Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Founded 212 years ago today - The Library of Congress

On April 24,this day, in 1800 the United States Library of Congress was established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 USD to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress". The Library of Congress, founded in 1800 and housed in a three-building complex across from the nation's capitol in Washington, D.C., is a storehouse for knowledge and an active center for research and creativity of all kinds--the world's largest and most open library. With collections numbering close to 100 million items, it includes materials in 460 languages; the basic manuscript collections of 23 Presidents of the United States, and the papers of thousands of other figures who have shaped history; maps and atlases that have aided explorers and navigators in charting both the world and outer space; the earliest motion pictures and examples of recorded sound, as well as the latest data bases and software packages.

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