More than a Library
Discover all the resources the Library of Congress has to offer. You might be surprised.
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General Information
The Library of Congress occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Thomas Jefferson Building (1897) is the original separate Library of Congress building. (The Library began in 1800 inside the U.S. Capitol.) The John Adams Building was built in 1938 and the James Madison Memorial Building was completed in 1981.
An agency of the legislative branch of the U.S. government, the Library includes several internal divisions (or service units), including the Office of the Librarian, Congressional Research Service, U.S. Copyright Office, Law Library of Congress, Library Services, and the Office of Strategic Initiatives. You can also download a PDF of the Library's organizational chart. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view this document.
The Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20540
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Collections
Today's Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection of nearly 142 million items includes more than 32 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 62 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.
More about the Library's Collections
Year 2009 at a Glance
Welcomed more than 1.75 million on-site visitors.
Provided reference services to 589,777 individuals in-person, by telephone, and through written and electronic correspondence.
Total of 144,562,233 items in the collections, including:
- 21,814,555 cataloged books in the Library of Congress classification system
- 11,701,147 books in large type and raised characters, incunabula (books printed before 1501), monographs and serials, bound newspapers, pamphlets, technical reports, and other printed material
- 111,046,531 items in the nonclassified (special) collections. These included:
- 3,052,857 audio materials, such as discs, tapes, talking books, and other recorded formats
- 63,718.170 total manuscripts
- 5,391,200 maps
- 16,206,259 microforms
- 6,001.971 pieces of sheet music
- 14,426,474 visual materials, including:
- 1,213,180 moving images
- 12,5557,200 photographs
- 101,449 posters
- 554,645 prints and drawings
Circulated nearly 24 million disc, cassette and Braille items to more than 800,000 blind and physically handicapped patrons.
Registered 382,086 claims to copyright.
Prepared 1,491 legal research reports for Congress and other federal agencies through the Law Library.
Recorded more than 81 million visits and 630 million page-views on the Library’s website. At year's end, the Library's online primary source files totaled 19 million.
Employed a permanent staff of 3,624 employees.
Operated with a total fiscal 2009 appropriation of $646,761,000, including authority to spend $39,665,000 in receipts.
Last Updated: 04/08/2010
