Research Week and the Library of Congress Website

Research Week at OSU is February 18-22, “celebrating OSU researchers who change the world.”

Honoring this week is the information that is available from the Library of Congress (LOC) website. This post outlines the basics of navigating the site to help you find the content that you need with the many resources that are available.

What is the Library of Congress?

The LOC is the "largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collection." The Library has millions of primary resources that are free and accessible. These resources largely emphasize American history and culture. In addition, there are secondary sources, such as blogs and bibliographies, to help organize the primary resources.

To Find What You Need

There are a few ways to discover the information you need. The first way is to identify and search the database, digital collection, or area of the website that is most likely to access the materials you are looking for.

Under the sliding pictures on the home page, there are seven different categories that organize information.

1.  The 'Library Catalog' is the main access point for all the collections. The LOC contains "17 million catalog records for books, serials, manuscripts, maps, music, recordings, images, and electronic resources."
2.  The 'Digital Collections' offer maps, photographs, letters, diaries, newspapers, personal accounts, sound recordings, and historic films. 
3. The 'Researchers' tab contains information about research centers, general collections, international collections, special format collections, and research on the web.
4.  The 'U.S. Copyright Office' section works to "administer the Nation's copyright laws for the advancement of the public good; to offer services and support to authors and users of creative works; and to provide expert impartial assistance to Congress, the courts, and executive branch agencies on questions of copyright law and policy." 
5. The LOC is also connected to 'Congress.gov,' which is the official website for U.S. legislative information. 
6. The 'Law Library' tab includes a collection of over 2.65 million volumes, making it the largest legal collection in the world. 
7. The 'Teachers' tab consists of classroom materials and professional development to help teachers use primary sources in the classroom. 

If you click on the Digital Collection under the main pictures of the LOC homepage, it will display a group of digitized items along with some text.  The title, a brief description of the collection, and the number of materials within the collection are displayed.

↓

If you use the search bar under Digital Collections, it does not bring up all the results. It only brings up the "about" pages of the different digital collections that match the key word. You need to go into a specific digital collection to access more results. To narrow your search, go to the left side of the page. You can refine your results by subject, part of, and original format. Once you click on a collection, you are brought to the "about this collection." 

↓

On the left hand side, there are sections for Related Resources, Rights and Access, Teaching Resources, and Expert Resources. At the top of the page, there are collection items and articles and essays.

The Digital Collections is home to a wide variety of tools and information. For example, the Alexander Hamilton collection consists 12,00 items from 1708-1917 and describes Hamilton's personal and public life. The Rosa Parks collection contains letters, photos, and documents that emphasize Parks' private life and public activism. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers covers information from 1814-1946 and emphasizes the women's rights movement. The National Child Labor Committee collection documented the living and working conditions of children from 1908-1924. These are just a few examples of the diversity that the digital collections contains. However, American History has the most resources under the digital collections.  

Another way to find content is to use the search bar on the home page of the website. The search bar is used for a broad search. You can click on the magnifying glass right next to the bar to narrow your results through advanced filters. These filters include: original format, online format, date, location, part of, contributor, language, and access condition. Enter keywords to describe your topic.

The 'hamburger menu' is often used to find more resources.

The hamburger tab includes various topics such as discover, services, visit, education, connect, about, ask a librarian, help, contact, search online catalog, Copyright.gov, and Congress.gov.

The Discover tab includes catalogs & finding aids, digital collections, format, research & reference, crowdsourcing, popular materials, audio & video podcasts. The research and reference section provides information about the many reading rooms and research centers, along with links to various online collection guides. The popular tab encompasses about 13 million digitized historic newspaper pages from 48 states and the District of Columbia. The newspapers range from 1789-1963. They are all in public domain, so they are free for the public to access.

The hamburger menu lists resources for education. This tab provides materials for students and teachers. Classroom materials contain primary source sets, lesson plans, presentations & activities, themed resources, and collection connections. The education tab also consists of "Today in History." Today in History highlights a person, event, or activity associated with each day of the year. It has a brief essay and sme primary sources and links for more materials. The Today in History page has been used for information on many blog posts.

Lastly, the connect tab allows an individual to learn more about the library's newest resources and content. Here you can find all the library's links to social media platforms: blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. You can also subscribe to get updates on news, events, content, and developments at the library.

The LOC provides many valuable tools for learning and education. If you have questions regarding the website, contact the library or chat with a librarian. Furthermore, the LOC dedicated a video recording navigating the basics of the website.

~ Emily Hancz