United States House of Representatives Library

{{Short description|Library of the United States House of Representatives}}

{{Infobox library

| name = United States House of Representatives Library

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| country = United States

| type = Law library

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| established = 1792

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| location = Washington, D.C.

| coordinates = {{coord|38|53|13|N|77|00|25|W|region:US-DC}}

| branch_of = Legislative Resource Center

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| website = https://clerk.house.gov/About#LRCDetails

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The United States House of Representatives Library (the House Library) is the library of the United States House of Representatives. The House Library is a division of the Legislative Resource Center, which is part of Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.{{cite web|title=House Library|url=https://clerk.house.gov/About#LRCDetails|access-date=|website=Office of the Clerk}} The Library is located in the Cannon House Office Building.

The House Library is a legislative, law, and general reference library serving House Members and staff. The House Library has been the official repository of the House of Representatives and the Office of the Clerk since 1792.

==History==

The first acquisition for the House Library occurred in 1792, when Congress directed the Clerk of the House to purchase reference materials "for the use of the House."{{cite book|title=Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States|date=November 27, 1792|page=627|edition=2nd Congress, 2nd Session}} In 1826, the House Library was directed to maintain two copies of all House publications; this mandate was later incorporated into the House Rules and is still in place today.{{cite web|title=Rules of the House of Representatives|url=https://rules.house.gov/rules-and-resources/rules-house-representatives|access-date=|website=House Committee on Rules}}

From its creation until 1922, the Library was located in various rooms throughout the United States Capitol before it was moved to the newly built Cannon House Office Building in 1922.{{cite journal|last1=Lewis|first1=E. Raymond|title=The House Library|journal=Capitol Studies|date=January 1975|volume=3|issue=1|pages=107–128}} In addition to its main office, from 1858 to 1989, the House Library also maintained a reference room adjacent to the House Floor for the use of House Members.

In 1995, the House Library became part of the newly created Legislative Resource Center (LRC), a division of the Office of the Clerk dedicated to making House information available to the public.{{cite web|title=The Legislative Resource Center|url=https://clerk.house.gov/About#LRCDetails|access-date=|website=Office of the Clerk}} The Library opened a new reading room available to congressional Members and staff in 2013.