Library of Congress
The Library of Congress, established in 1800, serves as the research library for the United States Congress, initially intended to support legislative processes. Influenced significantly by Thomas Jefferson, the library expanded dramatically throughout the 19th century and evolved into a major research institution. By the 20th century, with substantial government backing, it emerged as the de facto national library of the United States, although no library holds an official designation as such. Today, it is recognized as one of the largest libraries globally, boasting over 160 million items in more than 450 languages. The Library of Congress functions as both a national deposit and a research library, accessible to all citizens, while still maintaining unique privileges for members of Congress. Its collections reflect a broad international scope, aiming to serve not only as a national knowledge repository but also as a global center for research and inquiry. This rich history and expansive role make the Library of Congress a vital cultural and educational institution in the United States.
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Library of Congress
The Library of Congress was originally established in 1800 to serve as the research library for the US Congress to aid in the process of legislation. Despite this initially limited scope, the library, partly under the influence of Thomas Jefferson, dramatically expanded throughout the nineteenth century and developed into a major research institution. In the twentieth century, with extensive government support, the library considerably expanded and developed into the de facto national library of the United States (although neither the Library of Congress not any other library is officially designated as the national library of the United States). The Library of Congress has expanded to become, by some measures, the largest library in the world, holding over 160 million items in more than 450 languages. It is one of the world's major research libraries and attracts visitors from across the world.
History
The initial impetus for the development of the Library of Congress came from James Madison, who suggested, as early as 1783, that Congress should have access to a library for use in legislation and research. However, Madison's vision of a legislative library was relatively limited. John Y. Cole, probably the preeminent historian of the Library of Congress, sees the inspiration of Jefferson as key to the direction of the Library of Congress's future development.
Jefferson established the institutional structure of the library in 1802 as an organ of state when he introduced a law which allowed the president to name the librarian. Even more significantly, when the original library was burned during the British attack on Washington in the War of 1812, Jefferson sold his own personal library of sixty-five hundred books to Congress to form the basis of the new congressional library. His own organizational scheme remained in place until the late nineteenth century. Jefferson saw the library as an important research institute and center for the national accumulation of knowledge, which should seek to expand continually.
Despite the influence of Jefferson, however, the development of the Library of Congress should be seen in an international context as part of a transnational phenomenon. Within Europe a trend had been developing, rooted in the ideals of the Enlightenment and in an emerging nationalism, to create national libraries that would serve as central depositories and as national research centers. The first national library of this kind was the British Library established in London in 1753 as part of the British Museum. Jefferson's ideal of establishing the Library of Congress as a font of knowledge with a global reach was echoed in the early development of both the British Museum and the British Library and in the ideals of figures like Henry Sloane who helped establish the institution. The Bibliothèque nationale de France was founded during the French Revolution in 1792, and the Russian State Library, originally founded in 1862 as the library of the Rumyantsev Museum, was reorganized after the Russian Revolution of 1917 under the leadership of Vladimir I. Lenin.
Until the late nineteenth century the Library of Congress remained a relatively small institution; however, it became the ambition of the chief librarian Ainsworth Rand Spofford, appointed in 1864, to develop it into a major center of learning which would rival the large European national libraries. Spofford employed nationalist rhetoric to argue that the Library of Congress should serve as the depository for American literature. Subsequent librarians Herbert Putnam and Archibald MacLeish continued and enhanced this vision. By the end of the World War II, the ambitions of the librarians of Congress often stretched even further, and a conscious effort was made to acquire increasingly international collections and transform the library into not only a national center of learning but also a depository for the world's knowledge.
Significance
The Library of Congress has developed into a truly global institution and one of the major libraries of the world. The structure of the Library of Congress is generally similar to most national libraries. It serves both as a national deposit library and as a research center, accessible by any citizen. The US Library of Congress is unusual, however, when compared to other national libraries in that it simultaneously serves the function of a national depository and research library as well as a legislative library in which members of congress retain special privileges. For instance, today, a member of Congress, unlike an ordinary member of the public, may withdraw books and request materials from the Library of Congress. Thus, while it acts as a de facto national library, it still retains some traces of its origin as a legislative library.
The Library of Congress holds over 167 million items. Its ambitions are truly international in scope, and over 470 languages are represented in its collections. It is, depending on what measure is used, either the largest or second-largest library in the world, with the British Library in London as the only other world library holding a comparable number of items. It is one of the major research libraries in the world and, without doubt, the major research library in the United States.
Bibliography
Aikin, J. "Histories of the Library of Congress."Libraries & the Cultural Record, vol. 45, no.1, 2010, pp. 5–24.
Chayka, Kyle. "The Library of Last Resort." N+1 Magazine, 14 Jul. 2016, nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/the-library-of-last-resort/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Cole, J. Y. For Congress and the Nation: A Chronological History of the Library of Congress Through 1975. Library of Congress, 1979.
"General Information." Library of Congress, 2023, www.loc.gov/about/general-information/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Hayden, Carla. "About the Library." Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/about/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
McGill, Andrew. "Can Twitter Fit Inside the Library of Congress?" The Atlantic, 4 Aug. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/08/can-twitter-fit-inside-the-library-of-congress/494339/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
McGlone, Peggy. "America's 'National Library' is Lacking in Leadership, Yet Another Report Finds." The Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/americas-national-library-is-behind-the-digital-curve-a-new-report-finds/2015/03/31/. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Nappo, Christian A. The Librarians of Congress. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.
Ostrowski, Carl. Books, Maps, and Politics: A Cultural History of the Library of Congress, 1783-1861. U of Massachusetts P, 2004.