Computer Catalog Center

The Computer Catalog Center is located on the first floor of the Jefferson Building (LJ 139), across the hall from the Main Reading Room. It is open to the public and staffed by reference librarians from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays; and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. From 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, the Center is open to the public but unstaffed. Workstations for searching the Library's online catalog are located in the Center. These workstations also provide general access to the Internet, including a number of Internet-based subscription services. The Center has special equipment for researchers with disabilities.

Researchers are required to have a valid Reader Identification Card in order to use the public workstations in the Computer Catalog Center. They must also check briefcases, backpacks, luggage, overcoats, and other personal belongings in one of the two cloakrooms on the ground floor of the Jefferson Building.

Researchers can sign up, either in person or by phone (202-707-3370 during the hours when the Center is staffed) for Library of Congress Research Orientations.

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Access to the Internet

The Library provides access to the Internet for research and reference searching only. In accordance with Library of Congress Regulation 1812, "Conduct on Library Premises," recreational use of the Library's public Internet workstations is prohibited. Persons using public Internet workstations solely for recreational purposes may be asked to leave the premises. Before using the Internet at the Library of Congress, researchers should consult the Library's conditions for use for its public Internet workstations.

The Library's public Internet workstations are intended primarily for the use of patrons searching the Library's online catalog, as well as a collection of Internet-based database services to which the Library subscribes. Among these services is OCLC's FirstSearch, a collection of databases in the the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. It also includes catalog records for books from libraries worldwide (with some library holdings provided for libraries in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia); indexes to newspapers, government documents, and conference publications; and general reference databases. Further information on the FirstSearch databases is available from OCLC. The Library also subscribes to Eureka, a service of the Research Libraries Group (RLG). Eureka is a collection of databases in the arts, humanities, history, sciences and social sciences; it includes the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN) bibliographic file, which provides catalog and holdings information for major research libraries worldwide. More information on Eureka is available on the RLG website. The Library subscribes to many other such services; an online list of Internet-based subscription services is available at the Library of Congress. The Library does not provide remote access to these services; researchers must be at the Library (or another subscribing institution) in order to use these services.