Image and original data from: Virga, Vincent, and Curators of the Library of Congress, with commentary by Alan Brinkley (2004). Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States. Charlestown, MA: Bunker Hill Publishing. Photo depicts students in the Library of Congress Readin Room in 1899.

Frances Benjamin Johnston. Students in the Reading Room of the Library of Congress. 1899. https://jstor.org/stable/community.14642721.

Ithaka S+R is honored to be partnering with the Library of Congress on a research study to better understand the experiences of people who use the library’s collections and resources to conduct research. This mixed methods project includes an online survey followed by interviews of selected researchers. The findings from this study will be used to help inform the Library of Congress’ strategy for supporting the researchers that utilize the library’s collections and resources.

Have you used Library of Congress resources or collections at least once in the past year, either online or in person? Are you interested in sharing your experience in conducting research with the Library of Congress? If so, we invite you to complete the survey by clicking the link below.

The survey is voluntary and anonymous, and responses will only be reported in the aggregate. The survey should take participants about 10 minutes to complete and will be open through March 31, 2024.

In addition, we are also seeking researchers to interview within the coming weeks to hear more about their experiences engaging with the library. This includes individuals who have used Library of Congress collections a single time as well as frequent users of the its online and in-person resources. If you would be willing to speak with us in this capacity, please send an email to IthakaSR_LOC@ithaka.org with a brief note indicating the types of materials you utilize within your research by March 31. Interviews will last approximately 60 minutes and will be held over a virtual video platform such as WebEx.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the research study, please contact us at IthakaSR_LOC@ithaka.org.