Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States of America, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in four buildings in Washington, D.C., as well as the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and number of books. The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress, currently James H. Billington.
The Library of Congress was instituted for Congress in 1800, and was housed in
the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century. After much of the
original collection had been destroyed during the War of 1812, Thomas Jefferson
sold 6,487 books, his entire personal collection, to the library in 1815. After
a period of decline during the mid-19th century the Library of Congress began to
grow rapidly in both size and importance after the American Civil War,
culminating in the construction of a separate library building and the
transference of all copyright deposit holdings to the Library. During the rapid
expansion of the 20th century the Library of Congress assumed a preeminent
public role, becoming a "library of last resort" and expanding its mission for
the benefit of scholars and the American people.
The Library's primary mission is researching inquiries made by members of
Congress through the Congressional Research Service. Although it is open to the
public, only Library employees, Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices and
other high-ranking government officials may check out books. As the de facto
national library, the Library of Congress promotes literacy and American
literature through projects such as the American Folklife Center, American
Memory, Center for the Book and Poet Laureate.
Text from Wikipedia
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