Access to Unprocessed Materials

Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 20540-4730

Unprocessed collections are those which have not yet been prepared for routine service (i.e., cataloged, marked, conserved, and rehoused) and must be served by special arrangement. The popular images from the unprocessed collections are already online and may be searched in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Other images from unprocessed collections have generally not been digitized.

• The diverse nature of the unorganized collections held by the Prints and Photographs Division and the diverse requirements of individual researchers means that special service arrangements must be worked out for each collection and researcher. In most cases, this requires the researcher to arrange to visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room to view the material.

• The time required to work out service arrangements varies, depending on the size, condition, complexity, and the location of the collection, and the specific needs of the researcher.

Prepared by: Prints and Photographs Division. Last revised September 2005.