By the People

“It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address.

Do you have time on your Hands?  Have an internet connection?  Help make America’s history available to everyone, every day. The Library of Congress has a “job” for you.

In 2018 the Library of Congress launched: By the People

Come volunteer. Transcribe, review, and tag digitized images of manuscripts and typed materials from the Library’s collections. Real history! Take  part!  Your work improves the search, readability, and access to handwritten and typed documents. Many users are people not fully sighted. Some cannot read the handwriting of the original documents.

The topics and papers you can work in are varied. A few examples are: Suffrage: Women Fight for the Vote; The Man Who Recorded the World: On the Road with Alan Lomax; Letters to Lincoln; Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents; and the Civil War. Mary Church Terrell: Advocate for African Americans and Women; Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words and Branch Rickey: Changing the Game are only a few. Click Campaign. to explore your options.

Chosen to reflect the spirit of democracy, the American people are asked to join the Library of Congress to make it accessible to all. Join in the landmark opportunity to use your “downtime” to give the gift of history.

Check out the FAQs in the Help Center for more detailed information.