[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR703.5]

[Page 82-83]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
                    CHAPTER VII--LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
 
PART 703--AVAILABILITY OF LIBRARY OF CONGRESS RECORDS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 703.5  Procedure for access to and copying of records.

    (a) A request to inspect or obtain a copy of an identifiable record 
of the Library of Congress shall be submitted in writing to the Chief, 
OSS, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 
20540-9440, who shall promptly record and process the request.
    (b) Requests for records shall be specific and shall identify the 
precise records or materials that are desired by name, date, number, or 
other identifying data sufficient to allow the OSS staff to locate, 
retrieve, and prepare the record for inspection or copying

[[Page 83]]

and to delete exempted matter where appropriate to do so. Blanket or 
generalized requests (such as ``all matters relating to'' a general 
subject) shall not be honored and shall be returned to the requester.
    (c) Records shall be available for inspection and copying in person 
during business hours.
    (d) Records in media other than print (e.g., microforms and machine-
readable media) shall be available for inspection in the medium in which 
they exist. Copies of records in machine-readable media shall be made in 
media determined by the Chief, OSS.
    (e) Library staff shall respond to requests with reasonable 
dispatch. Use of a record by the Library or Library employees, however, 
shall take precedence over any request. Under no circumstances shall 
official records be removed from Library control without the written 
authorization of The Librarian.
    (f) The Chief, OSS, shall make the initial determination on whether:
    (1) The record described in a request can be identified and located 
pursuant to a reasonable search; and
    (2) The record (or portions thereof) may be made available or 
withheld from disclosure under the provisions of this part. In making 
the initial determinations, the Chief shall consult with any unit in the 
Library having a continuing substantial interest in the record 
requested. Where the Chief finds no valid objection or doubt as to the 
propriety of making the requested record available, the Chief shall 
honor the request upon payment of prescribed fees, if any are required 
by Sec. 703.7.
    (g) If the Chief, OSS, determines that a requested record should be 
withheld, the Chief shall inform the requester in writing that the 
request has been denied; shall identify the material withheld; and shall 
explain the basis for the denial. The Chief shall inform the requester 
that further consideration of the denied request may be obtained by a 
letter to the General Counsel setting out the basis for the belief that 
the denial of the request was unwarranted.
    (h) The General Counsel shall make the final determination on any 
request for reconsideration and shall notify the requester in writing of 
that determination. The decision of the General Counsel shall be the 
final administrative review within the Library.
    (1) If the General Counsel's decision reverses in whole or in part 
the initial determination by the Chief, OSS, the Chief shall make the 
requested record, or parts thereof, available to the requester, subject 
to the provisions of Sec. 703.7.
    (2) If the General Counsel's decision sustains in whole or in part 
the initial determination by the Chief, OSS, the General Counsel shall 
explain the basis on which the record, or portions thereof, will not be 
made available.