Main reading room at the Library of CongressThe Library of Congress ( LOC) is the research library that officially serves the and is the national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. The library is housed in three buildings on in; it also maintains the in. The library's functions are overseen by the, and its buildings are maintained by the. The Library of Congress claims to be the. 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 450 languages.' Congress moved to Washington in 1800 after sitting for 11 years in the temporary national capitals in.
Library of Congress. The National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The 140,000 reels of film is housed in collections, conservation and nitrate vaults. AOC Library Buildings and Grounds Superintendent's Office. AOC Projects at the Library. Stories from the Library. James Madison Building. John Adams Building. PL 115-390 H.R.7327 - Strengthening and Enhancing Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure Technology Act PL 115-389 H.R.7243 - To amend Public Law 115-217 to change the address of the postal facility designated by such Public Law in honor of Sergeant First Class Alwyn Crendall Cashe.
The small Congressional Library was housed in the for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s. Most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814 during the, and the library sought to restore its collection in 1815. They bought 's entire personal collection of 6,487 books. After a period of slow growth, another fire struck the library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection, including many of Jefferson's books. After the, the Library of Congress grew rapidly in both size and importance, which sparked a campaign to purchase replacement copies for volumes that had been burned. The library received the right of transference of all copyrighted works to deposit two copies of books, maps, illustrations, and diagrams printed in the United States. It also began to build its collections, and its development culminated between 1888 and 1894 with the construction of a separate, extensive library building across the street from the Capitol.The library's primary mission is to research inquiries made by members of Congress, carried out through the.
The library is open to the public, although only high-ranking government officials and library employees may check out books and materials. Construction of the from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894 1800–1851: Origin and Jefferson's contribution is credited with the idea of creating a congressional library, first making such a proposition in 1783. The Library of Congress was subsequently established April 24, 1800 when President signed an act of Congress providing for the transfer of the seat of government from to the new capital city of Washington. Part of 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.' Books were ordered from London, and the collection consisted of 740 books and three maps which were housed in the new.President played an important role in establishing the structure of the Library of Congress. On January 26, 1802, he signed a bill that allowed the president to appoint the and establishing a to regulate and oversee it.
The new law also extended borrowing privileges to the president and vice president.The invading British army in August 1814 during the and destroyed the Library of Congress and its collection of 3,000 volumes. These volumes had been left in the Senate wing of the Capitol.
One of the few congressional volumes to survive was a government account book of receipts and expenditures for 1810. It was taken as a souvenir by British admiral, whose family returned it to the United States government in 1940.Within a month, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library as a replacement. Congress accepted his offer in January 1815, appropriating $23,950 to purchase his 6,487 books. Some members of the House of Representatives opposed the outright purchase, including New Hampshire representative who wanted to return 'all books of an atheistical, irreligious, and immoral tendency.' Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating a wide variety of books in several languages and on subjects such as philosophy, history, law, religion, architecture, travel, natural sciences, mathematics, studies of classical Greece and Rome, modern inventions, hot air balloons, music, submarines, fossils, agriculture, and meteorology.
He had also collected books on topics not normally viewed as part of a legislative library, such as cookbooks. However, he believed that all subjects had a place in the Library of Congress. He remarked:I do not know that it contains any branch of science which Congress would wish to exclude from their collection; there is, in fact, no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer.Jefferson's collection was unique in that it was the working collection of a scholar, not a gentleman's collection for display.
With the addition of his collection, the Library of Congress was transformed from a specialist's library to a more general one. His original collection was organized into a scheme based on 's. Specifically, he grouped his books into Memory, Reason, and Imagination, which broke down into 44 more subdivisions. The library followed Jefferson's organization scheme until the late 19th century, when librarian began work on a more flexible Library of Congress Classification structure that now applies to more than 138 million items.In 1851, a fire destroyed two thirds of the Jefferson collection, with only 2,000 books remaining. By 2008, the librarians of Congress had found replacements for all but 300 of the works that were in Jefferson's original collection.
1851–1865: Weakening On December 22, 1851, the largest fire in the library's history destroyed 35,000 books, about two–thirds of the library's collection and two-thirds of Jefferson's original transfer. Congress appropriated $168,700 to replace the lost books in 1852 but not to acquire new materials. This marked the start of a conservative period in the library's administration by librarian and joint committee chairman, who restricted the library's activities. Meehan and Pearce's views about a restricted scope for the Library of Congress reflected those shared by members of Congress.
While Meehan was librarian he supported and perpetuated the notion that 'the congressional library should play a limited role on the national scene and that its collections, by and large, should emphasize American materials of obvious use to the U.S. In 1859, Congress transferred the library's public document distribution activities to the and its international book exchange program to the.During the 1850s, librarian aggressively tried to make the Smithsonian into the United States' national library. His efforts were blocked by Smithsonian secretary, who advocated a focus on scientific research and publication.
To reinforce his intentions for the Smithsonian, Henry established laboratories, developed a robust physical sciences library and started the, the first of many publications intended to disseminate research results. For Henry, the Library of Congress was the obvious choice as the national library. Unable to resolve the conflict, Henry dismissed Jewett in July 1854. In 1865 the Smithsonian building, also called the Castle due to its Norman architectural style, was devastated by fire and presented Henry an opportunity in regards to the Smithsonian's non-scientific library. Around this time, the Library of Congress was making plans to build and relocate to the new, which would be fire proof.
Authorized by an act of Congress, he transferred the Smithsonian's non-scientific library of 40,000 volumes to the Library of Congress in 1866.appointed as librarian of Congress in 1861 and the appointment is regarded as the most political to date. Stephenson was a physician and spent equal time serving as librarian and as a physician in the Union Army.
He could manage this division of interest because he hired as his assistant. Despite his new job, Stephenson's focus was on non-library affairs; three weeks into his term, he left Washington, D.C. To serve as a volunteer aide-de-camp at the battles of and during the. Stephenson's term as librarian seems to have left little imprint on the library although hiring Spofford, who was left to run the library in his absence, may have been his most significant achievement. The Library of Congress inside the Capitol Building c.
1890 1865–1897: Spofford's expansion The Library of Congress reasserted itself during the latter half of the 19th century under Librarian who directed it from 1865 to 1897. He built broad bipartisan support for it as a national library and a legislative resource, aided by an overall expansion of the federal government and a favorable political climate.
He began comprehensively collecting and, led the construction of a new building to house the library, and transformed the librarian of Congress position into one of strength and independence. Between 1865 and 1870, Congress appropriated funds for the construction of the, placed all copyright registration and deposit activities under the library's control, and restored the international book exchange. The library also acquired the vast libraries of the Smithsonian and of historian, strengthening its scientific and Americana collections significantly. By 1876, the Library of Congress had 300,000 volumes and was tied with the as the nation's largest library. It moved from the Capitol building to its new headquarters in 1897 with more than 840,000 volumes, 40 percent of which had been acquired through copyright deposit. Some of the Library of Congress' holdings awaiting shelving inside the newly opened Thomas Jefferson Building in 1897A year before the library's move to its new location, the Joint Library Committee held a session of hearings to assess the condition of the library and plan for its future growth and possible reorganization. Spofford and six experts sent by the testified that the library should continue its expansion towards becoming a true national library.
Congress more than doubled the library's staff from 42 to 108 based on the hearings, and with the assistance of senators of Vermont and of Indiana, and established new administrative units for all aspects of the collection. Congress also strengthened the office of Librarian of Congress to govern the library and make staff appointments, as well as requiring Senate approval for presidential appointees to the position. 1897–1939: Post-reorganization. Adams Building (opened 1939) - South Reading Room, with murals byThe Library of Congress, spurred by the 1897 reorganization, began to grow and develop more rapidly. Spofford's successor, though only in office for two years, overhauled the library's bureaucracy, used his connections as a former diplomat to acquire more materials from around the world, and established the library's first assistance programs for the and physically disabled. Young's successor held the office for forty years from 1899 to 1939, entering into the position two years before the library became the first in the United States to hold one million volumes.
Putnam focused his efforts on making the library more accessible and useful for the public and for other libraries. He instituted the interlibrary loan service, transforming the Library of Congress into what he referred to as a 'library of last resort'. Putnam also expanded library access to 'scientific investigators and duly qualified individuals' and began publishing for the benefit of scholars.Putnam's tenure also saw increasing diversity in the library's acquisitions. In 1903, he persuaded President to transfer by executive order the papers of the from the State Department to the Library of Congress.
Putnam expanded foreign acquisitions as well, including the 1904 purchase of a four-thousand volume library of, the 1906 purchase of G. Yudin's eighty-thousand volume Russian library, the 1908 Schatz collection of early opera, and the early 1930s purchase of the Russian Imperial Collection, consisting of 2,600 volumes from the library of the on a variety of topics. Collections of and Chinese and Japanese works were also acquired. Congress even took the initiative to acquire materials for the library in one occasion, when in 1929 Congressman of Mississippi successfully proposed the $1.5 million purchase of Otto Vollbehr's collection of, including one of three remaining perfect vellum copies of the. A copy of the on display at the Library of CongressIn 1914, Putnam established the as a separative administrative unit of the library. Based in the 's philosophy of science as a problem-solver, and modeled after successful research branches of state legislatures, the LRS would provide informed answers to Congressional research inquiries on almost any topic.
In 1965, Congress passed an act allowing the Library of Congress to establish a trust fund board to accept donations and endowments, giving the library a role as a patron of the arts. The library received the donations and endowments of prominent individuals such as, James B. Gertrude Clarke Whittall donated five to the library and 's donations paid for a within the Library of Congress building and the establishment of an for the Music Division. A number of chairs and consultantships were established from the donations, the most well-known of which is the.The library's expansion eventually filled the library's Main Building, despite shelving expansions in 1910 and 1927, forcing the library to expand into a new structure. Congress acquired nearby land in 1928 and approved construction of the Annex Building (later the John Adams Building) in 1930. Although delayed during the years, it was completed in 1938 and opened to the public in 1939. 1939–present: Modern history.
's Minerva of Peace mosaicWhen Putnam retired in 1939, President appointed as his successor. Occupying the post from 1939 to 1944 during the height of World War II, MacLeish became the most visible librarian of Congress in the library's history. MacLeish encouraged librarians to oppose on behalf of democracy; dedicated the South Reading Room of the Adams Building to Thomas Jefferson, commissioning artist to paint four themed murals for the room; and established a 'democracy alcove' in the Main Reading Room of the Jefferson Building for important documents such as the Declaration, Constitution. The Library of Congress even assisted during the war effort, ranging from the storage of the and the in for safekeeping to researching weather data on the for pilots.
MacLeish resigned in 1944 to become Assistant Secretary of State, and President appointed as librarian of Congress. Evans, who served until 1953, expanded the library's acquisitions, cataloging and bibliographic services as much as the fiscal-minded Congress would allow, but his primary achievement was the creation of Library of Congress Missions around the world. Missions played a variety of roles in the postwar world: the mission in San Francisco assisted participants in the, the mission in Europe acquired European publications for the Library of Congress and other American libraries, and the mission in Japan aided in the creation of the.Evans' successor took over in 1953. Mumford's tenure, lasting until 1974, saw the initiation of the construction of the James Madison Memorial Building, the third Library of Congress building. Mumford directed the library during a period of increased educational spending, the windfall of which allowed the library to devote energies towards establishing new acquisition centers abroad, including in and New Delhi.
In 1967, the library began experimenting with techniques through a Preservation Office, which grew to become the largest library research and conservation effort in the United States. Mumford's administration also saw the last major public debate about the Library of Congress' role as both a legislative library and a national library.
A 1962 memorandum by Douglas Bryant of the, compiled at the request of Joint Library Committee chairman, proposed a number of institutional reforms, including expansion of national activities and services and various organizational changes, all of which would shift the library more towards its national role over its legislative role. Bryant even suggested possibly changing the name of the Library of Congress, which was rebuked by Mumford as 'unspeakable violence to tradition'. Debate continued within the library community until the shifted the library back towards its legislative roles, placing greater focus on research for Congress and congressional committees and renaming the Legislative Reference Service to the.After Mumford retired in 1974, Gerald Ford appointed as librarian. Boorstin's first challenge was the move to the new Madison Building, which took place between 1980 and 1982. The move released pressures on staff and shelf space, allowing Boorstin to focus on other areas of library administration such as acquisitions and collections. Taking advantage of steady budgetary growth, from $116 million in 1975 to over $250 million by 1987, Boorstin actively participated in enhancing ties with scholars, authors, publishers, cultural leaders, and the business community. His active and prolific role changed the post of librarian of Congress so that by the time he retired in 1987, called it 'perhaps the leading intellectual public position in the nation'.President Ronald Reagan nominated as the 13th librarian of Congress in 1987, and the U.S.
Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment. Under Billington's leadership, the library doubled the size of its analog collections from 85.5 million items in 1987 to more than 160 million items in 2014. At the same time, it established new programs and employed new technologies to, 'get the champagne out of the bottle.' These included:. American Memory created in 1990, which became The National Digital Library in 1994, providing free access online to digitized American history and culture resources with curatorial explanations for.
thomas.gov website launched in 1994 to provide free public access to U.S. Federal legislative information with ongoing updates; and congress.gov website to provide a state-of-the-art framework for both Congress and the public in 2012;. The National Book Festival, founded in 2000 with, has brought over 1000 authors and a million guests to the National Mall and the Washington Convention Center to celebrate reading. With a major gift from in 2013, the library also established the Library of Congress Literacy Awards to recognize and support achievements in improving literacy in the U.S.
And abroad;. The Kluge Center, started with a grant of $60 million from John W. Kluge in 2000 to bring scholars and researchers from around the world to use library resources and to interact with policymakers and the public. It hosts public lectures and scholarly events, provides endowed Kluge fellowships, and awards The Kluge Prize for the Study of Humanity (now worth $1.5 million), the first Nobel-level international prize for lifetime achievement in the humanities and social sciences (subjects not included in the Nobel awards);.
Open World Leadership Center, established in 2000, administered 23,000 professional exchanges for emerging post-Soviet leaders in Russia, Ukraine and the other successor states of the former USSR by 2015. Open World began as a Library of Congress project, and later became an independent agency in the legislative branch.
The Veterans History Project, congressionally mandated in 2000 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans from WWI to the present day;. The National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, which opened in 2007 at a 45-acre site in Culpeper, Virginia with the largest private gift ever made to the library (more than $150 million by the Packard Humanities Institute) and $82.1 million additional support from Congress. In 1988, The library also established the National Film Preservation Board, a congressionally mandated National Film Preservation Board to select American films annually for preservation and inclusion in the new National Registry. The librarian named 650 films to the registry by 2015;. The Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, launched in 2007 to honor the work of an artist whose career reflects lifetime achievement in song composition.
Winners have included, and, and just-named for November 2015. Main article:The James Madison Memorial Building is located between First and Second Streets on Independence Avenue SE. The building was constructed from 1971 to 1976, and serves as the official memorial to President James Madison.The Madison Building is also home to the Mary Pickford Theater, the 'motion picture and television reading room' of the Library of Congress.
The theater hosts regular free screenings of classic and contemporary movies and television shows. Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation. Main article:The Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation is the Library of Congress's newest building, opened in 2007 and located in. It was constructed out of a former storage center and bunker. The campus is designed to act as a single site to store all of the library's movie, television, and sound collections.
It is named to honor, whose oversaw design and construction of the facility. The centerpiece of the complex is a reproduction movie theater that presents free movie screenings to the public on a semi-weekly basis. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. See also: andThe Library of Congress, through both the librarian of Congress and the Register of Copyrights, is responsible for authorizing exceptions to of as part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This process is done every three years, with the Register receiving proposals from the public and acting as an advisor to the librarian, who issues a ruling on what is exempt. After three years have passed, the ruling is no longer valid and a new ruling on exemptions must be made. Access The library is open for academic research to anyone with a Reader Identification Card.
One may not remove library items from the reading rooms or the library buildings. Most of the library's general collection of books and journals is in the closed stacks of the Jefferson and Adams Buildings; specialized collections of books and other materials are in closed stacks in all three main library buildings, or are stored off-site. Access to the closed stacks is not permitted under any circumstances, except to authorized library staff, and occasionally, to dignitaries. Only the reading room reference collections are on open shelves.Since 1902, American libraries have been able to request books and other items through from the Library of Congress if these items are not readily available elsewhere. Through this system, the Library of Congress has served as a 'library of last resort', according to former librarian of Congress. The Library of Congress lends books to other libraries with the stipulation that they be used only inside the borrowing library. Standards In addition to its library services, the Library of Congress is also actively involved in various standard activities in areas related to bibliographical and search and retrieve standards.
Areas of work include, (METS), (MODS), and (SRW), and (SRU).The seeks to further legal scholarship by providing opportunities for scholars and practitioners to conduct significant legal research. Individuals are invited to apply for projects which would further the multi-faceted mission of the law library in serving the U.S. Congress, other governmental agencies, and the public.
Annual events. for Popular Song.
Celebration.Notable personnel. Library of Congress. Retrieved April 25, 2018. ^ (PDF). Library of Congress. Retrieved November 27, 2018. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved September 3, 2017. ^. The Library of Congress. Retrieved February 16, 2017. ^ Murray, Stuart.
The Library: An Illustrated History (New York, Skyhouse Publishing, 2012): 155. 2. ^. Library of Congress. March 6, 2006.
Retrieved January 14, 2008. 2. ^ Murray, Stuart P. The library: an illustrated history. New York, NY: Skyhorse Pub. P. 158. Murray, Stuart (2009).
The Library An Illustrated History. Chicago, Illinois:. P. 159. Murray, Stuart (2009).
The library: an illustrated history. New York, NY:. Retrieved November 4, 2012., summarizing contents and indicating sources. ^ Murray, Stuart P.
The library: an illustrated history. P. 162. Murray, Stuart A.P.
The Library: An Illustrated History. Skyhorse Publishing, 2012.
161. Fineberg, Gail (June 2007). Library of Congress. Retrieved January 4, 2015. History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives. United States House of Representatives.
Retrieved April 30, 2018. CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list.
^ Cole, J.Y. Jefferson's Legacy: a brief history of the Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. P. 14. Cole, J.Y. 'The Library of Congress Becomes a World Leader, 1815-2005'. Libraries & Culture.
40 (3): 386. Interior Library.
Department for the Interior. Retrieved April 30, 2018. Smithsonian Institution (1904). An Account Of The Smithsonian: Its Origin, History, Objects and Achievements. Washington, D.C.
P. 12. Mearns, D.C. The Story Up to Now: The Library of Congress, 1800–1946. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. P. 100. Library of Congress.
Copyright Office. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
Gwinn, Nancy. Smithsonian Libraries. Retrieved April 30, 2018. ^ Library of Congress. John G Stephenson - Previous Librarians of Congress. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
These included future Librarian of Congress and of the. ^. Library of Congress website. October 25, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2007. Snapp, Elizabeth (April 1975).
'The Acquisition of the Vollbehr Collection of Incunabula for the Library of Congress'. The Journal of Library History. University of Texas Press. 10 (2): 152–161.
(restricted access). ^. Retrieved September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
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Grier, Peter (April 16, 2010). Retrieved January 4, 2015. Zimmer, Michael. First Monday. ' by Maria Recio, McClatchy DC, Oct.
2015. ' by Peggy McGlone, The Washington Post, March 31, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015. McGlone, Peggy; McGlone, Peggy (July 13, 2016). Retrieved May 5, 2017. Archived from on May 10, 2017.
Retrieved May 5, 2017. The Library of Congress. Retrieved November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
Nga, Brett. Archived from on July 6, 2008. Retrieved April 1, 2008. Archived from on November 27, 2004. Retrieved May 5, 2017. The Library of Congress.
April 7, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2006. (PDF), Library of Congress, 2009.
Retrieved August 8, 2006. ^. British Library. Archived from on February 7, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2011. Lyman, Peter; Varian, Hal R.
(October 18, 2000). Retrieved October 14, 2013. ^ Chayka, Kyle (July 14, 2016). N+1 Magazine.
Retrieved July 19, 2016. Snapshots of the Past. Retrieved April 26, 2016. David Gewirtz, ZDNet (May 4, 2016). Adam Mazmanian, (April 28, 2016).
Cole, John (2008). Scala Arts Publishers Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2018. Cole, John (2008). Scala Arts Publishers Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
Cole, John (2008). Scala Arts Publishers Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2018. Moving Image Research Center. Library of Congress.
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Tsuneishi, Warren (May 1992). 'Obituary: Cecil Hobbs (1907-1991)'. 51 (2): 472–473. Mearns, David Chambers.
The Story Up to Now: The Library Of Congress, 1800–1946 (1947), detailed narrativeArchitecture. Cole, John Y. And Henry Hope Reed. The Library of Congress: The Art and Architecture of the Thomas Jefferson Building (1998).
Small, Herbert, and Henry Hope Reed. The Library of Congress: Its Architecture and Decoration (1983)Further reading.
Aikin, Jane (2010). 'Histories of the Library of Congress'. Libraries & the Cultural Record. 45 (1): 5–24.
Anderson, Gillian B. (1989), 'Putting the Experience of the World at the Nation's Command: Music at the Library of Congress, 1800-1917', Journal of the American Musicological Society, 42 (1): 108–49,:. Bisbort, Alan, and Linda Barrett Osborne.
The Nation's Library: The Library of Congress, Washington, D. (Library of Congress, 2000). Cole, John Young. Jefferson's legacy: a brief history of the Library of Congress (Library of Congress, 1993). Cole, John Young. 'The library of congress becomes a world library, 1815-2005.'
Libraries & culture (2005) 40#3: 385-398. Cope, R. 'Management Review of the Library of Congress: The 1996 Booz Allen & Hamilton Report,' Australian Academic & Research Libraries (1997) 28#1. Ostrowski, Carl. Books, Maps, and Politics: A Cultural History of the Library of Congress, 1783-1861 (2004). Rosenberg, Jane Aiken.
The Nation's Great Library: Herbert Putnam and the Library of Congress, 1899–1939 (University of Illinois Press, 1993). Shevlin, Eleanor F.; Lindquist, Eric N. 'The Center for the Book and the History of the Book'.
Libraries & the Cultural Record. 45 (1): 56–69. Tabb, Winston; et al. 'Library of Congress'. Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. 3: 1593–1612.External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to.has the text of a 1905 article about., legislative information. from The Federal Register.
at the Library of Congress. at. at. at FamilySearch Research Wiki for genealogists.