The British Library is the largest public library in Britain. It consists of the Reference Division, the Bibliographic Service Division, the National Sound Archive and the Research and Development Department in London, and the Lending Division in Yorkshire.
The Reference Division has its origins in the library departments of the British Museum founded in 1753. It is housed within the same 19th century building of the British Museum, with more than 9 million books stored along two miles of shelving, and includes a Gutenburg Bible, the Magna Carta, medieval illuminated manuscripts and original texts by Shakespeare, Dickens, da Vinci and many others. The Reading Room of the British Library is a centre of serious study in all fields. It is used by university professors and lecturers, and by those who are engaged in research in their spare time.
The richness of the collections in different subjects makes the Library specially useful for journalists and writers.
The Library of Congress today is among the world’s largest. It was established as a reference library in 1800, and occupied one room in the building of the United States Capital Washington. These structures hold more than 80 million items in collection of books, newspapers, periodicals, manuscripts, films, maps, and work of drama, music, and art. The Library’s archives keep a great number of important and exciting documents from American history.
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