Library of Congress

Lore & Background

Jefferson's collection doubled the size of the original library and transformed it from a specialist's library to a more general one, organized according to Francis Bacon's classification system. This led to a conservative period under librarian John Silva Meehan and joint committee chairman James A. Pearce, who restricted the library's scope.

Reader's Guide

The Library of Congress is significant as the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States and serves as both the research arm of Congress and the de facto national library. Its collections are universal, covering all subjects and formats, and it administers copyright law through the United States Copyright Office. The library's Congressional Research Service provides objective non-partisan research to Congress. The library is open to the public for research, though only members of Congress, their staff, and library employees may borrow materials for use outside the library. Meade and Cabin Branch in Hyattsville, Maryland. The library's functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the architect of the Capitol.

From a Modest Start to Jefferson's Vision

James Madison first proposed a congressional library in 1783, but the idea lacked sufficient political backing. It was not until April 24, 1800, that President John Adams signed an act appropriating five thousand dollars for books and a dedicated room in the new Capitol. The initial collection was modest: 740 volumes and three maps ordered from London. That fragile beginning was nearly obliterated in August 1814, when British forces under Admiral George Cockburn burned the Senate wing of the Capitol, destroying over three thousand volumes. Cockburn even pocketed a surviving 1810 government account book as a personal memento, which his family returned in 1940. Within a month of the disaster, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his entire personal library of 6,487 books, gathered over half a century. Congress accepted in January 1815 for $23,950, though Daniel Webster and others objected to works they deemed irreligious. Jefferson's collection, organized under Francis Bacon's tripartite scheme of Memory, Reason, and Imagination with 44 subdivisions, transformed the library from a narrow legislative reference into a broad, universal one—a framework the institution used until Herbert Putnam introduced the modern classification system in the late nineteenth century.

The 1851 Fire and a Conservative Era

On the night of December 24, 1851, a devastating fire consumed 35,000 volumes—roughly two-thirds of the entire collection and two-thirds of the books Jefferson had donated nearly four decades earlier. The destruction was so severe that Congress, in 1852, appropriated $168,700 solely to replace what had been lost, explicitly withholding funds for acquiring new materials. This marked the beginning of a conservative, austerity-driven period in the library's development, during which it struggled with chronic space shortages, understaffing, and inadequate funding. The institution had been in a similar vulnerable state before the Civil War, when the expanding federal government suddenly demanded far more legislative research. It was not until 1870 that the library received the right to deposit two copies of every copyrightable work printed in the United States, a provision that would become a cornerstone of its growth. Remarkably, by 2008, librarians had located replacements for all but 300 of the works documented in Jefferson's original 1815 transfer, a testament to the long, patient recovery that followed the flames.

Three Buildings and a Universal Collection

Today the Library of Congress occupies three grand structures on Capitol Hill adjacent to the U.S. Capitol: the Thomas Jefferson Building, constructed between 1890 and 1897; the John Adams Building, which opened in 1939; and the James Madison Memorial Building, added in 1980. Beyond these, the institution maintains the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, plus storage facilities at Fort George G. Meade and Cabin Branch in Hyattsville, Maryland. As the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States, founded in 1800, the library has grown into one of the largest in the world, holding approximately 173 million items and employing more than 3,000 staff. Its collections are described as universal—unrestricted by subject, format, or national boundary—spanning research materials from every part of the globe in over 470 languages. The library's physical plant is maintained by the architect of the Capitol, while its operational functions fall under the oversight of the librarian of Congress, a position whose appointment was established by law as early as 1802.

Serving Congress and the Public

Beyond its role as a repository, the Library of Congress performs critical governmental functions. Its Congressional Research Service delivers objective, non-partisan analysis to members of Congress to inform the legislative process, while the United States Copyright Office, housed within the library, administers the nation's copyright law. The institution is open to the public for research purposes, yet borrowing privileges for taking materials outside the building are restricted to members of Congress, their staff, and library employees—a distinction that underscores its primary obligation to the legislative branch. An 1802 law signed by Jefferson also extended borrowing rights to the president and vice president and created a Joint Committee on the Library to oversee operations. The library's de facto status as the national library of the United States, combined with its de jure role serving Congress, makes it a unique hybrid: part government service, part universal archive, and part public research institution. Its collections, now exceeding 173 million items across 470 languages, reflect that dual mandate.

Gallery