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 collections include books, sound recordings, motion pictures, photographs, maps, and …

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.

Discover the Library of Congress. Search millions of items in many formats and languages. Explore a growing treasury of digitized materials. Consult with staff online or in one of the research centers to find what you're looking for.

Learn how the Library of Congress collects, preserves & provides access to its universal collections. Get the free tools and standards used by libraries, archives, and publishers.

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.

Welcome to the Library of Congress, your gateway to knowledge. Use our vast digital resources from anywhere or visit our specialized research centers in Washington, DC, to dive deeper. We are here to support your journey, no matter your level of experience.

You can stay in touch with the Library of Congress & learn new ways to use its resources through a collection of social media technologies & bulletin services. Choose the way best suited to your needs.

Today's Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection includes millions cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages; millions of manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.

NLS is a free braille and talking book library service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness, or a physical or perceptual disability that prevents them from reading or holding the printed page. This includes individuals with reading disabilities. Through a national network of cooperating libraries, NLS offers books the way you want them:

Search Library of Congress finding aids by keyword. Browse finding by collection, date, LC location, name, name/title, and subject. Finding aids are XML documents created using the Encoded Archival Description (EAD).