ABOUT THE COMMITTEE

The U.S. Congress is the Library of Congress’s most important client, and the Joint Committee on the Library is a key link between the Congress and its Library. Created in 1800 and established by statute in 1802, the Joint Committee has no legislative jurisdiction, that is, bills are not referred to the committee. However much of the legislative jurisdiction relating to the Library is assigned to the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Regulations, from which the Joint Committee members are drawn. Because of this overlap and because of the substantial influence and strong personalities of many of the committee chairs through the years, the Joint Committee on the Library has been an important force in shaping the Library and its activities.

 Read more about the Committee from The Encyclopedia of the Library of Congress  (176K)