FD and Offices
The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its resources available and useful to Congress and the American people. The Library of Congress also sustains and preserves a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. Since 1962, the Library of Congress (LC), through its African Asian Acquisitions and Overseas Operations Division, has procured publications in various countries through programs designed to acquire research materials. The Library of Congress then distributes these publications to a group of primarily American research libraries, in support of their area studies programs. There are six regional overseas offices, including the one in Southeast Asia, supported by the general policy of the U.S. government to promote the flow of information between the countries of the world. The overseas offices also facilitate the exchange of professional, technical, and bibliographical information.
In 1963, the Library of Congress office in Jakarta (JKT) was opened. Today, Jakarta serves as the regional center for Southeast Asia and has offices in Bangkok (BKK), Kuala Lumpur (KL), Manila (MNL) and Rangoon (Burma). There are also collection arrangements with Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Vietnam and Timor Leste. Over 2,000,000 pieces of research material have been acquired for the Library of Congress and the Cooperative Acquisitions Program for Southeast Asia (CAPSEA) participants. The LCSEA staff of 50 acquires, catalogs, and preserves publications from this region. The staff also aquire electronic Resources. The offices provide assistance for the US Congress, particularly the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Occasionally, LCSEA provides references and assistance to program participants. Information is also provided for our colleagues at the American Embassy.
The Jakarta office collects a wide range of materials dealing with Southeast Asia. Some of the materials collected include monographs, maps, non-print materials, sound recordings, videos, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, gazettes, and electronic media. Recently, the office has also started collecting grey literature documenting the growth of civil societies, local music in minority languages in Laos and Indonesia, early works dealing with the Islamic kingdoms of Pattani, environmental works, and works about the Chinese in Southeast Asia.