Scope and Content Note
The Library of Congress Archives are the collected records of the Library of Congress that are administered by the Manuscript Division. Beginning in 1897, with the establishment of a separate department for manuscript materials, letterbooks, borrowing ledgers, and other documentary material from offices throughout the Library have been tranferred to and made available in the Manuscript Division's reading room. The archives also include papers donated by Library of Congress staff members. In a few cases, the Manuscript Division has purchased material for retention in the archives. The archives include eighty-three individual groups or series of records that document the activities, staff, and collections of the Library of Congress. Highlights include correspondence and a borrowing register that date to the Library's founding in 1800, as well as miscellaneous records, correspondence, and ledgers that document the period when the Library was located in the U.S. Capitol. Librarians' outgoing correspondence is contained in 723 volumes of letterbooks, 1843-1954, of which the first twenty-nine volumes (1843-1899) are available on microfilm. Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam instituted more organized record keeping measures beginning in 1899. The Central File series, 1897-1954, includes records that document the major activities and initiatives of the Librarian's office. Records of the Order Division and the Exchange and Gift Division document acquisitions by purchase, donation, and transfer from the 1890s to the mid-20th century. Other key activities are chronicled in the Keeper of Collections series, 1900-1971, and the records of the Exhibits Office from 1940-1984.