Using the Reading Room

Research appointments and consultations with science and business specialists are encouraged to allow us to best serve you by ensuring material is available and accessible during your visit, as well as helping you to optimize your time at the Library. Contact  Business Ask a Librarian or Science Ask a Librarian. For general information about coming to the Library of Congress as a researcher and visiting additional reading rooms, explore the website on how to use the Library.

Personal Belongings

Researchers using the Science & Business Reading Room must enter through the center doors on the 5th floor (LA-500) and show a valid Reader Identification Card. Science and Business Reading Room Researchers must use a free, self-service locker to store the following personal items:

• Briefcases, laptop bags, and cases for other equipment
• Computers or monitors larger than laptop size
• Containers larger than 9.5" x 6.25" (includes paper bags, boxes, backpacks, shopping bags, sleeping bags, etc.)
• Food and/or drinks, which must be in an air tight and sealed container
• Handbags or purses larger than 9.5" x 6.25"
• Musical instruments and their cases
• Newspapers
• Outerwear (such as raincoats and jackets)
• Scissors or other cutting implements
• Umbrellas

Prohibited items that cannot be brought into the Library’s Building:

• Oversized (not exceeding 25″W x 15″H) suitcases or bags that will not fit on the x-ray conveyor belts
• Dangerous weapons that include, but are not limited to, firearms, explosives, knives, razors, and box-cutters.

The guard post or LOC staff can refuse items to be stored in lockers based on unsanitary or uncleanliness of items.

No overnight storage is allowed. The Library reserves the right to refuse items for storage. Items left overnight will be turned over to the Lost and Found.

Personal scanners must be approved by Science & Business Reading Room management.

Items that are larger than lockers must be taken to one of the Library’s two cloakrooms located in the Madison or Jefferson Buildings. Note: Duffle bags, oversized luggage and large storage bags are NOT permitted in the cloakroom.

Accessing Materials

Requesting Physical Materials from the General Collections 

• A Reader Registration card is required to request materials. Reader registration stations can be found in the Jefferson or Madison buildings.
• On-site materials: Delivery time is approximately 60-90 minutes for materials stored on-site and requested through the catalog.
• Off-site materials: Catalog records indicating items are shelved at "Ft. Meade" or “Cabin Branch” are stored off-site. Delivery time, once requested, is approximately 24-48 hours. To request items for use in the Science and Business Reading Room,in advance of your visit, submit a request via Ask a Librarian to the  Science or Business sections.

In addition to general collection items that can be requested through the online catalog, the Science & Business Reading Room is also the service point for technical reports and standards, corporate annual reports and Security and Exchange Commission filings on microfiche, items cataloged as SPEC MAT or special material and telephone books and city directories.

Requesting Technical Reports, Standards, and Other Specialized Collections

The Science Section is the custodian of the majority of the Library's unclassed technical reports and standards collection which are serviced in the Science and Business Reading Room. Most technical reports and standards held by the Library of Congress are not currently discoverable in the online catalog and, as a result, requesting items from this collection requires report codes (accession numbers or agency or report series numbers) or the organizational standard numbers (e.g. ISO/IEC 18013-5: 2021) to retrieve the material. Requests for items from this collection may be made using the Science and Technical Reports Ask-A-Librarian form,  calling the Science and Business Reading Room at (202) 707-5639 or in-person at the Science and Business Reading Room reference desk. For research assistance using this collection we recommend scheduling an appointment with a science specialist.

Directions for viewing and requesting copies of the Security and Exchange Commission filings and corporate annual reports microfiche collections can be found in our guide to Corporate Annual Reports at the Library of Congress. The guide also contains indexes to these collections. Questions about using these collections can be submitted using the Business Ask a Librarian form.

To learn more about the Library of Congress’ technical reports and standards holdings, please visit the Technical Reports Collection Guide.

Accessing Digital Materials

The Science & Business Reading Room has a STACKS terminal, which can be used for viewing rights-restricted digital content from the Library’s general and international collections. Most of our subscription databases can be accessed through either computers in the reading room, or by connecting the Library's free wifi on a personal device. 

Advanced Reserves

Researchers who have not yet obtained a reader card may request that materials from the general collections be retrieved in advance of their visit. Readers should first identify needed materials by searching the Library's online catalog. Advance reserve requests may then be submitted via Ask A Librarian. Eligible advanced reserves materials will list “Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms” under the Item Availability section of the catalog record. When submitting your request, be sure to specify the author, title, call number of each item, and the date of your intended visit. It is recommended that researchers traveling to Washington D.C. from within the U.S. submit advance reserve requests at least one week prior to their arrival; researchers coming from outside the U.S. should submit their requests at least two weeks in advance. Advance Reserve requests are held for 15 business days following the researchers intended visit date.

The Library also offers a special advance retrieval service for any researcher needing to review a large number of volumes from the general collections (for example, dozens of books on a single topic, or the entire run of a particular journal or magazine). Researchers should submit such requests via Ask A Librarian.

Material such as technical reports, corporate annual reports on microfiche, telephone directories, or items in the catalog with a SPEC MAT call number designation require paper call slips. To request these items in advance of your visit, Ask a Science Librarian or Ask a Business Librarian.

Holding Items for Future Use - 7 day Reserve

After materials are returned from use in the reading rooms, it can take up to one week before they are re-shelved and ready for retrieval again. However, researchers may hold up to ten books for seven days in designated Seven-Day Reserve areas, located in the Science & Business Reading Room near the book services desk. Each seven-day reserve slip must be completed with the researcher's name and the date of the first day of reserve. A new seven-day reserve slip must be completed and placed in each book before they are placed back on reserve.

Making Paper or Digital Copies

The reading room is equipped with an overhead scanners, microfilm readers, and a multi-functional printer with photocopying and scanning capability.

Scanning

Scanning is free of charge and users can send digital files to an email address or save them to a personal USB storage device. The Reading Room’s multifunctional printers can scan material and send the resulting files to an email address. The overhead scanners and microformat readers accept USB storage devices so that users can save their digital files.

Printing and photocopying

There is no cost to make copies or to print from Reading Room computers. Excessive printing and photocopying is restricted. If you need high quality copies, you can purchase them through the Library's Duplication Services.

Digital cameras or smart phones

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.

Laptop, tablet, or smart phone with Wi-Fi capability

Laptops and tablets are more reliable means for saving files accessed through electronic resources. When using a public workstation, users can save files to a personal USB storage device, but must bear in mind that USB devices may fail in transit or may not work as expected due to operating system format incompatibilities between the LC workstations and the users’ home machines.

Copyright on materials from Library collections

Researchers should keep in mind copyright and other rights 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.