Library of Congress

The Library of Congress (LC or sometimes LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. It also administers copyright law through the United States Copyright Office, and it houses the Congressional Research Service. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.

The Library of Congress is one of the largest libraries in the world, containing approximately 173 million items and employing over 3,000 staff. Its collections are "universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages". When Congress moved to Washington in November 1800, a small congressional library was housed in the Capitol. Much of the original collection was lost during the 1814 burning of Washington by British forces during the War of 1812. Congress accepted former president Thomas Jefferson's offer to sell his entire personal collection of 6,487 books to restore the library.

The Library of Congress faced space shortages, understaffing, and lack of funding, until the American Civil War increased the importance of legislative research to meet the demands of a growing federal government. In 1870, the library gained the right to receive two copies of every copyrightable work printed in the United States; it also built its collections through acquisitions and donations. Between 1890 and 1897, a new library building, now the Thomas Jefferson Building, was constructed. Two additional buildings, the John Adams Building (opened in 1939) and the James Madison Memorial Building (opened in 1980), were later added. The LC's Congressional Research Service provides objective non-partisan research to Congress to assist it in passing legislation. The library is open to the public for research, although only members of Congress, their staff, and library employees may borrow materials for use outside the library.

History

The Library of Congress began in 1800 when President John Adams signed a law creating a library for Congress. Initially, it had just 740 books and three maps. President Thomas Jefferson later helped expand the library by selling his personal collection of over 6,000 books after a fire destroyed much of the early collection.

Over time, the Library of Congress grew into the largest library in the United States. It moved into new buildings and added many collections. It now holds over 170 million items, including books, maps, recordings, and more. The library also helps create programs to make its collections available to everyone, including online access and special projects for education and preservation.

Holdings

The Library of Congress has a huge collection of items, including more than 32 million books in many languages, 61 million manuscripts, and the largest rare book collection in North America. Some special items include the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and a Gutenberg Bible. The library also has millions of maps, pieces of music, sound recordings, and photographs.

The Library of Congress created its own system for organizing books, called Library of Congress Classification, which many other libraries use. It also helps protect copyrights and keeps a record of all published works in the United States. Every day, about 15,000 new items arrive at the library, though not all are kept forever. The library’s collection fills about 838 miles of bookshelves and holds over 167 million items.

Buildings

The Library of Congress has three main buildings in Washington, D.C., connected by underground passageways, and a conservation center in Virginia. The Thomas Jefferson Building is the oldest, opening in 1897, and was originally called the Library of Congress Building. The John Adams Building opened in 1939 to provide more space. The James Madison Memorial Building, completed in 1976, honors James Madison, a Founding Father and the fourth President of the United States, and includes the United States Copyright Office and a theater for movie screenings.

The newest building, the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, was founded in 2007. It stores the Library’s collections of movies, television, and sound, and features a movie theater that shows films to the public. It was built from a former Federal Reserve storage center and Cold War bunker and is named after David Woodley Packard.

Copyright Act

Main article: Digital Millennium Copyright Act

See also: Librarian of Congress and Register of Copyrights

The Library of Congress helps decide which digital works can be used without permission under special rules. This happens every three years. People can suggest ideas, and leaders at the Library review them to decide what is allowed before these rules need to be updated again.

Access

The Library of Congress is open for academic research to anyone with a Reader Identification Card. Visitors cannot take library items from the reading rooms or buildings. Most books and journals are kept in closed stacks, which only library staff or special guests can access. The reading room reference collections are available on open shelves for everyone to use.

Since 1902, libraries across America have been able to request books from the Library of Congress through interlibrary loan if they cannot find them elsewhere. This makes the Library of Congress a valuable resource, acting as a "library of last resort." In 2017, the Library of Congress started working on a special reader's card for children under sixteen.

Standards

The Library of Congress helps create rules to make it easier to find and organize information. It works on projects like MARC standards, Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard, Metadata Object Description Schema, and several other systems that help libraries share and search for books and data.

The Law Library of Congress invites scholars and experts to study law and help improve research for Congress, government agencies, and everyone who needs legal information.

Annual events

The Library of Congress holds several special events each year. These include the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, and the National Book Festival. Other events such as the Fellows in American Letters of the Library of Congress, Founder's Day Celebration, and the Mostly Lost Film Identification Workshop also take place, offering unique opportunities to explore American culture and literature.

Notable personnel

See also: Librarian of Congress

The Library of Congress has had many important people who helped shape its work. Henriette Avram created the MARC format, a special system libraries use to share information about books and other materials. John Y. Cole started the Center for the Book and was the first historian for the Library of Congress. Cecil Hobbs was an expert on Southeast Asian history and helped improve the Library’s collections about that area. Julius C. Jefferson Jr. led the Congressional Research Service and also served as president of the American Library Association and the Freedom to Read Foundation.

Today

The Library of Congress continues to offer exhibitions, educational programs, and online resources. It makes its collections available to researchers and people all over the world.