Library of Congress Newspapers on Microfilm

Interlibrary Loan is one of the most underused resources forgenealogists. As I teach classes at the Mesa Arizona Regional FamilyHistory Center I frequently ask the class participants if they are awareof the interlibrary loan process. Usually, only one or two out oftwenty or more have even heard of borrowing books from remote libraries.In our own Mesa Public Library, the Interlibrary Loan selection appearson the individual login screen for registered users (i.e. library cardholders). I use this method of requesting books and other documents anytime I cannot conveniently find a copy of the material in a locallibrary. The requested item is then forwarded to your local librarywhere you can either check out the material (in Mesa for two weeks) oruse the item in the library. At the end of the process the book isreturned to the originating library. There is usually no charge for thisservice to the user.

The libraries who participate include the Library of Congress.Virtually all of the holdings of the Library of Congress, except somerare books, are available for circulation to participating libraries.The Library of Congress describes the process as follows:

Before making a request, verify that the item exists and is held by LC. Requests should be verified through an electronic databaseor other standard bibliographic tool, preferably also in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.The most useful identifiers are online record numbers such as theLibrary of Congress control number (e.g., 9712456), the InternationalStandard Book Number (ISBN), or the OCLC record number. Include these,or a citation to a published tool such as the National Union Catalog,whenever possible.

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Library of Congress Newspapers on Microfilm

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