Guide Note

The Library of Congress is the research division of the United States Congress as well as the unofficial library of the United States. It is the largest library in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records, containing a comprehensive collection of government publications, books, periodicals, comic books, microfilm reels and other items. Its collections also house one of the four known existing original Gutenberg Bibles and two Stradivarius violins.

Fast Facts

1. Location: Washington, D.C.
2. Founded: April 24, 1800
3. Current head: James H. Billington
4. Books held: Approximately 30,000,000
5. Total Collection: Over 135,000,000 items
6. Annual Budget: Approximately $600 million
7. Employees: Approximately 4,000
8. Most shelf space of any library in the world
9. Comprised of three buildings: The Thomas Jefferson Building, John Adams Building, and James Madison Memorial Building
10. Open for public use, though only certain government officials can check out items
11. Interlibrary loan system established in 1902
12. Hosts the annual National Book Festival

The Library of Congress began in 1800 with 740 books and 30 maps ordered from London as a result of legislation that provided $5,000 "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress...and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them." ¹ The library was housed in the Capitol building in Washington, DC. It was destroyed during the War of 1812 and rebuilt with Thomas Jefferson's personal library. During the 1850s, the Smithsonian Museum lobbied Congress to have its library designated as the official national library, but after the effort failed, its 40,000 volumes were donated to the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is open for public tours as well as public research purposes. Anyone over 18 who presents a piece of government-issued picture identification will be issued a Reader Identification Card. This card grants access to the collection and reading rooms, but does not allow the holder to check out any materials. The only people authorized to remove items are:

1. Members of Congress
2. Supreme Court Justices and their staff
3. Library of Congress staff
4. Certain other government officials

• 1800: 740 books
• 1802: 3,000 books
• 1851: 55,000 books
• 1876: 300,000 books
• 1897: 840,000 books
• 2008: 30 million books

• 1802-1807: John James Beckley
• 1807–1815: Patrick Magruder
• 1815–1829: George Watterston
• 1829–1861: John Silva Meehan
• 1861–1864: John Gould Stephenson
• 1864–1897: Ainsworth R.Spofford
• 1897–1899: John Russell Young
• 1899–1939: Herbert Putnam
• 1939–1944: Archibald MacLeish
• 1945–1953: Luther H. Evans
• 1954–1974: Lawrence Q. Mumford
• 1975–1987: Daniel J. Boorstin
• 1987–Present: James H. Billington