What Does Library of Congress Hold Exactly? A Book That Explains It

When, in 1800, Congress purchased the first volumes for the Library of Congress, no one expected its modest acquisition to grow into a treasure-trove of 76 million objects. Less than one quarter of the collection is bound volumes. The Library also has almost every phonograph record made in the United States, the largest collection of motion pictures in America, more maps, globes, and charts, more Civil War photographs, more Stradivari violins than any other institutution in the world. This 1980 edition of Treasures of the Library of Congress showcases some of the highlights from this massive collection.