Whereas: Stories from the People’s House

Edition for Educators—Libraries

America’s earliest legislators were voracious readers. Most boasted classical educations and many received some degree of legal training. In early Congresses, when the House met first in New York City and then Philadelphia, Representatives could whet their bibliophilic appetites at two impressive libraries: the New York Society Library and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Congress quickly evinced interest in creating its own libraries. Within the first few years of its existence, the House of Representatives accumulated the legal texts of the various states and supplemented them with its own publications. The House and Senate, respectively, founded their own libraries during the 2nd Congress (1791–1793). Under the auspices of the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate, these legislative libraries are the repositories for the published congressional resources by their respective chambers. Since 1826, House Rules have required two copies of each House publication to be deposited within the House Library. These libraries directly provide service to the House and Senate, maintaining an on-site collection of publications within the congressional office buildings and providing research and reference assistance to Members and staff.

In 1790, Congress produced a compromise setting the permanent national capital in the District of Columbia. Ten years later, a supplemental law triggering the relocation of government offices to the District included an authorization of funds to purchase books explicitly for congressional use and proposed a “a suitable apartment for containing them and for placing them therein.” These books formed the foundation of a new national library, distinct from the House and Senate Libraries, and intended to rival the great libraries of Europe. Thus, the origins of the Library of Congress date to 1800, when Congress moved to Washington, DC.

For nearly 100 years, the Library of Congress was housed within the Capitol itself and largely served as a legal reference library, with borrowing permissions extended to the President and Vice President. Other government agencies and the Supreme Court (located in the Capitol until 1935) were soon granted borrowing permissions as well, and eventually the Library opened to the public at large. The Library of Congress remained under the auspices of the legislative branch, overseen by the Joint Committee on the Library, which approved purchases and authorized funding for the Library’s administration. In 1914, progressive reformers followed the example of state legislatures and created the Legislative Reference Service; this nonpartisan agency provided objective reference assistance as requested by Members of Congress for legislative purposes. In 1970, the agency was renamed the Congressional Research Service, and its responsibilities were significantly expanded. The service’s published reports were made publicly available in 2018.

Though the Library of Congress began primarily as a legislative branch resource, it gained national scope and importance over time. The Copyright Act of 1870 centralized U.S. copyright registration and deposits at the Library. The law required authors, artists, or publishers to donate copies of each work to the Library of Congress within 10 days of publication, rapidly expanding its holdings without incurring steep administrative costs. Greater responsibilities required a larger space. A grand new building in the Beaux Arts style opened its doors to the public in 1897 (and was named for Thomas Jefferson in 1980). As research and preservation divisions were added, including the Library’s Manuscript Division which holds 70 million items across 12,000 collections, new construction continued. An additional building (later named the John Adams Building) was completed in 1939 as one of the many public works projects in Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal.

In the post-World War II era, Congress increased the Library’s budget, affording a line of Librarians the opportunity to focus more resources on educational outreach and fund new library programs with national reach. In the 1980s, the Library of Congress opened its third building, the James Madison Memorial Building, and secured funds to renovate and restore its original two buildings. The digital age brought new challenges as the Library sought to diligently migrate documents from analog to digital formats to improve public access to important government publications. In 1995, the Library launched THOMAS.gov (also named for Jefferson) to consolidate congressional information on a single website, which included bill text beginning with the 103rd Congress (1993–1995), directory information, schedules, and House Rules. Also in 1995, the National Digital Library Program launched the American Memory project to digitize congressional documents from the early republic, most notably the early House and Senate Journals and the predecessors to the Congressional Record. THOMAS.gov received an upgrade in the form of Congress.gov in 2013, which offered a cleaner interface for users and broadened the legislative information available. Digitization efforts continue today, with more documents being added to these services each year.

Of course, for the voracious readers out there, the Library of Congress continues to act as a free national public library to anyone who applies for their Reader Identification Card. The Library of Congress strives to foster a healthy library system across the nation with programs promoting reading and local libraries, while congressional legislation has provided direct funding and support for programs that expand the availability of public libraries across the United States. This Edition for Educators explores the connections between the House of Representatives, congressional libraries, and the library system at large.

Featured Highlights

The Creation of the House Library
On May 8, 1792, the House of Representatives empowered the Clerk of the House to purchase and store “the statutes of the several States,” a collection that would eventually grow into the formal House Library, a separate and more specialized institution than the broader Library of Congress. In the few years prior to the House Library’s establishment, Congress relied on the city libraries of the early federal capitals in Philadelphia and New York for support in its legislative duties. This system soon proved inefficient for the growing Congress and on the final day of the first session of the 2nd Congress (1791–1793), the House agreed to effectively create a centralized reference service of its own.

The Appointment of William H. Smith as House Librarian
On December 9, 1881, William Henry Smith—a prominent African-American Washingtonian—was appointed Librarian of the House. Smith was a District of Columbia native, born in August 1833, and he lived in the city his entire life. House records show him on Clerk of the House Edward McPherson’s payroll as a library messenger as early as 1864, at the time that Whitelaw Reid (future editor of the New York Tribune and U.S. vice presidential candidate) served as House Librarian.

Thomas Jefferson’s Library
On October 10, 1814, a joint resolution to purchase Thomas Jefferson’s library for the new Library of Congress was introduced in the House of Representatives. The British burning of the Capitol six weeks earlier destroyed the entire congressional book collection and many office documents. Former President and Continental Congress Delegate Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his collection for use by the House and Senate. After more than three months of deliberating, Congress purchased 6,487 volumes for $23,950.

An 1825 Library of Congress Fire
On December 22, 1825, the Library of Congress, then located in a room on the west side of the Capitol, caught on fire. Capitol Police Officers saw the glow increase in intensity and summoned the Librarian of Congress, George Watterson, to the Capitol. Watterson and the police discovered a fire on the upper level of the library.

Featured Oral History

Featured People

John Beckley of Virginia
The first Librarian of Congress, John James Beckley also served as Clerk of the House of Representatives. Fellow Virginian John Randolph’s committee produced a bill establishing the role of the Librarian of Congress as a presidential appointment. Beckley determined that as House Clerk, he was best suited to fill the role of Librarian and cited his experience handling documents as clerk of the Virginia state senate. President Thomas Jefferson appointed his friend Beckley to the post once the bill passed in January 1802. Beckley tended to administrative duties and left major decisions to the Joint Committee on the Library, though he often sought Jefferson’s advice on new purchases. Beckley continued to serve as both Clerk and Librarian until his death on April 8, 1807.

Patrick Magruder of Maryland
Beckley’s successor Patrick Magruder likewise filled both positions simultaneously; unlike Beckley, Magruder had also served a single term in Congress. After failing to win re-election in 1806, he campaigned for the post of Clerk when Beckley died only a month into the new session. Like Beckley, Magruder treated the post of Librarian as a stewardship and devoted most of his time and effort to the duties of the Clerk. His fortunes turned following the British sacking of the Capitol in 1814. Away recovering from a recurring illness, Magruder’s staff failed to protect several important House documents which were lost in the fire. Accused of negligence, Magruder requested a Congressional investigation to clear his name. Instead, the investigation turned up multiple discrepancies in House accounts, and Magruder resigned as both Clerk and Librarian in 1815. Magruder was the last Clerk of the House to also serve as Librarian.

Major Robert Odell Owens
Trained as a librarian, civil rights activist Major Owens was a community reformer who went on to serve in the New York state senate and then won the seat of legendary Brooklyn Representative Shirley Chisholm when she retired from the U.S. House. Owens became a significant advocate for education during his 12 terms in the House. “Education is the kingpin issue,” he explained. “Proper nurturing of and attention to the educational process will achieve a positive domino reaction which will benefit employment and economic development.… The greater the education, the lesser the victimization by drugs, alcoholism, and swindles.… We have to believe that all power and progress really begins with education.”

Featured Objects from the House Collection

Featured Blogs

“Out to Offer the Services of the Library”
The Library Services Act created a five-year program that provided federal grants to the states and territories to improve library services in areas with fewer than 10,000 residents. The act set aside tens of millions of dollars to enable library systems to expand their collections, hire professional staff, and create informational newsletters and radio programs. Many jurisdictions used their funding to purchase and operate bookmobiles, helping reach rural communities that had limited or no library access. The Library Service Act was Congress’s first major library funding bill, and it fundamentally transformed the relationship between the federal government and one of America’s oldest institutions: the public library.

Notes from Underground, Part I: The Book Tunnel
For more than a century, a tunnel ran between the Capitol and the Library of Congress to what is now known as the Thomas Jefferson Building. Using iron rails, electricity, and an endless cable, the underground shaft automatically shuttled books to Members of Congress. “There is nothing like it in this country or, so far as known, in any other,” the Washington Post told readers in 1895.

This is part of a series of blog posts for educators highlighting the resources available on History, Art & Archives of the U.S. House of Representatives. For lesson plans, fact sheets, glossaries, and other materials for the classroom, see the website's Education section.

Follow @USHouseHistory