Do I need to have an “official” research reason to view Library of Congress collections?

Submitted by GuessMyName23 t3_11b00u7 in washingtondc

I have an appointment to view a Performing Arts/Music collection, and the librarian I spoke to said they were “open for research.” What if my research is just for curiosity? Will they ask? I was afraid to ask for fear of being told I couldn’t.

Edit for clarification: I know exactly what box number in the collection I’ll be asking for. I just didn’t know if I needed to be doing official research for something like writing a book for me to view it.

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bageloclock t1_j9v44hs wrote

No reason necessary. The research archivists will probably be happy that someone stopped by out of curiosity! Just make sure you follow the archive rules carefully.

Source: historian using NARA/LOC for thesis research.

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GuessMyName23 OP t1_j9va7ir wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,973,938)

To be clear, I have specific boxes picked out and know what exactly what I’ll be asking for. I just didn’t know if I needed an official reason to view them (like I’m writing a book or dissertation).

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EthanFl t1_j9vaakt wrote

The stacks aren't open access for browsing.

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Quirky-Camera5124 t1_j9vcex6 wrote

you wil need a readers card to get into the working part of the library, and on the form they will ask your age and reason. research is reason enough. age is because they no longer want to deal with highscholers. the area schools used to assign research papers and mandated the loc experience.

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punchbears t1_j9vcnwl wrote

please remember to follow all rules about records usage— some archival records labeled for “research purposes” or personal use might have copyright or usage restrictions and should not be shared on social media. when in doubt, ask the archivist or librarian!

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shirpars t1_j9vf7qa wrote

Don't forget to get your own library card from there!

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Mediocre_Audience_61 t1_j9vwlor wrote

Nope. I've done research in that section and nobody asked or cared. But they were very nice!

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kamen4o t1_j9vzzzy wrote

Absolutely not! If they are asking about the specifics of your research, it's only to be able to help with further suggestions, and possibly to track data. (For example, they want to know how many people are researching each country, so area rooms may ask for that.) But have at it - no justification needed!

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moonbunnychan t1_j9xbqnd wrote

Replying to shirpars (#1,975,775)

How exactly does viewing stuff in the library work? I've always been curious but too nervous to do more then look around the public areas and figured (I now realize falsely) that I needed to be in academia or something.

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PhilboJBaggins t1_j9ycc3x wrote

Replying to moonbunnychan (#1,987,360)

Pretty much everything is in their underground storage. You go into the building and find the room of the genre/topic area you want to search and get on a computer to search something, then provide the info (call number, etc) to a clerk there and they will retrieve it for you to view in one of their small research rooms. I think you can even search ahead of time from home and be ready to provide them list of what you want to see

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