Library of Congress API

The Library of Congress JSON/YAML API provides access to the vast digital collections of the Library of Congress, including books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, audio recordings, and more. The API supports searching, browsing collections, and retrieving detailed item information.

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Base URL: https://www.loc.gov/api/
Auth: none
Endpoints: 23
Reachable: yes
CORS: unknown
Last checked: 2026-03-14 16:08:31.944852

Links

Homepage: https://www.loc.gov/
API Base: https://www.loc.gov/api/
SDKs:

100.0%

Uptime (7d)

1090ms

Avg latency (7d)

41

Probes (7d)

Latency (7d)

Success Rate (7d)

Topics

CULTURE, GOVERNMENT, KNOWLEDGE

Endpoints

Method Path Summary Auth Last Status Latency
GET /audio/ Search audio recordings none 200 1094ms
GET /books/ Search books none 200 1247ms
GET /collections List all digital collections none 404 526ms
GET /collections/ List all digital collections none 200 1013ms
GET /collections/{collection_name}/ Get a specific collection none 200 858ms
GET /collections/{collection}/ Get items from a specific collection none — —
GET /collections/{name}/ Get a specific collection none — —
GET /film-and-videos/ Search film and videos none 200 2294ms
GET /item/{id}/ Get detailed item information none 200 1015ms
GET /item/{itemId} Get item details none 404 241ms
GET /item/{item_id}/ Get item bibliographic information none 200 1624ms
GET /legislation/ Search legislation none — —
GET /manuscripts/ Search manuscripts none 200 1250ms
GET /maps/ Search maps none 200 1313ms
GET /newspapers/ Search newspapers none 200 4052ms
GET /notated-music/ Search notated music none 200 988ms
GET /photos/ Search photographs none 200 1034ms
GET /pictures/ Search photographs and prints none 200 210ms
GET /pictures/search/ Search pictures and photographs none 404 311ms
GET /resource/{resource_id}/ Get resource information none — —
GET /search Search across all collections none 404 253ms
GET /search/ Search everything on loc.gov none 200 2080ms
GET /web-archives/ Search web archives none — —