LibGuides: Library of Congress: Asian Division

General Information

Facility:	Library of Congress Asian Division
Address:	101 Independence Avenue Southeast Washington, DC 20540
Phone:	(202) 707-5426
FAX:	(202) 252-3336
Email:	Use Ask a Librarian link below

About the Library:

Founded in 1800, the library's main building was constructed in 1886-1897. Upon its public unveiling, it was considered the safest and costliest library in the world.

The Japanese collection was started in 1875 with a reciprocal agreement between the governments of the United States and Japan concerning government publications. Since, it has grown to include over 1.2 million items.

For more information about the Japanese collection, please contact the Asian Reading Room at (202) 707-5426, visit in person at Room LJ-150 of the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C. Or use the Ask a Librarian link below.

Online Resources

Asian Collection Research Guides
Guides created by subject experts in the Library of Congress Asian Division (AD) on the countries and peoples of East, South, and Southeast Asia, as well as Asian American Pacific Islanders.
Event Videos
The Library of Congress hosts public events featuring authors, world leaders, entertainers, scholars and sports legends. We have been recording Library events for decades and are making those recordings available in this collection.
Japanese Collection Overview
Initiated with an exchange of government publications in 1875, the Japanese collection has grown to more than 1.2 million volumes of books and serials as well as extensive microform holdings.

Databases

Digital Collections
Film and Video Database
Map Database
Prints and Photographs Collections
Subscription Databases and Free Electronic Resources
Databases and E-Resources available at the LOC Reading Room. Includes a list of databases only available onsite at the LoC, as well as only resources available free.

Summary of Collections

Collection size: As of 2023, the Asian Division makes over 4 million items available in the Asian Reading Room. The items encompass around 200 languages and dialects from East, South, and Southeast Asia, including over 1.2 million Japanese items.

Notable Collections:

Pre-1915 Fine Prints of Japan
A collection of over 2,500 Japanese prints, including woodblocks and drawings, from the 1600s-1900s. Strengths include ukiyo-e (浮世絵) and Yokohama-e (横浜絵).
The Floating World of Ukiyo-e
Exhibition of the collection of ukiyo-e prints dating from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries.
Genji Monogatari
A complete, fifty-four-volume edition of Genji Monogatari created in the mid-seventeenth century in Kyoto, this set has been digitized for online use.
World's Transportation Commission Photograph Collection
Consists of nearly nine hundred images taken by American photographer William Henry Jackson, including photographs of Japan, during the late nineteenth century.
Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
A complete database of the over 200 photographs and negatives taken by Ansel Adams documenting the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California.
College Women's Association of Japan Print Show Collection
A collection of over 200 prints made by 180 different artists living in Japan.

Asian Reading Room
Asian Collection Overview
The Asian Division of the Library of Congress has custody of more than 4 million items in many Asian languages and dialects. This guide presents short overviews of the Asian-language materials in the Asian collections.

Access

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How to Use the Facility

Using the Reading Room
Important information about how to use the room, searching in Asian-language scripts, and how to request materials. Also has information about making paper or digital copies.
Reader Identification Card
All in-person researchers are required to have a Reader Identification Card, issued for free by the Library. These cards can be obtained at the Reader Registration Stations by presenting a valid driver's license, state ID, or passport and completing the registration process. Researchers must be at least 16 years of age to register. Items cannot be borrowed. See site for registration locations and hours. Please call 202-707-5278 with any additional questions.
Duplication Services
Information about duplication services available and pricing.

Give Us Your Feedback

For all comments and questions about the Guide, please e-mail us:

mlaguide@nccjapan.net