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Main Reading Room (Humanities and Social Sciences Division)
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About the Main Reading Room
The Library's principal reference and book service point for the general collections.

Main Reading Room Reference Collection
About the 70,000-volume general reference collection on the Main Reading Room's open shelves.

Computer Catalog Center
The Library's principal service point for searching the online catalog, subscription databases, CD-ROMs, and the Internet.

Bibliographies and Guides
Full text published guides for the Library's general collections. Our latest addition: Finding British Parliamentary Publications at the Library of Congress

Alcove 9 -- Reference Web sites
A selective list of other Internet resources in the humanities and social sciences.


This historic room is, through its catalogs, the primary entrance into the Library's research collections, and the principal reading room for work in the humanities and social sciences. Every day, hundreds of books and bound periodical volumes are delivered from the stacks for use in the Main Reading Room. Even researchers who will go on to work in one of the specialized reading rooms often begin their work in the Main Reading Room in order to use the electronic resources in the Computer Catalog Center, to consult the Main Card Catalog, to obtain an orientation to the Library as a whole, or to use some of the approximately 70,000 volumes in the Main Reading Room reference collection. A transcript of the above video is available.

 

Location:
101 Independence Ave. SE
Thomas Jefferson Bldg, LJ 100
Washington, D.C. 20540-4660
Telephone: (202) 707-3399
Contact Information
Map showing location

Hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday:
8:30am - 9:30pm
Tuesday, Friday, Saturday:
8:30am - 5:00pm
Closed Sunday & Federal Holidays

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Information for Researchers
Find out about research orientations, reader registration, online and card catalogs, how to request materials and other Library policies.

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  The Library of Congress >> Researchers
  October 10, 2012
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