The Library provides a variety of services via the Internet, including a Web site, FTP service, discussion groups, and guides to resources on the Internet.The Library's Web Site provides information about the Library, its programs, and services, online collections from our American historical materials (American Memory), texts of many of the Library's publications, access to our online bibliographic catalogs, legislative information (THOMAS), guides to our special collections, and more.
Our public FTP site provides access to large documents and files in special formats, available for downloading. Most of the material in the FTP site is also available via the Library's Web site.
The Explore the Internet section of the Library's Web pages lists search tools, tutorials, and guides provided by other organizations.
The overall Library of Congress Web site may be searched by keyword or browsed alphabetically. By consulting the Library's Research Tools page you will also find many searchable resources also available on the Library's Web page.The Library also provides a Z39.50 Gateway to over 285 library online catalogs using similar Web-based search forms.
The Explore the Internet section of the Library's Web pages lists search tools, tutorials, and guides provided by other organizations.
The Library provides full texts of many of its own publications online. The American Memory project to present digitized versions of American historical materials provides a few examples of texts from our Rare Book and special collections. The Library's catalog provides bibliographic information about published works, but not the texts. Searchable full text of the Library-published Country Studies are also available via the Web site.Other organizations provide an increasing number of digital versions of full texts of published works via the Internet. Generally, these are either works that are no longer under copyright or copyrighted works provided with restrictions. The Library's subject guide to Electronic Texts and Publishing Resources is a listing of sites that provide access to texts and serials via the Internet.
The Library provides a wide variety of tools to help researchers. If you are interested in learning about our reading rooms, databases, and research guides, you may wish to read our Research and Reference FAQ. If you are interested in digital versions of collection materials provided online, you may wish to read the American Memory Historical Collections and National Digital Library FAQ. If you are interested in searching the Library's bibliographic catalog for information on books and serials, go directly to the Library of Congress Catalogs page.
Please consult the Library of Congress Catalogs page for informaton on accessing the Online Catalog.
The THOMAS system provides both historical and current information and documents related to Congress and United States Legislation. You may wish to consult the FAQ document on THOMAS before using the system.The Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room provides information on government documents, and links to government information provided by other agencies and organizations.
For other legal information, go to the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
The United States Copyright Office Home Page provides information about copyright law, copyright registration, and copyright application forms. Consult the U.S. Copyright Office FAQ for answers to specific questions.
The Library creates digital versions of many of its physical exhibitions. A listing and links to all available online exhibitions can be found via the Library of Congress Exhibitions Home Page.
Yes, most of the Library of Congress public reading rooms and computer catalog centers provide access to the Internet. The number of public access workstations varies per reading room. For further information see the Public Access to the Internet FAQ.
The Library's reading rooms and subject specialists provide guides to the Internet in special subject areas. The Explore the Internet section of the Library's Web pages lists of search tools, tutorials, and guides provided by other organizations.
The Library of Congress welcomes other sites to link to our Web site. As a courtesy, we request that you send permission requests to the Public Affairs Office at pao@loc.gov.
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