American Memory Project

American Memory at the Library of Congress

The American Memory project is a digital library of “written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.” The project is a combined effort between the Library of Congress and several research and collecting institutions around the country. The collection encompasses a variety of topics, and can be accessed via the web in three ways: through a browse function, a search function, and through a list of the collection titles.

I found the browse function the most interesting, and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was more than just a topical browse option. From the browse page, one is able to browse by subject, time period, item type, and location. Clicking on any one of the options pulls up an alphabetical listing of all the collections/exhibits that have material pertaining to that subject, time period, item type, or location.

The search function is a bit “clunky”. There are no advanced searching options, and no way to limit your search to a particular item type, time period, region, etc…. Each search is over the entire collection (including a full text search of many of the documents), and can often return an overwhelming number of results. The results returned are always at the item level; there is no option to search at the collection level. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to the order in which the results are listed.

This being said, each collection also has its own search bar, allowing you to search within only one collection, once you have found a collection you are interested in. Searches over individual collections, unlike the searching over the entire site, can be limited. The results are displayed at the item level.

The Library of Congress offers several avenues for getting help with the American Memory website. There are several “FAQ” pages that offer advice on using the website, searching, and locating materials for various user groups (such as students, teachers, and genealogists). Additionally, there is an “ask a librarian” function that allows a user to send an email to the Library of Congress and receive a reply from either a librarian at the LOC or from QuestionPoint which is described as “a global, collaborative reference service.” Users may also chat online with a librarian M-F from 2 to 4pm eastern.

Despite the fact that searching the site may be a bit frustrating/overwhelming, I was impressed with what was available. The collections are pretty awesome and are useable. I had no problem viewing objects, watching films, reading text, and listening to audio recordings. And after all, where else can you find a copy of “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” and correspondence between Woody Guthrie and the staff of the Archive of American Folk Song in the same place?