What is the Library of Congress?
The Library of Congress (LC) is the research library that serves the US Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States.
Every modern civilisation has a collection of books and a timestamp of history. A tradition that dates back to ancient Mesopotamia time, collecting practices have been noted among royalty and elites as far back as the 3rd millennium BCE.
The mission of the Library of Congress is to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.
America’s oldest federal cultural institution
It’s America’s oldest federal cultural institution in the country and is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. It has more than 167 million items preserved on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves.
In addition to books, we have photos, maps, databases, movies, sound recordings, sheet music, manuscripts, and information in many other formats. Millions of items are online, and the full array of collections is available in DC, right across from the U.S. Capitol building
Library Of Congress
The library’s functions are overseen by the Librarian of Congress and the buildings are maintained by the Architect of the Capitol.
It is the world’s second-largest library and 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.”
What is the purpose of the Library of Congress?
The Library of Congress is a collection of historical periodicals. It provides Congress with objective research to inform the legislative process, administers the national copyright system, and manages the largest collection of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in the world.
Which is bigger, the British Library or the Library of Congress?
The British Library leads globally with 170-200 million items. Other top libraries include the Library of Congress and Shanghai Library. Libraries are essential institutions that serve as repositories of knowledge and date back to the ancient Mesopotamia time.
