APA Materials at the Library of Congress

IIn 1966 APA entered into an agreement with the Library of Congress to manage and preserve a collection of the Association's records. Over a period of several years, more than 270,000 items from APA Central Office, Divisions, and State and Provincial Psychological Associations were transferred and processed by the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. While the time span covered is 1917-1985, the bulk of the records is concentrated in the period 1940-1980.

Finding Aids
Finding aids are guides to the materials held by an archives. They also may be called inventories, registers, or indexes. Finding aids help researchers understand the range and depth of a collection by providing detailed descriptions of the collection.

How to retrieve APA Archive Materials
from the Library of Congress
Manuscript Division Reference Room

1. Consult the APA Materials at the Library of Congress finding aid and write down the container numbers for every box you need or think you might need. It is better to have the Library of Congress staff bring all requested containers to the Reference Room at the same time as the APA Archives are stored off-site and there is a 24 to 48 hour turnaround. There is no Saturday delivery. If you plan to visit on a Saturday, make your request no later than Wednesday.

2. Pick a date to go to the Library of Congress Reference Room. The hours are Monday - Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. No materials are served after 4:15 p.m.

3. Call the LC Manuscript Reference room at 202-707-5387. Tell the librarian the date you plan to go and give the librarian the number of each container you want to see.

4. On the day you go to LC to look at the containers you will have to fill out a registration card. You must have a photo ID in order to register as a user.

5. Once the registration is complete, fill out the request forms LC provides and the materials will be delivered to you. At that time the librarian will provide further instructions as necessary.

6. For further information call the Manuscript Reference room (202) 707—5387.