(d) Duties.

The Commission shall make plans, estimates, and recommendations for such historical works and collections of sources as it deems appropriate for printing or otherwise recording at the public expense. The Commission shall also cooperate with and encourage appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies and nongovernmental institutions, societies, and individuals in collecting and preserving and, when it deems such action to be desirable, in editing and publishing the papers of oustanding citizens of the United States and such other doucments as may be important for an understanding and appreciation of the history of the United States. The Chairman of the Commission shall transmit to the Administrator from time to time, and at least once annually, such plans, estimates, and recommendations as have been approved by the Commission. (June30, 1949, ch. 288, Title V, § 503, as added Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, § 6 (d), 64 Stat 583.)

The following is taken from the Cumulative Pocket Supplement to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Public Property and Works.

Sec.

501.1

501.2

501.3

501.4

501.5

501.6

501.7

501.8

501.9

501.10

501.11

501.12

501.13

501.14

501.15

501.16

501.17

501.18 501.19

CHAPTER V-LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

PART 501-PROCEDURES

Application for employment.

Order forms for photostats.

Public use of reading rooms; service of the general collections.
Use of reading rooms for serials; service of materials.

Loans of library materials.

Loans of library materials for the blind.

Use of Aeronautics Reading Room.

Reference and bibliographic assistance; use of card catalogs; assistance by consultants.

Service of materials in the Hispanic Foundation.

Investigation and use of manuscript materials.
Service of maps.

Use and service of music materials.

Use and service of Orientalia.

Use of prints and photographs collections.
Service of rare books.

Service of microfilms and microprint materials.

Use of law reading rooms; circulation of legal materials; reference inquiries.
Offers of materials for purchase; evaluations.
Card distribution.

AUTHORITY: §§ 501.1 to 501.19 issued under sec. 1, 29 Stat. 544, 546; 2 U. S. C. 136. SOURCE: 8 501.1 to 501.19 appear at 13 F. R. 8277, Dec. 23, 1948, except as otherwise noted.

§ 501.1 Application for employment. Although the Library of Congress is not an agency coming within the competitive civil service system, the application form used is the standard application form for employment in the Federal Civil Service (Standard Form No. 57). The form may be secured by applying at the Library's Personnel Division, at a regional Civil Service Commission office, or by addressing: Personnel Division, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D. C.

$501.2 Order forms for photostats. Order forms for the photocopying of certain materials in the Library, subject to prescribed contract provisions, may be applied for at the Photoduplication Service Office, or may be secured by mail by addressing: Photoduplication Service, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D. C.

§ 501.3 Public use of reading rooms; service of the general collections. Readers in the general reading rooms are required to submit requests for materials on forms provided for that purpose. Available materials so requested are located and delivered to readers by the staff. Subject to specified limitations, materials may be reserved for continued use. Reference assistance in the general reading rooms is provided by the General Reference and Bibliography Division. Access to the bookstacks is permitted only under regulations established by the Librarian of Congress. Applications for access are acted upon by the Chief of the Stack and Reader Division or by other authorized officials. Study rooms, study tables, and reserved shelves are available for assignment to persons engaged in research. Applications for such assignments are acted upon by the Chief of the Stack and Reader Division or by other authorized officials and assignments on approved applications are made on specified conditions of registration, tenure, and use.

§ 501.4 Use of reading rooms for serials; service of materials. Applications for materials in the custody of the Serials Division (current and unbound periodicals, bound and unbound newspapers, Government documents, pamphlets, ephemera, etc., not allocated to other divisions), are submitted to the staff on forms provided for that purpose in the Division's special reading rooms. Within the resources of the staff, readers receive reference aid in the Division's collections and in Government publications in the general classified collections. Access to the Division's stack areas is permitted only on the approval of the Chief or of other authorized officials. Inquiries concerning the collections and services of the Division, and requests for reference assistance may be made to the Office of the Chief of the Division.

§ 501.5 Loans of library materials. The Library of Congress is not a public circulating library and no material in its collections may be taken from the Library buildings except upon approval by the Chief of the Loan Division or the Director of the Reference Department. Members of Congress and their staffs and officials of executive departments and agencies have the privilege of withdrawing books by virtue of their office. Subect to regulations and conditions established by the Librarian of Congress, special permits to withdraw materials may be issued to individuals and institutions in and near the District of Columbia to meet particular needs. Applications for such privilege are acted upon by the Chief of the Loan Division, who is responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of the regulations governing lcans. Except for Members of Congress and their staffs and officials of executive departments and agencies, persons having the borrowing privilege must present materials to be borrowed to the Loan Division for recording and for issuance of a door pass. Borrowers must present the materials for inspection to the guards on duty at the exits to the Library buildings and must surrender their door passes upon leaving the buildings. Materials are issued on interlibrary loan to other libraries outside of the District of Columbia under regulations established by the Librarian of Congress. Applications for such loans and requests for information about interlibrary loans and the loan service generally should be directed to the Chief of the Loan Division. § 501.6 Loans of library materials for the blind—(a) Definition of blind. In connection with the Library's program of service under the act of March 3, 1931. as amended, entitled "An Act to Provide Books for the Adult Blind," the blind readers entitled to service under this act shall be defined as "Residents of the United States, including the several States, Territories, Insular Possessions, and the District of Columbia, sixteen years of age or older, whose visual acuity is 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses, or whose widest diameter of visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than twenty degrees." The degree of such blindness shall be certified by a duly licensed physician or ophthalmologist. The reading materials for the blind provided under the authority of the act cited above, including sound reproducers, may be leaned not only to readers who qualify under the above definition but also to institutions and schools for the use of such readers.

(b) Loans to residents. The Division for the Blind lends books in embossed characters and talking-book records to the adult blind under regulations and conditions of use established by the Librarian. The area to which this service is extended is limited generally to the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Inquiries by mail concerning this service should be addressed to: Chief, Division for the Blind, Washington 25, D. C.

(c) Loans to residents temporarily domiciled abroad. In accordance with the definition given in paragraph (a) of this section, and the intent and purpose of the Act to Provide Books for the Adult Blind Residents of the United States, its Territories, Insular Possessions, and the District of Columbia (2 U. S. C. 135a), the distributing libraries which have been designated by the Librarian of Congress to serve as local or regional centers for the circulation of such books (2 U. S. C. 135b) shall lend such book to adult blind residents of the United States, its Territories, etc., who may be temporarily domiciled outside the jurisdictions enumerated by the act. The following regulations shall govern loans of this kind.

(1) Prior to the approval of such loan to a borrower, the local or regional library shall require him to submit in writing the following:

(i) A statement of his intention to absent himself from the jurisdiction of the United States or its Territories, etc., for a temporary period;

(ii) The passport number of borrower, together with the date of issuance; (iii) An agreement by the borrower to take necessary safeguards for protection of the loaned materials, to assume responsibility for any damage to them resulting from his negligence, and to pay all transportation charges.

(2) Embossed or talking books for the blind may be transmitted, under cur-
rent International Postal Regulations, to all foreign countries at the rate of
1 cent for each 2 pounds, 3 ounces, or fraction thereof. In the event shipment
is made in such manner, such articles should be endorsed "Printed Matter for
the Blind (P. G. Pt. 2)” and any shipment shall not exceed 15 pounds, 6 ounces
in weight.

(3) Since the authorized distributing libraries and the Library of Congress.
have no funds to prepay charges on loans of the character authorized by this
section, transportation charges must be paid by the borrower. Accordingly, each
borrower shall make an advance payment to the lending library (U. S. postage
stamps are acceptable) in an amount sufficient to pay the cost of postage from
the United States for materials to be loaned; and shall be responsible for pay-
ing the local postage for the return of material to the lending library.

(4) When requests for loans of the character authorized in this section are
made of the Library of Congress, they shall be addressed to the Loan Division,
Library of Congress, Washington 25, D. C., U. S. A.

(5) Talking book machine lending agencies are authorized to permit blind'
readers, residents of the United States, temporarily domiciled abroad, to take
the talking book machines loaned to them when they go abroad under the same
three conditions stated in subparagraph (1) of this paragraph for embossed
books and talking book records. [16 F. R. 690, Jan. 25, 1951]

§ 501.7 Use of Aeronautics Reading Room. Readers requesting reference and
bibliographic assistance in aeronautics and related sciences are served in the
Aeronautics Reading Room, to which are delivered the available materials
required in their work. Applications for access to the collection on aeronautics
in the bookstacks are referred to the Chief of the Stack and Reader Division
for decision. Admission to the enclosure in which current unbound aeronautical
periodicals are shelved must be approved by the Chief of the division or his
assistant.

§ 501.8 Reference and bibliographic assistance; use of card catalogs; assist-
ance by consultants. Readers requesting reference and bibliographic assistance
in the general collections and aid in the use of the card catalogs apply to the
staff of the Division on duty in the general reading rooms. Requests for special
assistance provided by the consultant service, the special projects, and the
bibliographic unit are referred to the appropriate officials. The services pro-
vided in response to reference and bibliographic requests received by telephone
or by mail are governed by policies and regulations established by the Librarian
of Congress.

§ 501.9 Service of materials in the Hispanic Foundation. Services to readers
requesting reference and bibliographic assistance in Hispanic culture, except in
subject fields specifically assigned to other units of the Library, are provided in
the Hispanic Room to which are delivered available materials required in their
work. Applications for access to the bookstacks are referred to and acted upon
by the Chief of the Stack and Reader Division.

§ 501.10 Investigation and use of manuscript materials. Services to readers
in the Manuscripts Reading Room are provided in accordance with prescribed
conditions of registration for investigation and of use of materials and informa-
tion therefrom in the custody of the Manuscripts Division. The use of such
materials is restricted to the Manuscripts Reading Room. Investigators requir-
ing materials from other collections in the Library for use with materials in the
custody of the Manuscripts Division may requisition and use such materials in
the Manuscripts Reading Room insofar and on such conditions as they are
avail ble for use therein.

§ 501.11 Service of maps. Services to readers in the Maps Reading Room are
provided in accordance with prescribed conditions of use of the materials in the
custody of the Maps Division. Special facilities are provided for use of maps.
Investigators requiring materials in other collections of the Library for use with
materials in the custody of the Maps Division may requisition and use such
materials in the Maps Reading Room insofar and on such conditions as they
are available for use therein.

§ 501.12 Use and service of music materials. Services to readers in the Music-
Reading Room are provided in accordance with prescribed conditions of use of
the materials in the custody of the Music Division. Investigators requiring
materials from other collections of the Library for use with materials in the
custody of the Music Division may requisition and use such materials in the
Music Reading Room insofar and on such conditions as they are available for use
therein. Applications for access to the bookstacks are acted upon by the Chief

of the Music Division. Recordings of folk music may be purchased from the
Recording Laboratory of the Music Division. Catalogs are available upon
application thereto.

$501.13 Use and service of Orientalia. Services to readers in the Orientalia
Reading Room are provided in accordance with prescribed conditions of use of
the materials in the custody of the Orientalia Division (materials, written or
printed, in Chinese, Japanese, Semitic, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, etc.). Readers
requiring reference and bibliographic assistance in all fields of Oriental culture
are reserved in the Orientalia Reading Room, to which are delivered materials
from the general collections insofar and on such conditions as they are available
for use therein.

§ 501.14 Use of prints and photographic collections. Services to readers re-
quiring reference and bibliographic assistance in the collection of prints and
photographs are provided in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room in accord-
ance with prescribed conditions for use of the materials as determined by the
Chief of the Division. Investigators requiring materials from other collections
of the Library for use with materials in the custody of the Prints and Photo-
graphs Division may requisition and use such materials in the divisional reading
room insofar and on such conditions as they are available for use therein. Prints
from photographic negatives, and photocopies of prints and photographs in the
Division's collection, when not subject to copyright or other restrictions, are
procurable at specified rates from the Photoduplication Service of the Library.
§ 501.15 Service of rare books. Services to readers in the Rare Books Reading
Room are provided in accordance with prescribed conditions of registration for
investigation and of use of the materials in the custody of the Rare Books
Division. Investigators requiring materials from other collections of the Library
for use with materials in the custody of the Rare Books Division may requisition
and use such materials in the Rare Book Room insofar and on such conditions
as they are available for use therein.

Services to readers

§ 501.16 Service of microfilms and micro-print materials.
in the Microfilm Reading Room are provided in accordance with prescribed
conditions of use of the microfilm and micro-print materials in the custody of
the Room and of operations of reading machines. Investigators requiring ma-
terials from other collections of the Library for use with materials in the custody
of the Microfilm Reading Room may requisition and use such materials in the
Microfilm Reading Room insofar and on such conditions as they are available for
use therein.

$501.17 Use of law reading rooms; circulation of legal materials; reference
inquiries. (a) The reading rooms of the Law Library are free and accessible
to the public without formality. Those volumes which are not on the open
shelves may be obtained for reading room use by filling out and presenting to a
reference assistant a slip provided for the purpose, indicating thereon the author
and title of the work desired and the name and address of the reader.

(b) The collections of the Law Library are available in part, for use outside
the Library for a limited period, to authorized borrowers in Washington, D. C.,
and through interlibrary loan to the general public residing in other parts of the
country, in conformity with Loan Division procedures. Books which are lent
for use outside of the Law Library reading rooms must be charged in the Law
Library as well as in the Loan Division, where a formal charge is made. (See
§ 501.5)

(c) Reference inquiries, and requests for service, which cannot be satisfied by
other libraries or scholarly institutions nearer the inquirer, may be submitted to
the Library of Congress which will respond to them insofar and on such condi-
tions as personnel can be made available.

§ 501.18 Offers of materials for purchase; evaluations. (a) The Library so-
licits offers of library material (including books, periodicals, pamphlets, manu-
scripts, maps, views, music, recordings, motion pictures, photographs, posters,
fine prints, etc). Printed lists or catalogs of library materials offered should
be submitted in three to five copies, depending on the number of subjects or
forms of material included. Typewritten or manuscript lists should be submitted
in duplicate. Offers should specify author, title, place of publication, publisher,
date of publication, whether or not copyrighted, edition note, series note, binding,
number of pages or volumes, and price of each item offered. All offers of ma-
terial and all other correspondence concerning the acquisition by purchase of
materials for the Library's collections (including invoices, statements, and ques-
tions concerning payment for material purchased by the Library) should be
addressed to: Order Division, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D. C.

(b) Materials should not be sent "on approval" unless specifically requested by the Order Division.

(c) Reference inquiries as to the probable present cost and possible source for purchase or sale of a specific book or other piece of library material should also be directed to the above address. An exact transcription of the title page and any additional information such as edition, series note or copyright date should be submitted with the inquiry.

§ 501.19 Card distribution. Printed catalog cards are supplied under the procedures specified in the latest edition of the Handbook of Card Distribution, supplemented by emendations in the bulletin, Cataloging Service, published by the Library of Congress, Processing Department. Cards may be ordered by author and title or by serial number. Card order slips required for the purpose are furnished to subscribers upon request.

X. THE "NATIONAL" LIBRARY

In a report to the House during the 83d Congress, 2d Session, the House Appropriations Committee said:

As a corollary to the study and development of adequate legislative authority, the new Librarian should be mindful that the Library is the instrument and the creature of Congress. Its duties historically have been to meet the needs of the Members of Congress first and to limit its service to others to that which can be furnished with the funds and staff available.33

A reading of sources would indicate that identification of the Library of Congress as a "national" or "Federal" institution has been persistent and recurrent on the part of its friends in contrast to an apparent desire on the part of Congress to treat the Library as its own. Nearly all of this identification has proceeded from past Librarians, associates of the Library itself, the press, and some Presidents of the United States. Collaterally, the Congress, by authorizing the Library to accept gifts and bequests, to buy special collections, and to enter into expanded fields of Library activities, has increased the Library's services to the public beyond any concept of a strictly congressional library.

A pamphlet issued by the Library's Personnel Division (Washington: 1953) says:

The Library of Congress is also identified as the National Library. In the words of former Librarian Archibald MacLeish, "The Library of Congress is a people's library which provides to the people, through their representatives in Congress, and their officers of government, as well as directly, the written record of their civilization. It is also, and at the same time, a reference library which provides scholarly facilities for the study of that record not to a limited number of selected scholars only, but to the Government, and to the people, of the United States."

Before its destruction by the British in 1814, the Library of Congress was primarily a collection of books useful to the immediate needs of the Senate and House Members in their legislative capacities, and was a collection also administered part time by the Clerk of the House. The acquisition of the Jefferson collection increased its breadth and usefulness generally. Those who proposed the purchase of Jefferson's books said "that so valuable a library, one so admirably calculated for the substratum of a great national library, was not to be obtained in the United States; etc." 35

33 H. Rept. 1614, 83d Cong., 2d sess., p. 4.

34 The Library of Congress and You, Library of Congress, Personnel Division, Washington, 1953, p. 1.

35 The Story Up to Now, by David C. Mearns, p. 30. Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress, June 30, 1946 (H. Doc. No. 6, 80th Cong., 1st sess.).