Moving Image Research in the Library of Congress

Curious about doing research in the moving image collections of the Library of Congress but don’t know where to start? Then this blog post is for you! Here we’ll discuss finding materials in our collections, offer some search strategies, and point out how to get in touch should you have further questions or want to schedule a viewing appointment.

WHERE TO SEARCH

There are several ways to search for moving image materials in the collections of the Library of Congress, including the Online Catalog and collection guides and finding aids. It’s important to note, however, that not all of our materials are discoverable using the catalogs and strategies described here. The Moving Image Research Center has a number of onsite resources that are not searchable through the Library’s website. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the librarians in the Moving Image Research Center!

Start your research in the Library’s Online Catalog. Here you will find many of the films, videos, and DVDs in our collections.

• Library of Congress Online Catalog
  Search the general online catalog at this link. Here you will also find other catalogs and databases as well as links to helpful information for researchers.

The Moving Image Research Center has also created many subject guides and finding aids. These guides can help you locate materials on particular subjects and learn more about specific collections.

• Collection Guides and Finding Aids
  Finding aids and subject guides that are available online include inventories of several television commercial collections, baseball on film and television, Shakespeare, Vietnam, jazz, and American Indians. Many more finding aids are available by contacting Moving Image reference staff. Also available is an inventory of the manuscript materials held by the Moving Image Section, the “Inventory to Archival Boxes.”

There are also several published collection catalogs for materials in our collections. Full-text copies of our four published catalogs can be found on the Hathi Trust Digital Library:

• Early Motion Pictures: The Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress by Kemp Niver (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1985). Describes approximately 3,000 films made between 1894 and 1915. Some libraries may only have the previous edition: Motion Pictures from the Library of Congress Paper Print Collection, 1894-1912 (Berkeley: University of California Press,1967). Full-Text
• The George Kleine Collection of Early Motion Pictures in the Library of Congress: A Catalog(Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1980). Describes 456 motion pictures produced between 1898 and 1926. Full-Text
• The Theodore Roosevelt Association Film Collection: A Catalog(Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1986). Describes 318 films relating to the life and career of Theodore Roosevelt. Full-Text
• Three Decades of Television: A Catalog of Television Programs Acquired by the Library of Congress 1949-1979, compiled by Sarah Rouse and Katharine Loughney. (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1989). This catalog cites over 14,000 broadcasts acquired between 1949-1979. Programs include series, serials, tele-features, specials and documentaries; daytime and prime-time programs; local, network, DuMont, and syndicated broadcasts; and educational material. Full-Text

SEARCH STRATEGIES

In the Online Catalog, Advanced Search is the easiest way to search for moving image materials. You’ll find a link to the Advanced Search screen in the middle of the Online Catalog homepage.

On the Advanced Search screen, include “movingim” in one of the keyword fields to limit your results to only moving image materials. Another keyword to try is “motion picture,” as many of our older catalog records for film will include “motion picture” in the title of the item.

You can also Add Limits by clicking the white button right above the Search button. These limits include Location (“Motion Picture & Television”) and Type of Material (“Film or Video”).

It’s generally easiest to find items by title. Many of the items in our collections are not fully cataloged, so subject access is limited. And keep in mind that we do not have a comprehensive catalog of all of our holdings.

Peruse our Finding Aids and the published collection guides. The full text of these guides can be searched for titles and other identifying names. The published guides and a number of the Finding Aids are available online at the links above, and many more subject guides are available by contacting our reference librarians.

Get in touch! If you can’t find a film or broadcast in the online catalog, that doesn’t mean we don’t have it. The Library has several onsite indexes, card catalogs, and internal databases that are not searchable online. Reference librarians in the Moving Image Research Center are always happy to help locate materials. Submit a question through Ask-a-Librarian, or see additional contact information in the link below:

• Contact the Moving Image Research Center

For more advice on searching, visit:

• Conducting Research in the Library’s Moving Image Collections

INTERPRETING FINDING AIDS

The Finding Aids described in this post range in magnitude from simple lists of titles to robust collection descriptions.

These Finding Aids contain film citations that provide bibliographic information about the film, including production information, a physical description, a summary and notes, as well as shelf or call number. The format of film citations will differ slightly throughout finding aids, but will have some common features. The following is a sample of a typical film citation:

VIEWING FILM AND VIDEO

Now that you’ve done some searching, you might want to come to the Library to view a few materials. Here are the basics:

Appointments are required for viewing film prints and video copies, and should be made as far in advance as possible to guarantee that requests can be fulfilled, with a minimum of ten days advance notice. A six-week lead time will guarantee that all but the most irreparably damaged items can be made accessible. Less advance notice curtails staff time to inspect requested items and deliver them to the Research Center from off-site storage in Culpeper, Virginia. Although advance notice is not needed for items that have been digitized, a reservation is recommended to guarantee equipment availability.

When submitting viewing requests, please provide the title, call number, and date of the item. Names associated with the item, such as director/creator or performers, are also helpful. Call numbers will be a combination of capital letters and numbers, and will vary depending on the format of the item and the collection it is in (e.g. VBG 3214; FCA 4414-4416).

We hope to see you in the Research Center!