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Moving Image Research Center (National Audio-Visual Conservation Center)
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Appointments are optional, but encouraged. To help us better serve you, request a research appointment to ensure collection material is accessible during your visit at the Library. The Library of Congress asks all visitors to follow our COVID-19 health screening protocols , which are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the Office of the Attending Physician of the U.S. Capitol. For additional instructions, see the Researcher Scheduling page.

About the Collections

Research, Reference & Policies

Digital Collections & Online Resources

Image: see caption below

Screen shot from "Women in the News" (All American News, Inc., 1950). Available for online viewing in the
National Screening Room

New! What's New: The National Screening Room


Now See Hear! National Audio-Visual Conservation Center Blog
Now See Hear! The National Audio-Visual Conservation Center Blog


National Film Registry
The National Film Registry

New! What's New: American Archive of Public Broadcasting External Link

Location:
101 Independence Ave. SE
James Madison Building, LM 336
Washington, D.C. 20540-4690
Map showing location
Reference assistance

Hours:
Weekdays, 8:30am to 5:00pm
Closed Weekends &
Federal Holidays


Ask a Librarian
Ask a LibrarianWant to ask the reference staff a question about motion picture and television collections?

 

ATTENTION:

Viewers are advised to contact the Moving Image Research Center two weeks prior to visiting the Library.

  • The majority of our moving images are stored offsite and researchers must schedule a viewing appointment at least two weeks in advance

The Library of Congress began collecting motion pictures in 1893 when Thomas Edison and his brilliant assistant W.K.L. Dickson deposited the Edison Kinetoscopic Records for copyright. However, because of the difficulty of safely storing the flammable nitrate film used at the time, the Library retained only the descriptive material relating to motion pictures. In 1942, recognizing the importance of motion pictures and the need to preserve them as a historical record, the Library began the collection of the films themselves; from 1949 on these included films made for television. Today the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) is responsibile for the acquisition, cataloging and preservation of the Library's motion picture and television collections. The Moving Image Research Center to provides access and information services to an international community of film and television professionals, archivists, scholars and researchers. Our holdings complement the audio recordings served in the Recorded Sound Research Center.

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  February 20, 2024
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