Library of Congress

American  

noun

1. one of the major library collections in the world, located in Washington, D.C., and functioning in some ways as the national library of the U.S. although not officially designated as such: established by Congress in 1800 for service to its members, but now also serving government agencies, other libraries, and the public.

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Library of Congress Cultural  

1. The largest library in the United States, located in Washington, D.C., and maintained largely by federal appropriations. Its original purpose was to provide research facilities for members of Congress; today it serves the public as well. Most copyrighted publications are catalogued by the Library of Congress, whose classification system is used by major libraries around the country.

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Example Sentences

Families can also decide whether to make their recordings available via the StoryCorps archive or the Library of Congress, or share them publicly as part of a special Prego Collection, per the company’s official website.

From Salon • Apr. 27, 2026

A century on, and the archivists at the Library of Congress were excited too.

From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026

The Defense Production Act gives the president “a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense,” according to a Library of Congress report published in 2023.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 13, 2026

At a time when competency in government is questioned, the Library of Congress remains a supreme achievement of intellectual institution-building in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

But the Library of Congress sent Dr. Julia Chen, a scholar who spoke Mandarin, to Elizebeth.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield