Library of Congress Connector for AI agents.
8 live capabilities
Access historical archives and primary sources directly from your agent.
Waiting for input…
Why people use Library of Congress
Library of Congress for Historical Archive Research
This Connector lets your agent do that work for you. Instead of clicking through pages, you just tell your agent what you need. It pulls the metadata, the OCR text, and the specific links into your chat in seconds. You get to spend your time actually studying the history instead of hunting for it.
What Vinkius changes
That you get a direct line into millions of historical records without leaving your chat interface.
Use it from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or another AI client you already have.
One account · 5,900+ Connectors
- Real-world use case 01
Finding Civil War maps
A historian asks for maps of Virginia from 1861.
- Real-world use case 02
Analyzing old newspapers
A researcher needs to find specific mentions of a company in 1920s papers.
- Real-world use case 03
Browsing specific archives
A student wants to see everything in the 'world-war-i-posters' collection.
Complete set · 8capabilities
The complete Library of Congress capability set.
These are the exact actions your AI can choose when you ask it to work with Library of Congress.
01—04
4 capabilities in this set.
Part of 8 available through Library of Congress.
- 01 Capability
List collections
Lists every digital collection available in the archive. It's great for seeing the full scope of what's available.
- 02 Capability
Search format
Filters your search results by media types like maps, photos, or audio. This helps narrow down your research quickly.
- 03 Capability
Get image info
Fetches technical IIIF metadata for high-resolution images. Use this when you need precise image details.
- 04 Capability
Get item
Pulls the full bibliographic record for a specific item. It gives you all the metadata you need for citations.
05—08
4 capabilities in this set.
Part of 8 available through Library of Congress.
- 05 Capability
Search
Performs a keyword search across the entire Library of Congress website. It's the starting point for any broad research.
- 06 Capability
Get text service
Retrieves full-text OCR and word coordinates from digitized documents. This is essential for analyzing the actual content of old papers.
- 07 Capability
Get resource
Accesses specific digitized files, like a single page of a newspaper. This lets you grab the actual content.
- 08 Capability
Get collection items
Lists every item within a specific digital collection. Use this to see everything in a curated set of archives.
Set up in minutes
One URL. Then ask Library of Congress to work.
Claude and ChatGPT only need the Connector URL. Copy it once, add it in settings, and use Library of Congress from the conversation.
Choose your client
Live previewAdvanced clients IDE · CLI
Claude · Web + desktop
Connector URL · ready to paste
Streamable HTTPhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp - Step 01
Open Connectors
In Claude Web or Claude Desktop, open Settings and choose Connectors.
- Step 02
Add the URL
Choose Add custom connector, name it Library of Congress, and paste the URL above.
- Step 03
Turn it on in chat
Select +, open Connectors, and enable Library of Congress for the conversation.
ChatGPT · Web + desktop
Connector URL · ready to paste
Streamable HTTPhttps://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp - Step 01
Open MCP settings
On desktop, open Settings and MCP servers. On web, open your workspace app or connector settings.
- Step 02
Add the URL
Choose Add server with Streamable HTTP, or create a custom MCP app, then paste the Library of Congress URL.
- Step 03
Save and start
Save the connection and enable Library of Congress in your conversation. Desktop may ask you to restart once.
Cursor · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"library-of-congress": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open MCP Settings
Press Cmd+Shift+P (macOS) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) → search "MCP Settings"
- Step 02
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above into the mcp.json file that opens
- Step 03
Save the file
Cursor will automatically detect the new Connector
- Step 04
Start using Library of Congress
Open Agent mode in chat and ask: "Using Library of Congress, help me...". 8 tools available
VS Code Copilot · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"library-of-congress": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Create MCP config
Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root
- Step 02
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above
- Step 03
Enable Agent mode
Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown
- Step 04
Start using Library of Congress
Ask Copilot: "Using Library of Congress, help me...". 8 tools available
Windsurf · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"library-of-congress": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open MCP Settings
Go to Settings → MCP Configuration or press Cmd+Shift+P and search "MCP"
- Step 02
Add the server
Paste the JSON configuration above into mcp_config.json
- Step 03
Save and reload
Windsurf will detect the new server automatically
- Step 04
Start using Library of Congress
Open Cascade and ask: "Using Library of Congress, help me...". 8 tools available
Cline · IDE configuration
Advanced setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"library-of-congress": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp"
}
}
}- Step 01
Open Cline MCP Settings
Click the Connectors icon in the Cline sidebar panel
- Step 02
Add remote server
Click "Add Connector" and paste the configuration above
- Step 03
Enable the server
Toggle the server switch to ON
- Step 04
Start using Library of Congress
Ask Cline: "Using Library of Congress, help me...". 8 tools available
Claude Code · Terminal command
Advanced setup
claude mcp add library-of-congress --transport http "https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_AjTjJo3aHNsbsGSqfRyZvlZJBZfDk0w19q4MaOwY/mcp"- Step 01
Install Claude Code
Run npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code if not already installed
- Step 02
Add the Connector
Run the command above in your terminal
- Step 03
Verify the connection
Run claude mcp to list connected servers, or type /mcp inside a session
- Step 04
Start using Library of Congress
Ask Claude: "Using Library of Congress, show me...". 8 tools are ready
Where the request belongs
Work Library of Congress can move forward.
This is for the academic researcher who spends hours digging through archives or the data scientist trying to scrape historical text for a project. It's for anyone who needs to move faster than a manual search allows.
Historian
Pulls primary source documents and maps for specific dates to build timelines.
Librarian
Organizes and explores various digital collections to see what's available for public access.
Data Scientist
Uses OCR services to pull text from digitized records for large-scale language modeling or analysis.
Build the capability set
Add more capabilities.
Each Connector adds new actions and data without changing how you work.
Browse ConnectorsNational Archives Catalog
Search and explore millions of historical documents, photos, and records from the US National Archives (NARA) directly from your AI agent.
Smithsonian Open Access
Explore millions of museum records, images, and digital assets from the Smithsonian Institution's vast collections.
Europeana
Explore millions of cultural heritage items. search artworks, books, and records from European museums and libraries directly through your AI agent.
GovInfo
Search and retrieve official US Government documents and publications via AI.
Internet Archive Search
Search 40M+ books, videos, audio, software across the Internet Archive.
Open Library
Manage your book discovery. audit library records, authors, and subjects via AI.
Bring your own AI
Change the model, client or framework. Keep Library of Congress connected.
-
Claude -
ChatGPT -
Gemini -
Cursor -
VS Code -
Windsurf -
ZCode -
Cline -
Zed -
Continue -
Kiro -
Roo Code -
Zencoder -
Goose -
Void -
Augment Code -
Amp -
Qodo -
Tabnine -
Pieces -
Sourcegraph Cody -
JetBrains -
Warp -
Amazon Q -
Antigravity -
BoltAI -
Raycast -
Jan -
LM Studio -
AnythingLLM -
Open WebUI -
Msty -
Cherry Studio -
LibreChat -
TypingMind -
Chorus -
5ire -
n8n -
LangChain -
LlamaIndex -
CrewAI -
Vercel AI SDK
Before you connect
Questions about Library of Congress.
The practical details behind the request, access and result.
Can the Library of Congress MCP find historical newspapers?
Yes, it lets your agent search the entire catalog for specific dates and titles, pulling the records directly into your conversation.
Does the Library of Congress MCP support maps and photos?
It does. You can use specific filters to isolate only maps, audio files, or photographs from the archives.
Can I use the Library of Congress MCP for academic research?
It's built for that. It pulls bibliographic data and primary source links that you can use for citations and deep-dive research.
How do I get text from digitized documents?
The Connector includes a capability to pull full-text OCR, so your agent can read and summarize old manuscripts or newspapers for you.
Can I see what's in a specific digital collection?
Yes, you can ask your agent to list all items in a collection like the Abraham Lincoln Papers to see what's available.
Does the Library of Congress MCP provide high-resolution image data?
It provides technical IIIF metadata, which is what you need to access and handle high-resolution images correctly.
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.
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.
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.
One connection away
Give your agent a direct line to Library of Congress.
Connect Library of Congress once. Keep it beside 5,900+ managed Connectors when the next task needs more.
Explore every Connector No credit card required · Free tier available