The Library’s mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people. By the time voters went to the polls in November, analysts in the Library’s Congressional Research Service (CRS) were hard at work researching the key public …
The Library of Congress holds the papers of 23 U.S. presidents, from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. These collections, housed in the Manuscript Division—and the Library’s holdings in other formats such as rare books, photographs, films, sound recordings, sheet music and maps—inform us about the time and tenor of each of their administrations. Unique to …
President Barack Obama next week will again take the oath of office on the Bible, drawn from the Library of Congress collections, that President Abraham Lincoln used at his first inauguration more than 150 years ago. Obama took the oath on the Lincoln Bible at his first inauguration, in 2009. On Monday, the small, burgundy …
In its first three weeks of life (still a newborn!) Congress.gov has attracted almost 45,000 visitors and is approaching a quarter million page views, as people find time to explore the new site and some of its features. It has been terrific to see the positive response on the ease of navigation, clean layout, permanent …
The Library of Congress this month will celebrate the legacy of a man who helped bring higher education to millions of Americans and who played a key role in the creation of one of the nation’s most splendid pieces of architecture – the Jefferson Building. On June 25, the Library plays host to a conference that …
Two hundred years ago today, President James Madison set pen to paper to write a message to Congress. His intent was to talk them into making the nation’s first formal declaration of war – on Great Britain, which was squashing U.S. exports as a side effect of a British naval blockade against Napoleon’s France. But …
On May 5, the Library will close its popular exhibition “Creating the United States.” The exhibition has been on view for four years and seen approximately 2 million visitors passing through its space. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough once called it the one exhibition every American should see on a visit to Washington, D.C. Notable …
This is a guest post by Donna Urschel of the Library’s Public Affairs Office. If you’ve ever wondered where you are, or where you might be going, know this: if you have access to a computer, the Library of Congress now has 30,000 maps online to guide you. In the basement level of the Library’s …
This is one of a series of guest posts by Abigail Van Gelder, who with her husband, Josh, is journeying across the country on the Library’s “Gateway to Knowledge” traveling exhibition: Congressman Charlie Wilson from Ohio stopped by to welcome guests to the Gateway To Knowledge exhibit on its first day in Marietta; he was joined …