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Asian Collections at the Library of Congress: An Overview

Asian American Pacific Islander Collection

Rare Materials Notice: All of the materials in the AAPI collection are only accessible in the Asian Reading Room by advance appointment. To schedule an appointment, please contact our reference staff via the Ask a Librarian service.
James Miho, a Japanese American graphic artist's conceptual diaries on display at the Asian Reading Room. Library of Congress Asian Division.
James Miho, a Japanese American graphic artist's conceptual diaries on display at the Asian Reading Room. Library of Congress Asian Division. View the bibliographic record in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

​The Asian Division houses the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) collection, which comprises a number of individual collections pertaining to notable Asian American authors, scholars, activists, and artists, among others. Each of these collections contains unique material, such as correspondence, manuscript drafts, diaries, photographs, organizational records, interviews, and speeches. Much of the material is in English, although some material is in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and other Pacific Islander, South Asian, and Southeast Asian languages.

The AAPI collection was established in the Asian Division in 2007 after receiving a mandate and annual appropriation from Congress. The collection was developed after a survey of collections in the Library of Congress delineated AAPI primary and reference sources housed in multiple divisions. Researchers may continue to access the AAPI collection in the Library’s Asian Reading Room. Currently, the Asian Division is not accepting additional items for the AAPI collection.

For additional AAPI materials at the Library of Congress, see Asian American and Pacific Islander Materials: A Resource Guide.

Selected AAPI Collections at the Library

The 27 collections listed below comprise the larger AAPI collection. The collection titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content, including finding aids for the collections, are included when available.