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Local History

Collection Policy Statement Index

(Classes F1-F975, DU620-DU629, and parts of Class D and F1000 and above)

I. Introduction
II. Scope
III. Research strengths
IV. Comparison with other major research collections
V. General policy
VI. Collection level for local history - United States
VII. Collection levels for local history - foreign countries

I. Introduction

For the purposes of this statement, local history materials are defined as those relating to the history of a country below the national level, such as the history of states, provinces, outlying territories, regions, counties, cities, towns or institutions located in such jurisdictions. Local history is, however, an integral part of history at the national level and serves to augment the collections on a national level by focusing on the specific rather than the general. So too are local history publications closely related to, and, at times, difficult to separate from genealogical publications.

II. Scope

The Library's acquisition of local history is international in Scope. In the Library of Congress classification system, with the exception of U.S. local history, the topic of local history is to be found under the general classes assigned to the history of each particular nation or region, and is, consequently, spread throughout Class D and Class F above F1000. U.S. local history is assigned call numbers from F1 through F975 and DU620 through DU629 (Hawaii). Histories of outlying territories of the U.S. are assigned call numbers in Class F (Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands) and Class DU (American Samoa, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands). Important local history resources are also found in special collections of manuscripts, maps and atlases, microforms, newspapers, photographs, rare books, and electronic forms, housed in various custodial divisions of the Library.

Although frequently associated with local history, and in many instances drawing upon local history materials in their basic research, works in the field of Genealogy are treated in detail in a separate Collections Policy Statement, Genealogy. Local history materials with genealogical aspects are, however, treated below in Sections VI.A.2.b, VI.A3, and VII.A.1.c..

III. Research strengths

The Library of Congress has one of the world's major collections of local history publications. The strength of the collection is in its size and depth, with the greatest strength lying in United States local history. Of particular note are the county, city and town histories and the serial publications of historical societies.

The following are examples of three of the many resources of significance to U.S. local historians in the special collections at the Library:

County and Regional Histories and Atlases, housed in the Microform Reading Room, comprising nearly 700 reels of microfilm. States include California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The Lyman Copeland Draper Collection, housed in the Manuscript Division, comprising 134 reels of microfilm. A collection of original documents and notebooks dealing with the history of the Trans-Allegheny West.

The Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection, housed in the Geography and Map Division, comprising 1840 bound volumes. Insurance maps of U.S. cities from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS); Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), housed in the Prints and Photographs Division, include photographs, measured drawings, andwritten documentation of early American architecture. HAER provides information on over 30,000 sites, structures, and artifacts.

IV. Comparison with other major research collections

State libraries or historical societies may have more comprehensive collections for their own areas. Other strong collections include the Family History Library of the LDS Church, the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the New York Public Library.

V. General policy

The Library acquires local history materials containing substantial information of significant research value (i.e., materials which present new information, research, or analysis), avoiding repetitive and derivative publications.

The published output of local history varies greatly from country to country, both as to quantity and quality. Certain countries or regions produce numerous, lengthy, thoroughly researched volumes on local history, many of them of research value to a variety of fields (historical, demographic, genealogical, sociological, etc.). In other countries or regions, local history materials tend to be produced under much less controlled and rigorous circumstances. Patterns of distribution, often outside the established book trade, may also be significant factors determining the success in building collections of such materials for any given geographical area. In many cases the Library must depend on limited bibliographical information, or since much of the material is distributed outside the established book trade, on citations, specialized offer lists, or direct offers from the distributors of local history materials.

Because of these factors and the variability in quality and distribution patterns of this type of material, the resulting local history collection for any given country or region may appear to be sparse and/or the quality of some of the selected publications less rigorous than those of other countries or regions (cf. Developing Countries).

VI. Collection level for local history - United States

The Library acquires general histories of states, countries, cities and towns, including all time periods and aspects at the Comprehensive level (Collecting level 5). Histories of outlying territories are acquired at the Research level (Collecting level 4).

Types of materials to be acquired

The Library acquires:
- General histories of counties, cities, and towns, including those which deal only with a specific period, such as early settlements, the Civil War, etc.
- Materials of research value which
1. contribute to the study of national movements and events in local settings;
2. make substantial contributions to historical, genealogical, or iconographic research (including indexes, abstracts, and transcriptions of local records and the Federal census); and
3. provide information on special aspects of the locale, including architecture, historical sites, ethnic groups, etc.
4. Publications which contain substantial genealogical information such as histories of churches and patriotic organizations, and published funeral home records. For general treatment of genealogy, see that C.P.S.

The following list is arranged according to the subclasses within the LC classification for local history of the U.S. and its outlying territories:

Class	Subject	Collecting Level
F1-F975	United States local history	5
DU620-DU629	Hawaii	5
DU643-DU645	Northern Mariana Islands	4
DU647	Guam	4
DU813-DU819	American Samoa	4
F1951-F1983	Puerto Rico	4
F2136	Virgin Islands	4

Types of materials not acquired
Except as indicated in Section A, materials which are primarily of local interest are not acquired. Offers of such materials are to be referred to appropriate local repositories.

VII. Collection levels for local history - Foreign countries

Because the Library has traditionally maintained extensive collections for Canada and Latin America, as well as for China, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Western Europe, special efforts are made to build on the strengths of these collections, at the Research level (Collecting level 4). For developing countries see the C.P.S. "Developing Countries". On a general, world-wide basis, the Library acquires foreign local history materials at the Instructional support level ( level 3), that is, at a level adequate to maintain knowledge of the subject for generalized purposes, but of less than research intensity.

Types of materials acquired

The Library acquires local history material with emphasis on the following:
- Histories of cities, towns, districts, etc.;
- Local histories which contribute to an understanding of events, movements, etc., of national and international importance, or which serve as unique sources for research on local ethnic groups, cultures, customs, etc.
- Publications which contain substantial genealogical information, including church registers; and indexes, abstracts and transcriptions of local records.

Class	Subject	Collecting Levels
D1-DX	History: general and old world	3
DA1-DA995	Great Britain	4
DB1-DJ500	Western Europe	4
DS401-DS486.8	India	4
DS701-799.9	China	4
DS801-DS897	Japan	4
F1000-1140	Canada	4
F1201-1392	Mexico	4
F1401-3799	Other Latin American Countries	4
F1751-F1849	Cuba	4
	All other localities	3

Types of materials not acquired
The Library does not acquire the following types of materials unless they conform to one or more of the criteria in section VII above:
- Local histories that have little or no national significance;
- Histories of local organizations such as schools, clubs, banks, trade unions, temples, etc.; and
- Local guidebooks for other than major cities, and provincial or other subnational units, unless they contain substantial information not found in national guides.

August 2000

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