FAQ
- Why is there a branch of the Library of Congress in Jakarta?
- Can I come to the Jakarta office to check out books?
- Where exactly are you located?
- What do you do all day that takes a staff of fifty to accomplish?
- How does the library help serve the informational needs of Americans who cannot make their way to Washington D.C. to use the collection there?
- Can an individual be part of the Cooperative Acquisition Program?
The mission of the Library of Congress is to meet the informational needs of Congress and the American people. Since foreign publications are often difficult to acquire while working from within the United States, regional field offices were established in New Delhi (India), Cairo (Egypt), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Jakarta (Indonesia), Nairobi (Kenya), and Islamabad (Pakistan). In 1963, the Library of Congress Office, Jakarta was opened. Today, the Jakarta office serves as the regional acquisitions center for Southeast Asia and has representative offices in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Rangoon. The office does provide direct informational assistance to the US Congress.
The Jakarta regional overseas office functions only as an open source acquisitions unit. Books, serials and electronic works are kept here for the shortest amount of time possible before being sent on to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C and participating institutions in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. Thus, though we are a library, we do not have books to be checked out.
We are located in the heart of Jakarta at:
Library of Congress office, Jakarta
U.S. Embassy
Jl. Merdeka Selatan 4-5
Jakarta 10110
Indonesia
The Jakarta office processes an estimated 145,000 books and serials annually in paper and electronic formats. The process begins with the research and field trips of the acquisitions-bibliographic units. They continually seek out new material to collect and create on-line catalog records. Physically, the book is bound, if necessary. We also have an active microform-digital unit that intervenes when the quality of paper demands some alternative form of long term storage and or fast distribution. Finally, the material is shipped out to the appropriate institution.
Recognizing that it is much easier for one institution to procure ten books, catalog and distribute them than for ten institutions to each send out ten people to acquire the same book, the Library of Congress set up the Cooperative Acquisitions Program. With this program, the offices procure materials for the institutions that are part of the program based on a selection profile that indicates the interests of each institution and on-line individual selection. The Jakarta office currently serves more than thirty institutions from all over the world.
Currently we only serve official/formal institution.