The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world

An act of the United States Congress approved in 1800 continues to have an impact even today, when it’s still paying dividends for lawmakers, librarians, scholars, and the general public. As Congress prepared to move the national government from Philadelphia to Washington in 1800, founding father and then-President of the United States John Adams approved an act allocating $5,000 for books to be used by Congressmen. Thus marked the beginning of what is now known as the Library of Congress, which has since become the largest library in the world as well as the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. In 1802, President Adams’s successor, Thomas Jefferson, made the job of Librarian of Congress a presidential appointment, and it remains so today.

The Library of Congress continually adds to its collection, which currently consists of millions of books in roughly 470 languages.