Library of congress
Introduction:
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States
The Library of Congress claims to be the largest library in the world.Its "collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages.
Brief history:
The Library of Congress moved to Washington in 1800 after sitting for 11 years in the temporary national capitals in New York City and Philadelphia. The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s. Most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812, and the library sought to restore its collection in 1815. They bought Thomas Jefferson's entire personal collection of 6,487 books.
•After a period of slow growth, another fire struck the Library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection, including many of Jefferson's books. After the American Civil War, the Library of Congress grew rapidly in both size and importance.
The Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; it also maintains the National Audio-Visual Conservation Centre in Culpeper, Virginia.
Present organization of library of Congress
Established April 24, 1800; 218 years ago Location Washington, D.C., U.S. Coordinates 38°53′19″N77°00′17″W Branches: N/A
Collection
1. More than 38 million books and other printed materials,
2. 3.6 million recordings,
3. 14 million photographs,
4. 5.5 million maps,
5. 8.1 million pieces of sheet music and 70 million manuscripts,
6. 5,711 incunabula, and 122,810,430 items in the nonclassified (special) collections: more than 167,000,000 total items
Access and use
Circulation : Library does not publicly circulate Population served : 535 members of the United States Congress, their staff, and
members of the public
Other information
Budget : $598,402,000
Director: Carla Hayden(Librarian of Congress)
Staff: 3,224
Website : Loc.gov
Services and Activities:
Acquisitions
Library of Congress acquires materials for its collections and for other research institutions.
Archival Description
Searching & browsing examples, standards, and help for creating catalog records and finding aids for discovery and use of personal papers, organizational records,and other archival collections
References services:
It staffs are always ready to serve its clientele. Such as- research question or need help using the Library. Clientele can get expert assistance from librarians & research subject specialists.
Cataloging, Classification
The Library's cataloging services include search vocabularies, classification, policy, products, training & cooperative programs.
Cooperative Cataloging Programs
The Library is committed to cooperative cataloging to benefit the world-wide library community. Shared standards & policies enable efficiencies & data sharing on a global scale.
Copyright
The U.S. Copyright Office, a department of the Library, administers the Nation’s copyright laws and offers services and support to authors and users of creative works.
Duplication Services
Providing digital, microfilm & paper copies, as well as custom reproductions for a fee from the Library’s collections.
Interlibrary Loan
Local library can borrow materials from the Library of Congress.
Law Library
Comprehensive research & reference service to Congress & the public on foreign, comparative, international & U.S. law.
Library Card (Reader Registration)
Here's clientele can get your Library-issued Reader Identification Card & begin research here in Washington, D.C.
Library Standards
The Library and associated organizations maintain key technical standards used in the library community.
Linked Data Service
Access and download controlled vocabularies & authorities useful for describing and indexing information resources.
Preservation
Clientele can get information about research, science & collaboration involved in preserving the Library's collections.
Publishing
Resources for publishers, editors & the public interested in Library publications and co-publishing opportunities.
Resource Description & Access
Information on RDA implementation, including cataloging policy, practices, training & more.
Conclusion:
In addition to its library services, the Library of Congress is also actively involved in various standard activities in areas related to bibliographical and search and retrieve standards. Areas of work include MARC standards, Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS), Metadata Object Description Schema (MODS), Z39.50and Search/Retrieve Web Service (SRW), and Search/Retrieve via URL (SRU).