Finding Information in the Library of Congress

by Fantacmet

Greetings fellow phreaks and hackers.  Fantacmet here, with something that might be useful to everyone.

I'm sure some of you have heard that there have been documents that have been declassified, and so forth, but don't know where to find them.  The answer is simple: the Library of Congress.

O.K., so you aren't able to go all the way to the Library of Congress and spend a bunch of time searching through it.  Me neither.  So you're thinking, "There has to be another way."  Of course there is a better way: loc.gov

At this website you can look up the many declassified documents already online.  If they aren't, and you know what you are looking for, you can request specific documents to be put up or sent to you.

It does take a bit of getting used to, especially the arcane nature in which everything is organized.  You also really need to know exactly what you are looking for.  Specific document numbers are helpful, but not required.  They are only required when requesting specific documents that are not online.

One of the most useful ways to go about it is the link at the top of the page that says "Digital Collections."

Once there, you are presented with several categories from which to choose.

On the left are several more links, one of which says "Ask a Librarian."

This could be useful, but don't count on the librarians knowing everything in the library.  For instance, asking about the declassified records of the CIA regarding the Kennedy assassination will probably get you ignored as a moronic conspiracy theorist and/or have them telling you that there is no such thing.

Even though we know that there is, they don't respond well to people who sound like they are conspiracy theorists.  So be a bit careful when using this feature (even though we know the documents are there).

The "Library Catalogs" link at the top is very useful for finding documents that you need/want to request.

There is a basic search and a guided search.  The pros and cons are right there in the descriptions, so you can choose which one you need.  On this page there is also quite a bit of help about using the Library of Congress search engine and I strongly recommend at least perusing it, even if you are a search engine expert, because, considering the nature of the information, things work very differently within the Library of Congress than anywhere else.

The Library of Congress is a great place to look for things.

Especially if you are a conspiracy theorist...

There are time limits on how long documents can be classified, at least as far as non-military agencies go, although these are sometimes ignored and scheduled for declassification at a much later date in order to prevent public opinion from swaying on a particular person or subject.

For the most part, however, (especially in the past several years) these limitations are being enforced and documents are being declassified.  If you do it correctly, you can find the documents regarding the Kennedy assassination, as well as the real deal surrounding all the old hoopla of Area 51.

No, it wasn't a weather balloon.  As for what these documents hold, I will not say.  I'm not gonna give away all the secrets.

You have to have something to learn.  I will say the documents are there, though, because I have seen them and I have found them most interesting.  Including old documents regarding the protocols of potentially interacting with "Non-Terrestrial Beings."

Well, that being said, I'm out of here.  Keep it real and, until next time, have fun.

Shouts to my wife, my two kids, and LinuxHologram.

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