The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its collections include more than 29 million catalogued books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 58 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America, including a Gutenberg Bible, over 1 million US Government publications, 1 million issues of world newspapers spanning the past three centuries, 33,000 bound newspaper volumes, 500,000 microfilm reels, and over 6,000 comic books LOC, Serial and Government Publications Division; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, 4.8 million maps, sheet music and 2.7 million sound recordings. The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress.

History

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The Library of Congress was established on April 24, 1800, when President John Adams signed an act of Congress providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington. The legislation appropriated $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...." The original library was housed in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set fire to the Capitol building, destroying the contents of the small (3,000 volumes) library.

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Library of Congress: News

"Learning From Katrina" Web Page
Today marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. In commemoration, and in light of the current hurricane season, the Library of Congress announces a Web site titled "Learning from Katrina," which provides insights for better responses to record and artifact damage by hurricanes.
Book of Secrets on Display
Shortly following the release of "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," millions of moviegoers might have left theaters around the world believing that the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library, was home to a book that holds all of the U.S. presidents’ secrets from alien autopsies to the truth about the JFK assassination, as well as the location of buried treasure. That was fiction, but the real story and the "reel" story merge a little when the "Book of Secrets" movie prop and a bonus feature about the Library and its formidable collections went on display this summer in the South Orientation Gallery on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Visitors to the Jefferson will have an opportunity to see the display through Sept. 27.
Library Partnership Preserves End-of-Term Government Web Sites
The Library of Congress, the California Digital Library, the University of North Texas Libraries, the Internet Archive and the U.S. Government Printing Office today announced a collaborative project to preserve public United States Government web sites at the end of the current presidential administration ending January 19, 2009. This harvest is intended to document federal agencies' online archive during the transition of government and to enhance the existing collections of the five partner institutions.
Library of Congress Launches "E-Giving" Site For Donations
While the Library of Congress relies upon congressional appropriations to carry out its missions, much of its work also depends on the generosity of the private sector: individuals, corporations and foundations. It is now much easier to support the de facto national library through financial donations with the launch of the Library’s new "e-Giving" Web site at www.loc.gov/donate/.
Library of Congress Seeks Volunteer Docents
Each year the Library of Congress receives more than 1 million visitors eager to view the magnificent Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C., and to learn about the treasures it contains. In April 2008, the Library inaugurated its new Library of Congress Experience featuring three new exhibitions and interactive displays for visitors. In December 2008, the tunnel from the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center to the Library will open. These developments are expected to bring even more visitors to the Library. To address this growth, beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 2, the Library's Visitor Services Office is offering a 16 week training program for volunteer docents who will gain the skills necessary to lead tours of the Library's historic Thomas Jefferson building.
VHP Commemorates Armed Forces Integration
The Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP), a program of the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the historic integration of the United States armed forces on July 26.

Library of Congress: Upcoming Events

Space-Based Ornithology Lecture
James Smith, NASA senior scientist, was watching birds at a backyard feeder not long ago, when he began to consider the possibility of studying man’s feathered friends from space. Could spaced-based observations be used to reveal changes in bird migration? According to Smith, changes in avian diversity and in patterns of bird migration present some of the most compelling and challenging problems of modern biology, with important implications for human health and conservation ecology. Smith will address the topic in a lecture titled "Space-Based Ornithology: On the Wings of Migration and Biophysics" at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10, in the Mary Pickford Theater on the third floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.
Film Series Opens New Theater
Starting Sept. 4, the Library of Congress will offer a picture-perfect dream for cinema buffs – classic movies shown three times a week in a new art deco theater, reminiscent of the movie palaces of the 1920s and 1930s.
Benjamin Botkin Lecture on Kunqu
Marjory Bong-Ray Liu of Arizona State University presents a lecture titled “Kunqu: China’s First Great Multi-art Theatrical Tradition” in a program sponsored by the American Folklife Center at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-5510.
Baghdadi Jews Subject of Sept. 9 Lecture
Anthropologist Ruth Fredman Cernea will discuss the Jewish experience in the land of Burma in a lecture titled "Almost Englishmen: Baghdadi Jews in British Burma." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be delivered at noon, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in the Asian Division Reading Room foyer (Room 150), located in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The program is sponsored jointly by the Asian Division, the Asian Division Friends Society and the Library of Congress Professional Association’s Hebrew Language Table.
Judah Halevi Subject of Lecture
Judah Halevi (ca. 1085-1141), one of the best-known and most beloved of pre-modern Hebrew poets, abandoned his home and family in Spain and spent the last year of his life traveling to Israel, where he hoped to die amid its sacred ruins. Halevi’s journey is the subject of "The Song of the Distant Dove: Judah Halevi's Pilgrimage" by Raymond Scheindlin (Oxford University Press, 2007). Scheindlin will discuss his book at the Library of Congress at noon on Monday, Sept. 8, in the African and Middle Eastern Division Conference Room (Room 220), located in the Thomas Jefferson Building at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public but seating is limited.
Herman Wouk To Receive Achievement Award
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington will present Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Herman Wouk with the first Library of Congress Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction. The award recognizes Wouk’s extraordinary contributions to American letters and his dedication to, as he has said, "the enduring power of the novel."

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