Page images
PDF
EPUB

CHAPTER V-LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

[blocks in formation]

son or by mail. Applicants should visit or communicate with the Personnel Division, Library of Congress. 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). This form may be secured at any U.S. Post Office, at a regional Civil Service Commission office, or by addressing the Personnel Division, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D.C. § 501.2 Access to Library buildings.

In accordance with the Library's general policy, persons other than staff members may have access to the public areas, reading rooms, and study facilities only during the announced hours of public opening. Such persons may be admitted to other areas within the buildings and at other times only in accordance with established access regulations. § 501.3 Removal of materials from the Library buildings.

No material may be removed from the Library buildings without the proper stamp, pass, or other authorization as prescribed by regulations established by the Librarian of Congress. All parcels and materials taken from the buildings are subject to inspection by the guard at the exit.

[blocks in formation]

public and from representatives of public-information media. Such information is provided through publications and through individual response by telephone, by mail, and in personal conference. For the convenience of the public, the Office administers an Information Desk in the Main Building; its staff answers visitors' inquiries about the Library but does not provide reference service for readers wishing to use the Library's collections. Free publications about the Library and some priced publications and facsimiles of famous documents are available at this desk.

§ 501.5 The Library's reading rooms and public use thereof.

Materials in the general classified collections of the Library are serviced in the Library's general reading rooms: The Main Reading Room (Main Building). and the Thomas Jefferson Room (Annex Building). Special collections, as explained further in subsequent sections, are serviced in the following special reading rooms: Government Publication, Law Library, Local History and Genealogy, Manuscript, Map, Microfilm, Music, Newspaper (two rooms-current and non-current newspapers), Orientalia, Periodical (current), Prints and Photographs, Rare Book, Science, and Slavic. Investigators requiring materials from other collections in the Library for use with materials in the custody of a special division (such as Manuscript, Map, Music, etc.) may requisition and use such materials in the reading room of the special division insofar and on such conditions as they are available for use therein. (Special collections are also serviced in the Congressional Reading Room and in the Law Library in the Capitol, but these are not open to the general public.) Access to all reading rooms is governed by regulations established by the Librarian of Congress. Persons under 16 years of age are not admitted to the reading rooms unless they are accompanied by an adult. High school students are not admitted regardless of age, but exceptions will be made, under specified conditions, when material cannot be obtained in other libraries.

[blocks in formation]

readers 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. 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. § 501.7 Reference and bibliographic as

sistance.

(a) Reference and bibliographic services provided in response to requests from readers and requests received by telephone and by mail are governed by policies and regulations established by the Librarian of Congress.

(b) Readers requiring reference and bibliographic assistance in the general collections and aid in the use of the card catalogs may request help from the staff on duty in the general reading rooms. Requests for such assistance in special collections are referred to the appropriate specialized divisions.

(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 conditions as available staff and facilities permit.

§ 501.8 Special study facilities.

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. § 501.9 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 heads of executive departments and agencies, however, have the privilege of withdrawing books by virtue of their office. Subject to regulations and conditions established by the Librarian of Congress, special

Ex

permission to withdraw materials may be given to congressional staffs and 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 loans. cept for Members of Congress, heads of executive departments and agencies, and others authorized by the Librarian to have materials assembled and delivered to them, 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 exists to the Library buildings and must surrender their door passes upon leaving the buildings. Materials are issued on interlibrary loan to other libraries within and outside the District of Columbia under regulations established by the Librarian of Congress. Applications from established libraries for such loans, and requests for information about interlibrary loans and loan service generally, should be directed to the Chief of the Loan Division.

§ 501.10 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 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, 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, optometrist, or ophthalmologist. The reading materials for the blind provided under the authority of the act cited above, including sound reproducers, may be loaned not only to readers who quality under the above definition but also to hospitals, institutions, and schools for the use of such readers.

(b) Loans to residents. The Division for the Blind provides books in embossed characters, talking-book records, and

machines for the blind under regulations and conditions of use established by the Librarian. The Division provides a direct loan service of books and records to residents of the District of Columbia. Other residents, as defined in paragraph (a) of this section, receive reading materials from their appropriate regional libraries. Machines are lent through state agencies for the blind. Inquiries by mail concerning this service should be addressed to the Division for the Blind, Library of Congress, 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 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 books to blind residents of the United States its Territories, etc., who may be temporarily domiciled outside the jurisdictions enumerated by the act.

(1) Inquiries for information relative to the prescribed procedures and regulations governing such loans and requests for loans should be addressed to: Chief, Division for the Blind, Library of Congress, Washington 25, D.C.

(2) 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 conditions as book loans.

§ 501.11 Lending of materials from the Library for exhibition.

Subject to special conditions and procedures determined by the Library, certain materials in the Library's collections are available for loan to recognized institutions, such as libraries and museums, with established exhibition programs and with staffs proficient in handling the particular material requested. This service is subject to limitations in terms of the character of the materials and the availability of staff to prepare materials for shipment. Each request for loan is judged on its particular

merits, i.e., type of institution and pro-
gram for which loan is proposed in rela-
tion to the importance and value, both
monetary and intrinsic, of the material
requested and the probability of its being
replaceable in the event of loss. Com-
munications concerning the lending of
materials for exhibition should be ad-
dressed to the Exhibits Officer, Library
of Congress, Washington 25, D.C.

§ 501.12

Photoduplication service.

Photocopies of materials in the Li-
brary's general and special collections
may be obtained from the Library's
Photoduplication Service at prevailing
rates and subject to prescribed contract
provisions, provided that they are not
subject to copyright or other restrictions,
or provided that permission to copy has
been obtained. Order forms for photo-
copies may be secured from the Photo-
duplication Service, Library of Congress,
Washington 25, D.C.

§ 501.13 Service of serial materials.

Applications for materials in the cus-
tody of the Serial 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 publica-
tions 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.

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

The Map Division provides reference
services by telephone, through corres-
pondence, and directly to adult readers
in the Map Reading Room.

§ 501.18 Service of music materials.

Service to readers in the Music Divi-
sion's reading room is provided in ac-
cordance with prevailing regulations
governing the use of materials in the
Division's custody. Numerous catalogs,
on cards and in bound volumes, afford
access to the Division's holdings; a pro-
fessional assistant is always on duty to
give assistance and advice. The stacks
of the Division are closed, but special
permission granting access to them may
be obtained from the Music Reference
Librarian. Sound recordings may be
used only for serious research; permis-
sion to use them must be sought in
advance by application to the Chief of
the Music Division. The Division also
dispenses information through corre-
spondence.

§ 501.19 Recordings.

Recordings of poetry and folk music
issued by the Library of Congress may be
purchased from the Recording Labora-
tory of the Music Division. A printed
catalog listing all the discs offered or
other information may be obtained by
applying to the Recording Laboratory,
Music Division, Library of Congress,
Washington 25, D.C.

§ 501.20 Service of Orientalia.

Services to readers in the Orientalia
Division are provided in accordance with

[blocks in formation]

(a) Service to readers in the Micro-
film Reading Room is provided in ac-
cordance with prescribed conditions
governing the use of microfilm and
microprint material in the custody of
the Microfilm Reading Room. Investi-
gators may requisition inkprint mate-
rials from other collections of the Li-
brary for use in the Microfilm Reading
Room, but such requests will be subject
to limitations consistent with the care
and service of the collections, and with
regard for service to readers in other
reading rooms.

(b) Other units having custody of
microfilmed materials, such as manu-
scripts, newspapers, music, and Orien-
talia, render service on these materials.
§ 501.24 Service of materials in Slavic
and Central European languages.
Readers requesting reference and
bibliographic assistance on materials in
Slavic and other Central European
languages may consult the staff on duty

86-095 O-68-5

in the Slavic Room. Inquiries are re-
ferred when necessary to specialists in
the Slavic and Central European Divi-
sion or to the Law Library.

§ 501.25 Service of local history and
genealogy materials.

Readers requesting reference and bib-
liographic assistance on materials in
local history and genealogy may consult
the staff in the Local History and Gene-
alogy Room. Such materials may be
used only in that Room and in the
Thomas Jefferson Room.

§ 501.26

Service of legal materials.

(a) Legal materials are served in the
reading rooms of the Law Library in the
Main Building. Those volumes which
are not on the open shelves may be ob-
tained for reading room use by filling
out and presenting to a reference as-
sistant 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 author-
ized borrowers in Washington, D.C., and
through interlibrary loan to the general
public residing in other parts of the
country, in conformity with Loan Divi-
sion procedures. Books which are lent
for use outside of the Law Library read-
ing rooms must be charged in the Law
Library. Books which are lent for use
outside the Library buildings must in
addition be charged in the Loan Divi-
sion, where a formal charge is made and
a door pass is issued.

§ 501.27 Card distribution.

Printed catalog cards are supplied un-
der the procedures specified in the latest
edition of the Handbook of Card Distri-
bution, supplemented by emendations in
Cataloging Service, issued by the Li-
brary. Cards may be ordered by author
and title, by serial number, by series, or
by subject. Card ordering slips for this
purpose are furnished to subscribers,
free of charge, upon request. The Li-
brary's catalog cards reproduced in book
form (The National Union Catalog: A
Cumulative Author List Representing Li-
brary of Congress Printed Cards and
Titles Reported by Other American Li-
braries and Library of Congress Cata-
log-Books: Subjects: A Cumulative List
of Works Represented by Library of

« PreviousContinue »