The Asian Division’s Tibetan collection is representative of the entire corpus of Tibetan literature from the 8th century to the present: Buddhist and Bon-po philosophical texts and their commentaries, history, biography, traditional medicine, astrology, iconography, musical notations, the collected works of over 200 major Tibetan authors, bibliographies, traditional grammars and linguistic sciences, modern science, social sciences and modern literature.

This guide offers detailed information on the Tibetan collection’s books, newspapers and periodicals, manuscripts and rare books, digital collections, and other diverse resources available in the Asian Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Other relevant materials on Tibetan studies are located in the Library's over 20 reading rooms and research centers that provide space and guidance for users to interact with additional items based on subject (e.g., law) or format (e.g., maps, photographs).

On the right, you will see a photograph of the Asian Reading Room’s Tibetan Dharma Wheel, which was received as a gift in 1997. It contains 208 repetitions of 42 Tibetan texts, electronically typeset on 1,053 sheets of paper. In the Tibetan tradition, originating more than 2,000 years ago, placing texts inside such a wheel is considered an act of veneration and respect for the written word and a means of preserving Tibet's rich literary heritage in everyday life.

For specific questions or assistance using the Library’s resources, use the Ask a Librarian service to contact a reference librarian.