Library of Congress

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The Library of Congress occupies a unique place in American civilization. Established as a legislative library in 1800, it grew into a national institution in the nineteenth century. Since World War II, it has become an international resource of unparalleled dimensions. Simultaneously it serves as; a legislative library and the major research arm of the U.S. Congress; the copyright agency of the United States; a center for scholarship that collects research materials in many media and in most subjects from throughout the world in more that 450 languages; a public institution that is open to everyone over high school age and serves readers in twenty-two reading rooms; a government library that is heavily used by the executive branch and the judiciary; a national library for the blind and physically handicapped; an outstanding law library; one of the world’s largest providers of bibliographic data and products; a center for the commissioning and performance of chamber music; the home of the nation’s poet laureate; the sponsor of exhibitions and of musical, literary, and cultural programs that reach across the nation and the world; a research center for the preservation and conservation of library materials; and the world’s largest repository of maps, atlases, printed and recorded music, motion pictures and television programs.

The website includes:

• Thomas - Congress at work
• The American Memory - America’s Story in Words, Sounds, and Pictures
• Exhibition - An On-Line Gallery
• Copyright Office - Forms and Information
• The Library Today - News and Events
• Using the Library - Catalogs, Collections, and Research Services