Library of Congress

Library of Congress

Flag of the Library of Congress
Established	April 24, 1800 (1800-04-24)
Location	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Coordinates	38°53′19″N 77°00′17″W
Branches	N/A
Collection
Size	More than 38 million books and other printed materials, 3.6 million recordings, 14 million photographs, 5.5 million maps, 8.1 million pieces of sheet music and 70 million manuscripts, 5,711 incunabula, and 122,810,430 items in the nonclassified (special) collections: more than 167,000,000 total items
Access and use
Circulation	Library does not publicly circulate
Population served	The 535 members of the United States Congress, their staff, and the American citizenry.
Other information
Budget	$684,040,000
Director	Carla Hayden (Librarian of Congress)
Staff	3,105
Website	LoC.gov

The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress.

The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

Roles

The primary function of the Library of Congress is to serve the Congress. The Library welcomes public use of its general reference facilities and endeavors to offer the widest possible use of its collections consistent with their preservation and with its obligation to serve the Congress and other government agencies.The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.Libraries are important cornerstones of a healthy community. ... College students often use the library when they are home for the weekend or for holidays. And the reference resources in public libraries are usually unavailable elsewhere in the community. The library is a unique and valuable resource.

Gallery

• 
  Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress
• 
  Main Library of Congress Building at the start of the 20th century

Other websites

• The Library of Congress website