Library of Congress, Washington DC

Library of Congress, Washington DC

Originally founded by the third President of the USA Thomas Jefferson, the Library of Congress has the largest collection of books in the world.

Originally founded by the third President of the USA Thomas Jefferson, the Library of Congress has the largest collection of books in the world. It is housed in 3 buildings on Capitol Hill – Thomas Jefferson Building (which has the Main Reading Room and Great Hall), John Adams Building, and James Madison Memorial Building, along with the Packard Campus in Virginia. Also known as the Jefferson Library, it has over a whopping 38.6 million books and printed materials including incunabula, manuscripts, maps, monographs and serials, music, newspapers, and technical reports. Highlights include a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, a Gutenberg Bible from the Black Forest region, the Betts Stradivarius, the first known book printed in North America – 'The Bay Psalm Book from 1640, cuneiform tablet from 2040 BC, and one of the oldest examples of printing in the world – passages from a Buddhist sutra printed in 770 AD.