Acquisitions
The Library of Congress acquires materials in all formats (books, periodicals, maps, microforms, music, prints, photographs, recorded sound, videos, electronic, etc.) and in all subjects, except technical agriculture and clinical medicine, from all over the world. The Library of Congress acquisitions divisions on Capitol Hill and its six overseas offices use six methods to acquire materials: Cataloging in Publication, Copyright, Exchange, Gift, Federal Transfer, and Purchase.
General Information
- Acquisitions at the Library of Congress
- Frequently Asked Questions about Acquisitions
- Cataloging in Publication (CIP)
Collection Overviews & Policies
The Library's collections are shaped by its Collection Policy Statements and total over 164,000,000 items.
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Overseas Offices
The offices in Cairo, Islamabad, Jakarta, Nairobi, New Delhi, and Rio de Janeiro to acquire, catalog, preserve, and distribute library and research materials from countries where such materials are essentially unavailable through conventional acquisitions methods. The offices also conduct Cooperative Acquisitions Programs (CAP), on a cost-recovery basis, for over 100 participating institutions, primarily academic research libraries.
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