Library of Congress

URL

Specialty

Science policy, environmental history, aeronautics, psychoanalysis, and more.

Collections

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Its collections consist of more than 171 million items, including more than 40 million cataloged books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 74 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.
 
Of particular interest to historians of science, technology, and medicine are the holdings of the Manuscript Division, whose nearly 12,000 separate collections include some of the greatest manuscript treasures of American history and culture. Notable collections include 23 groups of presidential papers ranging from Washington to Coolidge, the papers of a substantial number of government officials, records of organizations like the NAACP and National Urban League, and papers of thousands of individuals which support research in many aspects of political, cultural, and scientific history. Also of note is the Library’s Science, Technology & Business Division, which provides reference and bibliographic services and develops general collections in all areas of science, technology, business, and economics with the exception of clinical medicine and technical agriculture.
 
Other links

Collections URL

Holding Highlights

The Manuscript Division maintains more than 700 science and technology collections, including those within its core collecting areas of science policy, environmental history, aeronautics, and psychoanalysis and many others deemed to be of general national significance. Some of those represented include:

…and many more

Information for Researchers

Fellowship URL

Link to Calendar of Events