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Library of Congress: Introduction

The Library of Congress (Library) was established by an act of Congress on April 24, 1800. It was initially created to meet the research needs of Congress and was housed in the U.S. Capitol. During the War of 1812, the British used the books in the Library as kindling when they burned the Capitol. To replace the collection, Thomas Jefferson sold his private collection to Congress. Jefferson’s collection contained nearly 6,500 volumes on a variety of subjects.

From Jefferson’s collection, which formed the heart of the Library, the holdings grew rapidly. Today, the Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, with approximately 130 million items. The collection includes more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 5.8 million manuscripts. These collections are housed in the Thomas Jefferson Building (opened 1897), the John Adams Building (opened 1939), and the James Madison Memorial Building (opened 1980).

Materials are still being added to the Library collections. The Library receives items through an exchange program with other libraries and government agencies, from copyright deposits, and through gifts and purchases.

In the two centuries since its founding, the Library has taken on the mission of making its resources available and useful not only to Congress but also to the American people. Since the 1990s, the Library has been digitizing collection items and providing free online access to them. The Library currently has more than 12 million items available online. This guide gives a brief description of the resources available on the Library of Congress Web site and explains how to find resources appropriate for classroom use.

General Overview

The Library of Congress Web site provides access to five main sections: Library Catalogs, American Memory, Exhibitions, Global Gateway, and THOMAS.

Library Catalogs

The Library online catalog contains approximately 12 million records representing books, manuscripts, single computer files, manuscripts, cartographic materials, music, sound recordings, and visual materials. The online catalog is useful for finding materials that can only be accessed on site at the Library or through an interlibrary loan. For more information about interlibrary loans, see http://www.loc.gov/rr/loan/.

The Prints and Photographs Division of the Library also has an online catalog. This catalog provides access to more than half of the Prints and Photographs Division holdings. About 90 percent of the records are accompanied by one or more digital images. In some collections, only thumbnail images display to those searching outside the Library of Congress because of copyright considerations.

American Memory

American Memory is an online archive of more than 9 million digitized resources that document U.S. history and culture. American Memory is organized into more than 100 thematic collections based on their original format, their subject matter, or who first created, assembled, or donated them to the library. The collections contain photographs, prints, posters, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, books, pamphlets, and sheet music. The Learning Page is a companion to the American Memory collections. The Learning Page includes ideas and instructions for classroom use of specific collections in American Memory.

Exhibitions

The Exhibitions page offers a wide range of online exhibitions featuring treasures from the Library collections as well as collections of other national libraries worldwide. Most exhibitions put on display at the Library in Washington, D.C., eventually end up online.

Global Gateway

Global Gateway provides access to resources about world cultures. In this section of the Web site, you will find links to country studies and special presentations about world cultures.

THOMAS

THOMAS contains U.S. Legislative information. From THOMAS you can search information for bills and resolutions (1973–present), public laws (1973–present), the Congressional Record (1989–present), roll call votes (1990–present), committee reports (1995–present), presidential nominations (1987–present), and treaties (1975–present). For more information about THOMAS, see How to Search THOMAS.

America’s Library and The Wise Guide

In addition to the five main areas, the Library Web site has two other sections that provide useful classroom resources.

America’s Library
America’s Library was created especially for students of elementary school age. It incorporates some of the Library’s American historical resources into games and stories about our nation’s past.

  • Meet Amazing Americans introduces students to inventors, politicians, performers, activists, and other people who helped shape our country.
  • Jump Back in Time allows students to take a virtual trip back in American history.
  • Explore the States provides basic information about each state, including state capitals, birds, trees, and nicknames.
  • Join America at Play allows students to explore facts about Americans’ favorite pastimes, sports, and hobbies.
  • See, Hear, and Sing provides access to many of the Library’s multimedia collections of video and audio.

The Wise Guide
The Wise Guide is a Web magazine that introduces visitors to the many educational resources on the Library Web site. Each monthly magazine features articles linked to Web pages containing materials from throughout the Library.

Research Centers

The Library Web site has more than 20 Research Centers available online. These centers provide resources for people conducting research on a specific topic. Although these centers are not specifically geared for teachers, many provide resources that are useful in the classroom.