World’s Largest Library, world record set by The Library of Congress

September 20, 2025

Washington D.C., United States--The U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., United States, is home to more than 175 million works humans have produced, from e-books to ancient scrolls, which it aims to preserve for future generations; with print materials in 470 languages and more than 61 million manuscripts, it sets the world record for the World’s Largest Library, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.

Photos: Facebook/The Library of Congress

"Today the U.S. Library of Congress continues the tradition of conserving knowledge with one of the largest library collections ever compiled. It is home to more than 175 million works humans have produced, from e-books to ancient scrolls, which it aims to preserve for future generations," the Scientific American says.

"The library’s role as the research arm of the U.S. Congress and a preserver of primary sources in American history means it has some of the U.S.’s most important documents, including a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln’s first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

"But its scope extends far beyond the country’s borders; items such as 2,000-year-old Mesopotamian clay tablets and 18th-century Iranian prayer scrolls (written on parchment made from gazelle skins) are among its artifacts—along with Atari video games. Approximately half its collection is not in English."

"he world’s largest library, measured by catalogue size (number of items), is the US Library of Congress, which is based in Washington DC and was home to 173,731,463 items as of November 2021," the Guinness World Records says.

"Spread across approximately 838 miles of bookshelves, the collection includes 41 million books and other print materials, 4.1 million recordings, 15 million photographs, 5.6 million maps and 75 million manuscripts.

"The library adds approximately 12,000 items to its collections daily, the majority of which are received through the Copyright registration process."

"Library of Congress, the de facto national library of the United States and the largest library in the world. Its collection was growing at a rate of about two million items per year; it reached more than 170 million items in 2020. The Library of Congress serves members, committees, and staff of the U.S. Congress, other government agencies, libraries throughout the country and the world, and the scholars, researchers, artists, and scientists who use its resources," the Britannica says.

"It is the national center for library service to the blind and physically handicapped, and it offers many concerts, lectures, and exhibitions for the general public. Those outside the Washington, D.C., area have access to the library’s growing electronic resources through the Library of Congress website at http://www.loc.gov.

"Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford (1864–97) was the first to propose that the library be moved to a dedicated building. He also was instrumental in establishing the copyright law of 1870, which placed the Copyright Office in the Library of Congress and required anyone seeking a copyright to provide two copies of the work—books, pamphlets, maps, photographs, music, and prints—to the library."

"The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office," the Library of Congress official website says.

"The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors. Whether you are new to the Library of Congress or an experienced researcher, we have a world-class staff ready to assist you online and in person.

"We encourage you to visit the Library of Congress in person in Washington, D.C., explore the Library online from wherever you are and connect with us on social media."

"The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. is the world's largest library by the number of items in its collection, holding over 175 million items as of 2022. It serves as the national library of the United States and houses a vast collection of books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, audio recordings, and more." (AI Overview)

"A key reason for its immense size is the mandatory deposit requirement, which requires publishers to submit two copies of every copyright-protected material to the Library of Congress. This ensures the Library is constantly growing its collection and has the most comprehensive record of human knowledge and creative works possible."

"The Library of Congress (LC or sometimes LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the de facto national library of the United States. It also administers copyright law through the United States Copyright Office, and it houses the Congressional Research Service.

"Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. It is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill, adjacent to the United States Capitol, along with the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center in Culpeper, Virginia, and additional storage facilities at Fort George G. Meade and Cabin Branch in Hyattsville, Maryland.

"The library's functions are overseen by the librarian of Congress, and its buildings are maintained by the architect of the Capitol. The LC is one of the largest libraries in the world, containing approximately 173 million items and employing over 3,000 staff. Its collections are "universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 470 languages". (Wikipedia)

"The collections of the Library of Congress include more than 32 million catalogued books and other print materials in 470 languages; more than 61 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America, including the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, a Gutenberg Bible (originating from the Saint Blaise Abbey, Black Forest—one of only three perfect vellum copies known to exist); over 1 million U.S. government publications; 1 million issues of world newspapers spanning the past three centuries; 33,000 bound newspaper volumes; 500,000 microfilm reels; U.S. and foreign comic books—over 12,000 titles in all, totaling more than 140,000 issues; 1.9 million moving images (as of 2020); 5.3 million maps; 6 million works of sheet music; 3 million sound recordings; more than 14.7 million prints and photographic images including fine and popular art pieces and architectural drawings;[94] the Betts Stradivarius; and the Cassavetti Stradivarius." (Wikipedia)

"What began in 1800 as Congress’s research library has grown into the largest book collection in the world. The Library's stated mission is “to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people,” the U.S. House of Representatives official website says.

Congress.gov: Making Federal Legislation Available to the Public
The LOC’s Congress.gov service provides highly searchable federal legislative information from bills and resolutions to teacher resources.

Digital Collections
A treasure trove of print, pictorial and audio-visual collections and other digital services ranging from historic newspapers to famous prints and photographs.

Public Events at the Library of Congress
A comprehensive listing of free LOC events, from symposia and tours to concerts and lectures.

Visit the LOC Website: All this and much more are available on the website of the Library of Congress.

"The most ambitious national level project in the United States is the Library of Congress National Digital Library Program under the direction of James Billington. This project’s goal is to digitize over 5 million multimedia items from the extensive Library of Congress collection with particular focus on historical information," the ScienceDirect.com says.

"There are currently 32 historical collections available for keyword searching and browsing (by titles, topics, and library division by collection type—i.e. photos and prints, documents, motion pictures, maps and sound recordings). This project includes: the American Memory project which will become one of the testbeds for the DLI-2 initiative; THOMAS, which provides full text access to bills under consideration in the US House of Representatives and Senate; and Library of Congress exhibitions which are now indefinitely available on the Internet.

"Many other databases and information resources are available on-line through the Library of Congress Internet gateway. Some of these resources include: Library of Congress catalogs (which contain over 110 million items); access to catalogs at over 200 other libraries both within and outside the US (through the Z39.50 Gateway); Library of Congress Thesauri; the Vietnam Era Prisoner of War/Missing in Action and Task Force Russia Databases; Science Tracer Bullets (SCTB) Online (bibliographic guides); GLIN—Global Legal Information Network; and US Copyright Office Records."