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Introduction
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The civilization of a country is to be judged not by its crops, its census, or the size of its cities, but by the quality of the men it turns out." The Library of Congress has always strived to provide for the quality of men. Always striving to be better and try new things. Thanks to the amazing efforts of its many Librarians over the years it is now the de facto national library of the U.S. The collection is now the largest in the world and continues to grow. -
The idea began
Theodorick Bland, Jr., a delegate from Virginia suggested that Congress import books from Europe. The motion was approved a year later. -
First Session of the US Congress
The first session of the U.S. Congress, held in New York, approved the purchase of books from England after the directors of the Library Company of Philadelphia offered the use of its books to the prospective Congress in 1774. -
Library of Congress becomes Official
President Adams signed a bill for an Executive Mansion and Congress in the District of Columbia. It included a section for the purchase of books that were necessary for the use of Congress. He gave the books a room in the Executive Mansion and appropriated $5,000. Thus the Library of Congress was born. -
First Books
The Library's first books arrive from Europe at the Baltimore Harbor and are sent up to Georgetown a month later where they were sent to the office of the clerk of the Senate. -
The Library's first booklist is published.
The LOC begins publishing its own works. The first booklist described 728 books and three maps that had been acquired from a bookseller in London -
Jefferson signs a Bill
"An Act Concerning the Library for the Use of Both Houses of Congress." The books were put together in a room on the west side of the Capitol. It was 86ft long, 35ft wide, and had 36ft ceilings. The Act gave the president of the Senate and the Speaker of the House the power to regulate the library. Only the President, Vice President, and members of Congress could borrow books. The Act also stipulated taht a Librarian was to be appointed only by the President. Jefferson appointed J. Beckley. -
LOC's first catalog is published
The Catalogue of Books, Maps, and Charts Belonging to the Library of the Two Houses of Congress was the first catalog published. -
Jefferson only wants certain books
Jefferson told the Head of the Joint Committee on the Library, Abraham Baldwin, that the Library was only to have books in the branches of science, history, and some philosophy. There would be no theology, pedagogy, technology, art, music, or fiction. Several years later when Jefferson sold his personal library, it contained several of the categories he said should not be included. -
Beckley gives tours
Beckley gave tours to dignitaries and other visitors who came to the Capitol. One was American Artist Charles Willson Peale who later wrote in his diary, "Mr. Beckley received us with politeness...the library is a spacious and handsome room, and although lately organized, already contained a number of valuable books in the best taste of binding" (Conaway, 2000, pg. 18) -
New Space
Congress takes back the room they had given to the Library and moves it to a smaller, less impressive committee room. It was too small, the roof leaked, and the floor shook. -
Beckley Dies.
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A New Librarian
President Thomas Jefferson appointed Patrick Magruder to replace Beckley. -
Sneaky Congress
Members of Congress exempted temselves from overdue fines and allowed Supreme Court Justices to use the library, -
British invade Washington and Burn Capitol
The LOC being housed in the Capitol Building collection of 3,000 volumes. The burning was in retaliation for the Americans buring the Legislature Library in Canada the previous year. -
Jefferson sells his personal library to the LOC
Congress approved the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's private library (the largest and finest in the country). The LOC paid $23,940 for 6,487 volumes which included works on architecture, the arts, science, literature, and geography in languages of French, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek, and one set of Russian statistical work. Around the same time, thoughts of the LOC being the National Library of the United States were being tossed around because every nation in Europe had one. -
Another Fire
An unattended candle caused a fire that damaged several duplicate copies of books and an expensive rug. -
Law Library
The Law Library is established as a separate department. They had just over 2,000 volumes, 639 of which came from Jefferson's library. -
"The most serious fire in Library history."
A fire destroyed about two-thirds of the LOC's 55,000 volumes including two-thirds of the items from Jefferson's library. -
Replacing the lost books
Congress appropriated $168,700 to restore the Library's rooms in the capitol and replace the lost books. -
Lincoln chooses new Librarian
Abraham Lincoln replaced Librarian John S. Meehan with John G. Stephenson, a doctor from Indiana. -
Lincoln Appoints a new Librarian
Ainsworth Rand Spofford provided his successors with four essential prerequisites for the development of an American national library. One was firm, bipartisan congressional support for the notion of the LOC as a legislative and national library. Another was the beginning of a comprehensive colelction of Americana. He took part in the magnificent new building, "itself a national monument." and he created a strong and independent office of Librarian of Congress. -
Expansion of the Library
Spofford gets congressional approval for a appropriation for the expansion of the Library in the Capitol. -
Copyright Deposits
Spofford gets an amendment approved to bring copyright deposits, which are copies of every work published in the U.S., to the Library's collection. All copyright activities had been taken over by the Patent Office in 1859. -
Smithsonian Deposit
A Smithsonian deposit in 1866 as part of the copyright amendment brought the entire collection of the Smithsonian Institute. A collection strong in scientific methods. -
Purchase of a Private library collection
The LOC purchased the private library of historian and archivist Peter Force for $100,000. The collection establidhed the foundation of the Library's Americana and incunabula collections. -
Copyright Act of 1870
Brought all U.S. copyright registration and deposit activities to the Library. This ensured the continuing development of the Library's Americana collections, because it stipulated that two copies of every book, pamphlet, map, print, photograph, and piece of music registered for copyright be deposited in the Library. -
Running out of space
Spofford suggested in an annual report that a separate building, just for the library, because of the increased receipts resulting from the copyright law. -
Plans for a new Building
Spofford presents his plans for a new library building to Congress -
On Expanding the Library
Justin S. Morrill a senator from Vermont, friend of Spofford, and library user delivered a speech in which he said, “We must either reduce the library to the stinted and specific wants of Congress alone, or permit it to advance to national importance, and give it room equal to the culture, wants, and resources of a great people. The higher education of our common country demands that this institution shall not be crippled for lack of room” (Jefferson's Legacy, 2006). -
Daniel Voorhees supports a new Library building
Daniel Voorhees, a Senator from Indiana, friend of Spofford, and library user, and chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, said, “Let us therefore give this great national library our love and our care. Nothing can surpass it in importance. Knowledge is power; the power to maintain free government and preserve constitutional liberty" (Jefferson's Legacy, 2006). -
Congress Authorizes new Structure
Congress authorized the building of a new structure straight across the east plaza from the capitol. Image: Laying the foundation of the Jefferson building. -
Construction Begins on the new Library Building
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New LOC Building opens
The Thomas Jefferson Building opened and was immediately hailed as a national monument. Kate Sherwood reported, in the National Tribune, it was "the most imposing and beautiful, architecturally considered, of any United States Department building, or any building of like character in the world" (Sherwood, 1897)
Total floor space is 326,195 sq.ft. with 2,165 windows. She also reported that the building was made of granite, brick, marble, iron, and terra cotta making it absolutely fireproof. -
Library Expands
The Legislative Appropriations Act expanded all phases of the Library's activities. Staff size went from 42 to 108 and new administration units were established for the reading room, the art gallery (graphic arts), maps and charts, and the cataloguing, copyright, manuscripts, music, and periodicals department. -
A New Librarian
President William McKinley appoints (with permission from the Senate) John Russell Young as new Librarian. -
A Growing Collection
By the time they moved to the new building, the colelctions ranked first among American Libraries in size and scope. It had over 840,000 volumes and most came from the copyright deposits. -
Choosing a Librarian
Congress makes it so the President's choice for Librarian must be approved by the Senate. -
Reaching Out
Young sent a letter to U.S. representatives overseas asking them to send "to the national library." He was willing to receive newspapers, journals, pamphlets, manuscripts, broadsides, "documents illustrative of the history of those various nationalities now coming to our shores to blend into our national life" (Jefferson's Legacy, 2006). Or "whatever would add to te sum of human knowledge." -
A New Librarian
John Russell Young died in January of 1899. President McKinley apponts Herbert Putnam. He was the first experienced Librarian to serve. -
#1 Library in America
The LOC becomes the first American Library to reach 1 million volumes. The same year, a volume was published on the completely new classification scheme based on the Library's own collections (the early LOC Subject Headings). Access to the library was extended to scientific investigators and duly qualified individuals. -
Interlibrary Loan
The LOC inaugurates an interlibrary loan program. It was a radical step and it signaled the institution's transition from a national storehouse of books to a national laboratory or workshop for promoting the use of its collections. Putnam was quoted as saying "a book used, is after all, fulfilling a higher mission than a book which is merely being preserved for possible future use." He was defending his choice to send books outside of the Library. -
Broadening Horizons
Wanting to acquire materials about other countries and cultures, Putnam purchased a 4,000 volume library of Indica (Indic laguage) saying in the annual report that he "could not ignore the opportunity to acquire a unique collection which scholarship thought worthy of prolonged, scientific, and enthusiastic research" (Jefferson's Legacy, 2006). -
Russian Literature
Putnam acquired the famous 80,000 volume of Russian literature owned by G.V. Yudin of Siberia. -
Library for the Blind
Congress directed the American Printing House for the Blind to begin deposting embossed books in the Library. -
Congressional Research
The Legislative Reference Service, now the Congressional Research Service, was established as a separate administrative unit. -
The Constitution
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were transferred to the Library from the State Department. -
The "Shrine"
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution went on public display in a specially designed "Shrine" in the Library's Great Hall. Image: Shows Librarian Putnam at the dedication of the new shrine. -
Gifts gallore
The Library of Congress Trust Fund Act of 1925 enabled the institution to accept gifts and bequests from private citizens. -
More Space
A legislation is approved to acquire land for a new building. -
New Building
The Annex Building, now the Adams Building, was authorized for construction. -
Books for the Blind
A second appropriation was authorized to provide books for blind adults of the United States. -
A New Building
Construction of the Annex building was completed. It opened to the public in 1939. -
Putnam leaves Library
When Herbert Putnam left the service of the Library, he was asked to characterize the Library. In response he penned the phrase "Universal in Scope: National in Service" -
New Librarian
Archibald Macleish is appointed the new Librarian by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
Macleish Resigns
Archibald Macleish served almost five years before he left to become Assistant Secretary of State. -
A New Librarian
Harry Truman appoints Luther Evans who had previously been the assistant librarian at the Library. -
The Library of the United Nations
The LOC organizes a Reference Library in San Francisco to assist in the meeting that established the United Nations. -
Goodbye Constitution
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were moved to the National Archives. -
Evans Resigns
Librarian Luther Evans resigns to become Director-General of UNESCO. -
A New Librarian
Dwight D. Eisenhower appoints L. Quincy Mumford as new Librarian. -
New Building
Beginning plans for a new building to help house the continually growing collections of the LOC. -
Higher Education Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson approved the Higher Education Act which gave the Library the ability to acquire all the current library materials of value to scholarship that they could. -
National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloguing
A National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloguing (NPAC) opened its first office in London in an effort to provide cataloguing information for materials purchased overseas promptly after they had been received. -
Preservation
The LOC inaugurated a pilot project to study techniques for the preservation of deteriorating or "brittle" books--volumes disintegrating because they were printed on acidic paper. -
A New Librarian
Gerald Ford appointed Daniel Boorstin the new Librarian after Mumford retired in 1974. Boorstin was the 12th Librarian. -
First Strategic Plan
Boorstin creates a Task Force on Goals, Organization, and Planning. This group conducted a one-year review of the Library and its roles. -
American Folklife Center
By Act of January 2, 1976 the Center was established to coordinate and carry out federal and nonfederal programs to support, preserve, and present American folklife through activities like receiving and maintaining collections, scholarly research, field projects, performances and exhibitions, festivals, workshops, publications, and audiovisual presentations. -
Center for the Book
The Center for the Book was established to stimulate public interest in books, reading, and libraries and to encourage the study of books and print culture. -
James Madison Memorial Building
The New building is completed. The building opens in 1982 after the prolonged move. -
The Cataloguing Distribution Service
The CDS of the LOC began producing and distributing its products on micrifiche and CD-ROMs. -
Quarterly Journal
The LOC ceased publication of the Quarterly Journal which had been in production since 1943. -
More Money!
The annual appropriation moves from the $116 million it was in 1975 to $250 million. -
A New Librarian
Boorstin Retires. Ronald Reagan appoints James Billington. -
Outreach
An educational program is created in an effort to give access to schools and libraries around the country. -
James Madisn Council
The Library's first private sector advisory group has supported the acquisition of hundreds of collection items and initiatives. -
American Memory Project
A two year pilot project started to provide online access to documents of American history and culture. -
Stats
In 1992 the annual appropriation was at more than $330 million, the collections totaled 100 million items, and the staff was at nearly 5,000. The Library was being called "one of the world's leading cultural institutions." -
Online Bibliographic Data
The LOC gained Congressional approval to make available an online version of its bibliographic data. -
Digitizing Americana
Private gifts of over $13 million were given to help digitize the LOC's Americana collections. -
National Digital Library Program
The LOC launched the NDLP, the official work from the American Memory project. By 2012 the American Memory site included 37.6 million primary source files. -
National Digital Library
Begins as a way to colelct and display the digitized materials from the Americana Collections. -
200 years
The Bicentennial year of the Library of Congress. -
World Digital Library
Billington proposed a project to make available digitized texts and images of "unique materials from libraries and other cultural institutions around the world" to anyone with access to the internet. -
World Digital Library
The LOC and UNESCO signed an agreement to build a World Digital Library site. It was launched in 2009 with about 1,200 digital exhibits including books, maps, and paintings. By 2012 the site had 161 partners in 75 countries who had provided content. -
History Channel and the LOC
The LOC opens its storehouse of 130 million items the the History Channel for documentary films, website videos, and text and educational materials. Abe Raven, President and CEO of A&E TV Networks said, "The Library's mission is to get all of its resources out to the American public, and we can help with our broad access on TV and online" (Dempsey, 2008). -
James Billington Retires
Billington Retired on Spetember 30, 2015. He was the 13th Librarian of Congress. -
New bill gives Librarian 10 year term
President Obama signed a bill into law that puts a ten year term on the position. Reasons for this include the fact that no president would get to nominate two Librarians in their term unless of death or resignation of the Librarian. Another point was due to the accelerating rate of change. A fresh Librarian would bring new changes. -
President Obama Announces Librarian Nominee
Barack Obama announced Dr. Carla Hayden as his nominee for the next Librarian of the LOC. She has been the CEO of Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Free Library since 1993. If appointed she would be the first African American and the first woman to hold the position. She would also be the second Librarian to hold the position. The last was L. Quincy Mumford.
