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 dedicated
workstations for searching CD-ROMs,
as well as 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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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.
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In the Computer Catalog Center there are designated workstations
for searching CD-ROM indexes to journal articles, dissertations,
government documents, and other materials. Flipcharts with instructions
for searching the CD-ROM databases are available beside each workstation.
The Library does not make available remote access to these CD-ROMs;
researchers must be at the Library in order to use these services.
The databases with their dates of coverage are listed below:
Database |
Dates of Coverage |
Congressional Masterfile I |
1789-1969 |
Congressional Masterfile II |
1970-1997 |
Social Sciences Citation Index |
1981-1997 |
Statistical Masterfile |
1973-1997 |
|