TheLibrary of Congresswasestablishedon April 24 , 1800 , when PresidentJohn Adamssigned an Act of Congress that approved the annexation of $ 5000 for the leverage of “ such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress ” and for “ gibe up a desirable apartment for containing them . ” ( This same routine also transfer the stern of the federal government fromPhiladelphiatoWashington , D.C. ) .
The first leverage was a accumulation of 740 Book and 30 maps , order from London . Most of the books were about law , give Congress ’s legislative role , and the repose covered a diverseness of matter . They were first stored in theU.S. Capitol , the library ’s first home .
In the two centuries and variety since that first leverage , the library has enlarge quite a turn . Today , the Library of Congress is physically housed in three buildings — the Thomas Jefferson Building , the John Adams Building , and the James Madison Memorial Building — next to the Capitol . Its collection take up about800 miles ’ worthof shelf infinite and consists of more than164 million items . These items let in :
A variant of this story was published in 2009 ; it has been updated for 2024 .
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