Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the official research library of the United States Congress. It is the world's largest library and is informally considered the national library of the United States. Founded in the late eighteenth century, the library's original collection was destroyed in 1814 when British forces invaded Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. Congress began the rebuilding effort in 1815 when it authorized the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's personal collection to serve as the library's new foundation.

The Law Library at the Library of Congress is also the largest law library in the world. It holds seven volumes of Session Papers, which include documents dating between 1777 and 1838. The Law Library authorized the UVA Law Library to digitize six of its seven volumes. Volume 5 was unfit for production. For more information on the Library of Congress's Session Papers holdings, please visit the catalogue record here.