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The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 162 million items.
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., that serves as the library and research service of the U.S. Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. Founded in 1800, the library is the United States's oldest federal cultural institution.
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio 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.
Visiting the Library. We’re excited to welcome you to the Library of Congress. Free timed-entry tickets are required to enter the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building. We encourage you to take a moment to review our Know Before You Go page to prepare for a safe and enjoyable visit.
Browse Options. Browse offers four types of searches: Searches against controlled lists of authors/creators, subjects, names/titles, and series/uniform titles used by the Library of Congress - along with cross-references. These controlled terms are referred to as "authorized headings."
Research guides to the Library's collections, as well as subject guides prepared by Library of Congress staff, are listed below. More online guides covering other Library of Congress collections are available via the LC Bibliographies, Research Guides and Finding Aids page.
U.S. Congress legislation, Congressional Record debates, Members of Congress, legislative process educational resources presented by the Library of Congress.
Access hundreds of resource guides created by Library of Congress subject experts. Video Tutorials View short tutorials on how to use our many services and research centers.
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The free-to-visit Library of Congress, the largest library in the world chronicling American and world history, makes for a fascinating experience in the nation’s capital.
