The Library of Congress

Next stop is the Library of Congress. This is the largest library in the world, and the oldest US central government institution, established in 1800. It includes over 173 million titles including one of a few Gutenberg Bibles.

After the library was first established during the 1812 war it was destroyed by the British. After the war, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his large personal library as a replacement. Congress accepted his offer in January 1815, appropriating 23K to purchase his 6,487 books.Read more