Acq Programs
Laos's long history of struggle, coupled with its peoples' diverse ethnic
background has produced a wealth of material on art and culture, which can
be found in the Library of Congress's Laos collection. The capital,
Vientiane, is the major source of research publications in Laos and the
Library of Congress now has a representative office to collect such
materials. The LC Bangkok Office directs the acquisitions activities for LC
and the Lao CAPSEA program.
To strengthen and maintain the Lao Program, the office staff coordinates
and has regular transactions with our representative in Laos. The Library of
Congress has one of the finest collections of publications from Laos outside
of Laos itself. Because of the difficulties in making Lao publications
accessible, the Bangkok office selects many of the serials and books to be
added to the LC microformat collections.
The office annually collects about 80 serials and 150 approved monographs,
including audio recordings and CDs. Many of these publications include
works on sociology, economic development, government/politics, geography
and environmental conditions in Laos. In addition, the staff attempts to
collect materials documenting the role of Laos during the Indochina war and
its aftermath, including the involvement of America in Laos. The Lao program
is the newest CAPSEA program and we encourage libraries to join.
Annually, a
list of selected serials titles is circulated. Contact
us at jakarta2@loc.gov for more information.