John Y. Cole is the Library of Congress Historian, the top technical expert and adviser on the history of the Library of Congress, documenting institutional history and conducting historical research. Cole was the founding director of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, which was created by law in 1977. Cole has served the Library of Congress since 1966 following two years of service as a U.S. Army second lieutenant and chief of the library branch of the U.S. Army Intelligence School. He has been instrumental in shaping numerous literacy and reading-promotion programs during his 50-year tenure at the Library and is the author of several books about the institution.

Foreword by Carla D. Hayden
Authors Note and Acknowledgments by John Y. Cole

Part One: FOR CONGRESS 1800-1897
• Introduction
o "A Suitable Apartment"—The Library's First Home
o Comes the Flood: The Library and Copyright Deposit
o The Book Palace of the American People

Part Two: FOR THE NATION, 1897-1959
• Introduction
o Daniel Murray—A Collector's Legacy
o Of Cards, Catalogs, and Computers
o Founding—and Lost—Documents

Part Three: FOR THE WORLD, 1960-2016
• Introduction
o An Essential Resource in a Time of Grief
o Knowledge Will Forever Govern Ignorance—The Madison Memorial
o The First Presidential Library
o The Library's Pop Persona

APPENDIX
The Librarians of Congress
Further Reading
Donor
Photo Credits
Index