Library of Congress Releases Digital Records to Public and Researchers

The U.S. Library of Congress recently announced that it is making the largest release of records (25 million) in the library’s history accessible online through free bulk downloads and on data.gov. The Library is the main research body for the U.S. Congress and home of the U.S. Copyright Office. The new dataset comprises more than 45 years (1968-2014) of information, including books, serials, computer files, manuscripts, maps, music, and visual materials. The records, until now, have only been available through a paid subscription or on an individual basis. Announcing the data’s availability, the Library notes that “the rich data included in these records can be used for a wide range of cultural, historical and literary research.”

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