Skip Navigation Links  The Library of Congress >> Researchers
Prints and Photographs Reading Room (Prints and Photographs Division)
  Home >> Reference Information
Find in

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., housed for safe handling, marked for ownership, and cataloged).

  • Please allow at least fourteen days advance notice to view materials designated "Unprocessed." (The size, condition, complexity, and off-site location of most unprocessed collections requires preparation time and extra arrangements for viewing).

  • In many cases, popular images from the unprocessed collections are already online and may be searched in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.
If you are beginning your research and would like help in exploring the Division's holdings on your topic of interest, the fastest way to begin is by submitting your question to the Prints & Photographs Division Reference staff through an online "Ask a Librarian" form.

If you have identified a specific named unprocessed collection needed for your research (e.g., Smith Collection, PR 13 2001:141) please complete an online Request for Access to an Unprocessed Collection form.

(Note: If you prefer to fax your request, a Word 2000 version of the form is available for downloading.)

Prepared by: Prints and Photographs Division. Last revised September 2005.
Top of Page Top of Page
  Home >> Reference Information
Find in
  The Library of Congress >> Researchers
  April 24, 2009 		Contact Us:  
Ask a Librarian