The Library of Congress has a lot of responsibilities. It’s massive in both physical scale and in scale of services. So how did it start, and how did it evolve to be the largest library in the world?

Research:
Cole, John Y. “America’s Greatest Library: An Illustrated History of the Library of Congress.” Library of Congress, Washington, DC, in Association with D. Giles Limited, London. 2017.
“Dr. Carla Hayden delivers opening statement at Library of Congress hearing.” Committee on House Administration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LrEsNycZ4
“Library of Congress Classification.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcc.html
“The Library of Congress Is Your Library.” Library of Congress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ze_bpATac
“National Digital Library Program.” Library of Congress. https://webarchive-beta.loc.gov/general/20150701231729/https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dli2/html/lcndlp.html
“Preservation Science.” Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/
Reid, Paula. “Senior Justice Department officials tapped by Trump to run Library of Congress are denied access.” CNN. May 12, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/politics/library-of-congress-trump-justice-blanche
“Sale of Books to the Library of Congress (1815).” Monticello.org. https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/sale-books-library-congress-1815/
Tully-McManus, Katherine. “GOP leaders draw the line at Trump’s Library of Congress takeover.” Politico. May 14, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/library-of-congress-trump-takeover-carla-hayden-00349275
Walsh, Dylan. “Carla D. Hayden wants to spread the wonders of the library into everyone’s lives.” University of Chicago News. June 8, 2023. https://news.uchicago.edu/story/carla-d-hayden-wants-spread-wonders-library-everyones-lives

The Library of Congress has a lot of responsibilities. It&rsquo;s massive in both physical scale and in scale of services. So how did it start, and how did it evolve to be the largest library in the world?
Research:
<ul>
<li>Cole, John Y. &ldquo;America&rsquo;s Greatest Library: An Illustrated History of the Library of Congress.&rdquo; Library of Congress, Washington, DC, in Association with D. Giles Limited, London. 2017.</li>
<li>&ldquo;Dr. Carla Hayden delivers opening statement at Library of Congress hearing.&rdquo; Committee on House Administration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LrEsNycZ4</li>
<li>&ldquo;Library of Congress Classification.&rdquo; Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcc.html</li>
<li>&ldquo;The Library of Congress Is Your Library.&rdquo; Library of Congress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ze_bpATac</li>
<li>&ldquo;National Digital Library Program.&rdquo; Library of Congress. https://webarchive-beta.loc.gov/general/20150701231729/https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dli2/html/lcndlp.html</li>
<li>&ldquo;Preservation Science.&rdquo; Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/</li>
<li>Reid, Paula. &ldquo;Senior Justice Department officials tapped by Trump to run Library of Congress are denied access.&rdquo; CNN. May 12, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/politics/library-of-congress-trump-justice-blanche</li>
<li>&ldquo;Sale of Books to the Library of Congress (1815).&rdquo; Monticello.org. https://www.monticello.org/research-education/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia/sale-books-library-congress-1815/</li>
<li>Tully-McManus, Katherine. &ldquo;GOP leaders draw the line at Trump&rsquo;s Library of Congress takeover.&rdquo; Politico. May 14, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/library-of-congress-trump-takeover-carla-hayden-00349275</li>
<li>Walsh, Dylan. &ldquo;Carla D. Hayden wants to spread the wonders of the library into everyone&rsquo;s lives.&rdquo; University of Chicago News. June 8, 2023. https://news.uchicago.edu/story/carla-d-hayden-wants-spread-wonders-library-everyones-lives</li>
</ul>

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The Library of Congress has a lot of responsibilities. It’s massive in both physical scale and in scale of services. So how did it start, and how did it evolve to be the largest library in the world?

Library of Congress

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