Books for Congress

The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., copyright 1900.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920

Today, the Library of Congress celebrates its birthday. On April 24, 1800, President John Adams approved the appropriation of $5,000 for the purchase of "such books as may be necessary for the use of congress."

The books, the first purchased for the Library of Congress, were ordered from London and arrived in 1801. The collection of 740 volumes and three maps was stored in the U.S. Capitol, the Library's first home. President Thomas Jefferson approved the first legislation defining the role and functions of the new institution on January 26, 1802.¹

In the almost two centuries since its founding, the Library has taken on the mission of making its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people, and sustaining and preserving a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The vast holdings of the Library now number well over 110 million items.

Construction of the Library of Congress,
Levin C. Handy, photographer, Washington, D.C., April 19, 1893.
Taking the Long View, 1851-1991

• Log on. Play around. Learn something. As a birthday present for children and their families, the Library of Congress unveiled a new Web site for its year 2000 bicentenial: America's Story from America's Library is designed to let you have fun with history while learning at the same time. The Library wants to put the story back in history, and show you some things that you've never heard or seen before. What you see comes from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The Library, the largest in the world, has millions of amazing things that will surprise you.
• To learn more about the history of the Library, read Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress. The online version of the book includes a Concordance of Images, showcasing the history of the Library's buildings and collections.
• See also the Today in History features on the opening of the first Library of Congress building, the birthday of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, and the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's library.
• For more photographs of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building, search on the phrase Library of Congress Jefferson Building in Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920 and Washington as It Was, 1923-1959. Search on that same phrase in Taking the Long View, 1851-1991 to see photographs of the excavation and construction for the Jefferson Building.