The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world
Has more than 167 million items
Approx. 838 miles of bookshelves
It was founded in 1800, making it the oldest federal cultural institution in the nation
There are more public libraries than Starbucks in the U.S.
About 16,568 including branches
Academic libraries (like ours!) benefit everyone on campus, yet receive fewer than two cents of every dollar spent on higher education
Academic librarians provide information services for almost 38 million people each year
On August 24, 1814, British troops burned the Capitol building (where the Library was housed) and destroyed the Library's core collection of 3,000 volumes.
On January 30, 1815, Congress approved the purchase of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library of 6,487 books for $23,950.
Approximately half of the Library’s book and serial collections are in languages other than English.
The collections contain materials in some 470 languages.
The smallest book in the Library of Congress is “Old King Cole.” It is 1/25” x 1/25”, or about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.
The largest book in the Library of Congress is a 5-by-7 foot book featuring color images of Bhutan.
The oldest written material in the Library of Congress is a cuneiform tablet dating from 2040 B.C.
Around 1.3 billion people visit public libraries every year
More than 1.24 billion movie theater admissions in 2017
There are about 126,800 librarians in the US
New York has the most, with 12,360 librarians
At the CIA, you can earn up to six figures working in their library
The Library of Congress has been preserving recordings in the National Recording Registry since 2002
The latest additions included hip-hop group Run-DMC’s 1986 album “Raising Hell,” Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album “Rumours” and the soundtrack to “The Sound of Music.”
Employment of librarians is expected to grow 9% by 2026
Former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, author Lewis Carroll, former first lady Laura Bush, and China’s Mao Zedong all worked as librarians or in libraries.
78% of American adults feel that public libraries help them find reliable sources.
At the end of the 19th century, library work was considered to be too overwhelming for women
In 1900, the Brooklyn Public Library Association proposed building “a seaside rest home for those who had broken down in library service.”
What Our Librarians Think About Libraries:
What's your favorite part about working in a library?
My Favorite part about working in a library is the unique creativity and teamwork. I love that I am able to use by background skills in new and interesting ways and I enjoy how the work is collaborative while still allowing individual voices to shine.
If you weren't a librarian what job would you have?
Either in Museum/Conservation or Linguistics
What's something that surprises you about the library or its services?
The amount of resources we have that the patrons don't know about
If you were a book in the library, what one would you be?
The Bald eagle: the improbable journey of America's bird / by Jack E. Davis.
What's something most people don't know about the library?
We do more work than people know, we don't just get to read books!!
How expensive databases and library materials are today.
What all we actually have access to for your use. Thousands of books, both physical and online, skilled librarians whose primary job is to help people find that information and local/national/international communities of scholars and librarians who are dedicated to the art of learning and accessing information. Libraries are like Google on steroids, mainly since all of us are trained in bias recognition (making your job easier) and we cannot be bought, unlike Google results.
If you could change one thing in the library, what would it be?
The only thing I would ever change is the amount of people who use the library. I just want people to use and support libraries whether that be the NICC campus libraries or your local libraries.
Cozy comfy seating with a fireplace to sit in front of to relax and read
If you could add one thing (book, object, movie, etc.) to the library collection, what would it be?
Books by Lynn Hunt
The Backyard Birding Bible: How to Attract, Record, Identify and Photograph Birds in Your Garden | Including DIY Bird Houses, Feeders, and Baths by Rowan T. Wiedemann
The After Series books and Movies
Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft by Robin Briggs
Would you have a library cat or an office dog?
66.7% cat
33.3% dog
What is the most important thing in order to have a happy workplace?