What is FRD and the Federal Research Program?

The Federal Research Program of the Library of Congress was authorized by the U.S. Congress in accordance with the Library of Congress Fiscal Operations Improvement Act of 2000 (2 U.S.C. 182c).The Federal Research Program is run by the Federal Research Division (FRD), the fee-for-service research and analysis unit within the Library of Congress. FRD has provided custom products and services on a cost-recovery basis to entities of the Federal Government since 1948. It also is authorized to provide the same services to governmental entities of the District of Columbia. Through the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR 51.1), FRD provides services to authorized Federal contractors and through a comprehensive services agreement with the U.S. National Technical Information Service , FRD can provide custom research services to the private sector, state and local government, international organizations, and others.

FRD is organizationally part of the Collections and Services Directorate, Library Services. The Collections and Services Directorate is the public-service arm of the Library of Congress.

Mission Statement:

The Federal Research Division provides directed research and analysis on domestic and international subjects to agencies of the United States Government, the District of Columbia, and authorized Federal contractors. As expert users of the vast English and foreign-language collections of the Library of Congress, the Division’s area and subject specialists employ the resources of the world’s largest library and other information sources worldwide to produce impartial and comprehensive studies on a cost-recovery basis.

For more information about FRD, please contact us at frds@loc.gov.