Surpassed perhaps only by the division's rich presidential holdings are its more than nine hundred collections relating to members of Congress. Most of these congressional collections are identified in John J. McDonough's Members of Congress: A Checklist of Their Papers in the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress. Ranging in time from the first Continental Congress in 1774 to the 105th Congress in 1998, they cover the entire breadth of United States history.

Women appear throughout these collections as:

• members of Congress
• spouses and children of members
• constituents, lobbyists, and members of special interest groups
• focus of legislation aimed to restrict, protect, enhance, or define women's status in society

A separate section of this guide describes the papers of women members of Congress, and another section highlights male members whose family papers and legislative files are of particular interest to those researching women.

Additional useful reference sources available in print and online formats by the Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, include Women in Congress; Black Americans in Congress; Hispanic Americans in Congress; and Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress. These resources provide detailed biographies, suggestions for further reading, and references to Members’ manuscript collections.

The following "Congressional" collections are highlighted in these sections of the guide:

• Women Members
• Family Papers & Legislative Files