Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Library of Congress is a research library in Washington, D.C. that serves as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. It administers copyright law through the United States Copyright Office and houses the Congressional Research Service.
The Library of Congress was established on the 24th of April 1800, when President John Adams signed an act of Congress appropriating $5,000 for books. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.
The Library of Congress holds approximately 173 million items and employs over 3,000 staff. Its collections include more than 32 million catalogued books and print materials in 470 languages, more than 61 million manuscripts, 5.3 million maps, and 3 million sound recordings.
After British forces burned the library in August 1814, destroying more than 3,000 volumes, Thomas Jefferson offered to sell his personal library as a replacement. Congress accepted in January 1815, appropriating $23,950 for his 6,487 books.
Carla D. Hayden was sworn in as the fourteenth librarian of Congress on the 14th of September 2016, the first woman and first African American to hold the post. On the 8th of May 2025, two days after testifying before congressional committees, she was fired by President Trump via email and without explanation.
The Library of Congress is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill: the Thomas Jefferson Building, which opened in 1897, the John Adams Building, which opened in 1939, and the James Madison Memorial Building, which opened in 1980. It also operates the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, and storage facilities in Maryland.