On April 24, 1800 Congress approved an act providing “for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress…and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.”
The Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov) is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. Comprised of three buildings: The Thomas Jefferson Building, the James Madison Building and the John Adams Building, it is the largest library in the world containing millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collection.
Read it or Weep 