Works Cited

Cole, John Y. "Librarians of Congress." Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress. 30 Mar. 2006. Library of Congress. 21 Mar. 2009.

Cole, John Y. "The John Adams Building." On These Walls: Inscriptions and Quotations in the Buildings of the Library of Congress. 11 Jan. 2006. Library of Congress. 21 Mar. 2009.

Conaway, James. America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000. New Haven, CT: Yale UP in association with the Library of Congress, 2000.

"Fascinating Facts." About the Library. 1 May 2008. Library of Congress. 21 Mar. 2009.

"General Information." About the Library. 1 May 2008. Library of Congress. 21 Mar. 2009.

Gurney, Gene, and Nick Apple. The Library of Congress: A Picture Story of the World's Largest Library. New York: Crown, 1981.

From its humble beginnings in a spare room in the new Capitol building to its current position as the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress has had a wonderful history of growth, destruction, rebuilding and expansion. Thirteen men have served as Librarian since its inception in 1800 and all have brought their own unique talents to the position and left an enduring mark on the institution. Through their triumphs and tribulations the Library of Congress has evolved into the great national library that it is today.

In 1789 the United States Congress met for the first time in Federal Hall, in New York City, before later moving to Philadelphia. While in those cities they had access to, and made use of, the New York Society Library and Philadelphia's Library Company (Conaway 7-8). When the Capitol moved to Washington D.C., however, Congress realized that, as an unfinished city, there would be no established library there for them to use. Therefore, plans began to be put in place to form a library for the use of Congress in the new city. On April 24, 1800, President John Adams signed a bill "for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington", and appropriated $5,000 for purchasing books and other reference materials for the library (Gurney 2). A joint committee made up of three members of the House and three members of the Senate was formed to select and order the materials for the new library (Conaway 2). In December of that year, 152 works in 740 volumes arrived from England (Gurney 2). They remained in storage until January of 1802, when they were arranged in a dedicated room in the brand new Capitol building and President Jefferson appointed the Clerk of the House of Representatives John James Beckley as the first Librarian of Congress (Conaway 13). In early 1802, the head of the Joint Committee on the Library sought advice from the scholarly President Jefferson on what books should be purchased next. Jefferson recommended, and Congress purchased, books on the "law of nature and nations", parliamentary procedure, history, and philosophy, along with two encyclopedias and dictionaries in common foreign languages (Gurney 3). Beckley put together his own recommendations and submitted them, along with a statement of the Library’s remaining funds, to Congress. He also began to request donated works from many American authors (Conaway 15). The Library collection grew slowly in the following years. Beckley passed away in 1807 and Patrick Magruder, another House clerk, was named the second Librarian of Congress (Conaway 19). In 1811, President Madison signed a bill renewing the Library's annual appropriation of $1,000 for the next five years. The Library's first catalog was published in 1812, listing a total of 3,076 volumes, along with 53 maps and charts (Conaway 21). Unfortunately, all was lost in August 1814 when the British attacked and burned the Capitol (Gurney 3).

library