Using the Reading Room
Appointments
Appointments are optional, but encouraged to serve you best, ensure that collection material is accessible during your visit, and optimize your visit in the Reading Room. Request an appointment online and a reference librarian will confirm whether or not any special arrangements are necessary before your visit. Some collection material is stored in an off-site facility and must be ordered for delivery to the Reading Room, so please give two weeks' notice if you wish to see specific material.
Reader Registration
Anyone 16 years or older with an LC Reader Identification Card can visit the Performing Arts Reading Room. Pre-register for the card online to expedite the pick-up process and retrieve your card in the Madison Building (Room LM-133) 8:30am-4:30pm, Monday-Saturday.
Storing Personal Belongings
Outside coats, purses, bags, and backpacks are not allowed in the Performing Arts Reading Room. These belongings can be checked in the Madison Building Cloakroom (Room LM-140). The Performing Arts Reading Room does not have lockers available to researchers.
Researchers may bring research materials into the Reading Room, including laptops and personal devices, notes, and pencils (no pens). The Performing Arts Reading Room does not allow any equipment that may disturb other researchers such as personal scanning devices and professional photographic equipment without the express permission of the Head of Reader Services. If you have a question about whether or not you can bring something in with you, contact a reference librarian via Ask a Librarian for clarification.
Requesting Material
Rare material (often identified by the word “Case” at the end of a call number) and Performing Arts special collections must be requested with paper call slips in the Performing Arts Reading Room. On-site researchers can place a limited amount of collection material on reserve for up to two weeks.
If you have a valid LC Reader Identification Card and an online account, you can request certain general music collection items in advance through the online catalog. Due to staffing concerns, we ask that you do not request more than ten items through the online catalog system. If more than ten items are requested, only the first ten will be pulled in advance. Once pulled, these materials will be held on reserve for three business days before they are returned to the stacks. Material housed in the Performing Arts Reading Room will not be delivered to other reading rooms within the Library of Congress.
When searching the Library of Congress online catalog, keep in mind that Music Division materials have “Performing Arts Reading Room” in the “Item Availability” section of their bibliographic records in the online catalog. Materials that have “Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms” in the “Item Availability” section of their bibliographic records are accessible in the Main Reading Room. Items are only accessible in the reading room indicated in their records. Read more about requesting materials.
Some collection material is stored in an off-site facility and must be ordered for delivery to the Reading Room, so please give two weeks' notice if you wish to see specific material. Email our reference librarians via Ask a Librarian to confirm whether or not special arrangements are necessary.
Making Paper or Digital Copies
The reading room is equipped with two overhead scanners as well as a multi-functional printer with photocopying and scanning capability. Scanning is free, and users can send files to an email address or save them to a personal USB storage device. Printing and photocopying is fee-based and requires a credit or debit card. If you will need high quality copies, you can purchase them through the Library's Duplication Services.
Digital cameras or smart phones may be used to photograph collection materials and are especially suitable for items too old or fragile for photocopying or scanning. Flash photography, however, is not permitted. Lighting conditions in our reading room are not designed for capturing publication-quality images. No tripods or external lights are allowed in the reading room. Please consult reference librarians if you have any questions on making copies.
In some cases, because of rights considerations, higher resolution images or digitally available books display only when you are in Library of Congress buildings using the Library of Congress equipment or a wireless connection. Your use of this equipment or wireless connection makes you responsible for rights assessment.
A laptop, tablet, or smart phone with Wi-Fi capability and adequate storage is the most reliable means for saving files accessed through electronic resources. When using a public workstation, users can save files to a personal USB storage device. Bear in mind that USB devices may fail in transit. They may also not work as expected due to the operating system format compatibility between the LC workstations and the users’ home machines.
Keep in mind copyright and other restrictions associated with the collections. If you are planning to photocopy, download, publish, or distribute copies of items or images from our collections, be prepared to do some research or risk assessment. The Library of Congress does not hold rights to items in the collections and therefore, we are not in a position to grant or deny permission to use them. Tips for assessing risks, including the duration of copyright, can be found on the website for the US Copyright Office.
The principles of fair use apply when printing or downloading articles or e-books from electronic databases. Please review the information on Responsible Use of Electronic Resources at the Library of Congress.