The collections of original material in the Manuscript Division are supplemented with microfilm copies of collections held elsewhere, or microfilm collections that were created from selections of documents on specific subjects. Most of these microfilm collections were published by University Microfilms International (UMI), University Publications of America (UPA), and Chadwyck-Healey, which are now part of ProQuest LLC. Finding aids published by these firms are not available through the Library of Congress website, but in many cases are available through the publisher's website.

Many of the microfilm sets concerning the Cold War that are held by the Manuscript Division are also available through two subscription databases. The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

The ProQuest Digital National Security Archive External (DNSA) provides access to an extensive set of declassified government documents that were selected and compiled by scholars to provide insights into critical world events, countries, and US policy decisions from the end of World War II through the 21st century. Glossaries, chronologies, bibliographies, overviews, and photographs are included. The DNSA contains digital versions of the microfilm publications Japan and the United States: Diplomatic, Security, and Economic Relations, 1960-1976; U.S. Nuclear History: Nuclear Arms and Politics in the Missile Age, 1955-1968; U.S. Policy in the Vietnam War. Part I, 1954-1968; and U.S. Espionage and Intelligence, 1947–1996. Searches can be limited to individual publications through the “Advanced Search” interface.

The ProQuest History Vault External consists of digitized archival and manuscript collections from a wide variety of institutions in a range of subject areas. Some of the principal themes addressed in History Vault collections are 20th century American politics and society, international relations, labor unions and radical politics, the Civil Rights movement, and women’s history. The collections include extensive selections of 20th century presidential records beginning with the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and selected files of government agencies such as the EPA and USIA. Many of the collections in History Vault were originally published in microfilm by firms such as University Publications of America (UPA), University Microfilms International (UMI), and Chadwyck-Healey. Contents can be browsed by module or collection title. The digitized microfilm collections are located in the following modules:

• American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate (1960-1975) External
• FBI Confidential Files and Radicalism in the U.S., 1945-1972 External
• Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975 External

Additional descriptions of these and other relevant databases are available on this page.