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Connect Library of Congress to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini

Set it up once and it works in ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and any other client you love. It all runs safely in the background, so you can relax and focus on what really matters. Pull primary source data directly into your AI agent.

Ask AI about this Connector

Developed, maintained, and hosted by Vinkius.

MCP VERIFIED · PRODUCTION READY · VINKIUS GUARANTEED

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Works with modern AI clients that support MCP, including ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, and more.

ChatGPTClaudeCursorPerplexityGeminiMicrosoft CopilotRaycastMeta AI

Your AI does the work. We keep it safe and sound.

No other AI tool gives you this. Your workflow runs in the client you already love, your account stays protected, and you decide what the agent can and cannot do. It is the whole reason to make the switch.

Each Connector lives inside our infrastructure, the same place where your workflow runs. The three things below are already part of it, working quietly in the background so you never have to think about them. Nothing to add, nothing to set up, nothing to worry about.

A futuristic MCP client docking bay
V8 Isolate01

Each Connector runs inside its own sealed environment.

Each Connector runs inside its own sealed V8 runtime — no access to your files, your system, or other servers. A Connector never sees past its own request.

Kill Switch02

One switch stops every agent. Instantly.

One action deactivates every Connector, revokes every token, and ends every session at once. AI Governance keeps the record.

FinOps per User03

Spending limits that pause instead of surprise.

Every user keeps their own connections and credentials, isolated from everyone else. Anything that would cross your spending limit is held for your approval, not billed.

Three controls, built into the layer your AI connects through.

Curated set · 8 capabilities

We ship only the actions that matter.

Capability set01 / 02

01-04

4 capabilities in this set.

Part of 8 available through Library of Congress.

  1. 01

    List collections

    This capability lists all available digital collections within the Library of Congress.

  2. 02

    Search

    Use this to perform a keyword query across the entire Library of Congress website.

  3. 03

    Search format

    This capability filters your search results to specific media types like maps, photos, or audio.

  4. 04

    Get collection items

    This capability retrieves a list of specific items contained within a chosen collection.

Capability set02 / 02

05-08

4 capabilities in this set.

Part of 8 available through Library of Congress.

  1. 05

    Get image info

    Get technical IIIF metadata for a specific image identifier.

  2. 06

    Get item

    This capability pulls detailed bibliographic data for a single specific item.

  3. 07

    Get resource

    Access discrete digitized files, such as a specific page from a newspaper, using a resource ID.

  4. 08

    Get text service

    This capability provides access to full-text OCR, word coordinates, and context snippets for digitized documents.

Real work

What teams actually run

01

Primary Source Discovery

A researcher asks the agent to find specific Civil War era maps or letters.

02

Automated Text Analysis

A data scientist uses the OCR service to pull text from thousands of digitized pages.

03

Curriculum Development

An educator finds specific historical posters or manuscripts for a lesson plan.

04

Metadata Harvesting

A developer pulls technical IIIF data for high-resolution image processing.

Automate a task

Put Library of Congress to work on one thing.

Step-by-step automations your AI runs through this Connector: the workflow, the prompts to start with, and the exact capabilities behind each move.

One connector, every AI

Library of Congress works with the most popular AI clients.

These are the most popular clients, each with a step-by-step guide: one link, set up once, with governance and visibility built in. And because everything runs on the MCP standard, the same connection also works in any other compatible client — nothing to rebuild.

ClaudeClaudeChatGPTChatGPTGeminiGeminiPerplexityPerplexityGrokGrokMicrosoft CopilotMicrosoft CopilotCursorCursorVS CodeVS CodeWindsurfWindsurfJetBrainsJetBrainsClineClineLangChainLangChainVercel AI SDKVercel AI SDKLovableLovableZ.aiZ.aiRaycastRaycastQwen CodeQwen CodeKimi CodeKimi CodeLe ChatLe Chat

Building your own app? The connector is yours to use.

You don't need a client to put Library of Congress to work: the same hosted connection plugs into your own applications and agent code, with the same governance on every request. Build with it, chat with it — one connection for both.

Observed, not estimated

1010ms average. Fast in production.

Library of Congress is checked daily against the live service.

Daily averagePeak 1191ms
Oct 3Today
Fastest day
794ms
Slowest day
1191ms
14-day trend
Stable0%

Connect your client

One URL. Every client.

Activate the Connector, copy your link, and paste it into the client you already use. 8 capabilities arrive ready to run.

Preview access · not provider authentication

The vk_preview_* token belongs to Vinkius preview infrastructure. It lets Claude discover and display the capabilities of Library of Congress, so you can see the experience inside your AI.

It does not authenticate your account with Library of Congress. Actions requiring credentials or live account data may not run until you activate the Connector and authorize the service.

Library of Congress Connector

You're all set. Choose your MCP client and follow the setup instructions.

Connector linkhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp

Claude Desktop

Follow the steps below to connect in seconds.

  1. 1In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Connectors.
  2. 2Click “Add custom connector” and paste the connector link above as the remote MCP server URL.
  3. 3Click Add and start a new chat — Library of Congress capabilities are ready to use.
Configuration · claude_desktop_config.jsonCopy
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "library-of-congress-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp"
    }
  }
}
  • Claude
  • ChatGPT
  • Cursor
  • VS Code
  • Windsurf
  • Claude Code
  • JetBrains
  • Cline

Step-by-step instructions for each client are in the guide. How to connect

Guided setup for Claude? Set up Library of Congress in Claude and other AIs

See all the AI clients this connector works with ↑

Who it's for

Built for the work Library of Congress owners hand off.

This MCP is built for professionals who need to pull primary source data into their existing workflows without manual web browsing.

  • 01

    Historians

    They hand off the task of finding primary sources and bibliographic data to their agent.

  • 02

    Educators

    They use the agent to find digitized manuscripts for curriculum building.

  • 03

    Data Scientists

    They use the OCR and metadata capabilities for large-scale text analysis.

FAQ

Questions Library of Congress owners ask.

  • 01

    Do I need an API key for this MCP?

    An API key is optional, but using one is recommended to ensure you get higher rate limits when querying the Library of Congress.

  • 02

    Which AI clients can I use with this?

    You can use this MCP with any compatible client, including Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

  • 03

    Can I get the actual text from old documents?

    Yes, the get_text_service capability provides access to full-text OCR, word coordinates, and context snippets.

  • 04

    What kind of media can I search for?

    You can search for a wide variety of formats, including maps, photos, audio, and digitized manuscripts.

  • 05

    How is this different from just using the LOC website?

    This MCP allows your AI agent to interact with the data directly, enabling automated research, text analysis, and programmatic retrieval that isn't possible through a standard web browser.

  • 06

    Can I search for items specifically in a format like 'maps' or 'audio'?

    Yes! Use the search_format capability and specify the format parameter (e.g., 'maps', 'photos', 'audio') along with your query to get targeted results.

  • 07

    How do I get the full OCR text of a digitized document?

    You can use the get_text_service capability. Provide the document segment path and set the full_text parameter to 1 to retrieve the complete OCR transcript.

  • 08

    Can I list items from a specific collection like the Abraham Lincoln papers?

    Yes. Use the get_collection_items capability with the collection slug (e.g., 'abraham-lincoln-papers') to see all items contained within that specific archive.

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