Library of Congress: Institution Main

Founded by President John Adams in 1800, the Library of Congress was created by the same act of Congress which moved the capitol from Philadelphia, PA to Washington, DC.

The original collection was burned in 1814, and was replaced by Thomas Jefferson's private library in 1815. Jefferson's personal organization system for his library was also the basis for the Library of Congress Classification system now used widely in academic libraries.

Today's library includes over 158 million items, including 36 million cataloged books and other printed materials in over 460 languages.

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