access the Veterans History Project. 

The Veterans History Project collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service.

Library of Congress - YouTube

A Conversation with Brooke Shields (37 min)

Chronicling America: Using Historical Newspapers Webinar (1h)

Connect with the Library of Congress Social Medial Page

Copyright Office: Celebrating 150 Years of Creativity Webinar (1h)

Library of Congress Manuscript Collections: Orientation and Research Strategies Webinar (1h)

Library of Congress Veterans History Project Webinar (56 mins)

Library of Congress Webinars Archive