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The following curated lists focus on those databases most helpful for scholarly research on or related to silent film and its music. Using the resources below, you can find archival collections, scholarly articles from journals and books, reviews of articles and books, articles from trade magazines, conference papers, and more.
Visit the E-resources Online Catalog for a comprehensive list of the databases to which the Library subscribes and offers for on-site access.
These external resources are freely available for research.
The database represents the first comprehensive survey of the survival of American silent feature films. It contains information on the nearly 11,000 U.S. feature films released between 1912-1929, and holdings information about 3,300 of those titles for which elements are known to exist. The American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films documents 10,921 silent feature films of American origin released through 1930. Treasures from the Film Archives, published by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), is the primary source of information regarding silent film survival in the archival community. The FIAF information has been enhanced by information from corporations, libraries and private collectors.
For access to this collection, either visit or contact the Moving Image Reference Center at (202) 707-8572.
or submit inquiries via Ask a Librarian.
Included here are films produced professionally for the screen, whether released commercially or non-commercially on 70mm, 35mm or 16mm gauges, notwithstanding their length. Some films are included that were completed but not released even a few that remain uncompleted. Films, teleplays and television series made for distant transmission are also included no matter how they were eventually released. In all cases it is quite irrelevant whether the item was shot on film, videotape or digital formats.
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.