Frequently Asked Questions: General

As a publicly supported institution, the Library of Congress generally does not own the rights to materials in its collections and cannot give permission for their use. Whenever possible, we will provide the most accurate information we have based on what we know about the materials in our collections but you will need to determine for yourself whether or not an item is protected by copyright or in the public domain – and then satisfy any copyright or use restrictions when publishing or distributing materials from our collections. Transmission or reproduction of protected items beyond what is allowed by fair use or other exemptions requires written permission from the copyright holder.