Library of Congress Magazine (LCM) is published bimonthly to tell the Library's stories, to showcase its many talented staff, and to share and promote the use of the resources of the world's largest library.

Current Issue

Jan.-Feb. 2018 issue cover

Vol. 7 No. 1: Jan.-Feb. 2018

We partner with a new museum to bring a newly-found treasure of African-American history to light. Plus, finding your roots, celebrating Frederick Douglass' birthday and hearing the voices of slavery.

(Download PDF 3.8MB)

Issues from 2017

Nov.-Dec. 2017 issue cover

Vol. 6 No. 6: Nov.-Dec. 2017

We honor our veterans and celebrate their achievements on the home front, with selections from our Veterans History Project. Also, coming home in film and song, plus the papers of Alexander Hamilton online.

(Download PDF 4.42MB)

Sep.-Oct. 2017 issue cover

Vol. 6 No. 5: Sep.-Oct. 2017

Hey everyone: comics! We find interesting stories from our exhaustive collection of American comic books and comic art, plus feature webcomics and web culture, 1970s Wonder Woman Lynda Carter and more.

(Download PDF 5.3MB)

July-Aug. 2017 issue cover

Vol. 6 No. 4: July-Aug. 2017

For the summer reading season, we offer an issue filled with short stories, from classics from Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" — and a brand new story from Salman Rushdie.

(Download PDF 2.82MB)

May-June 2017 issue cover

Vol. 6 No. 3: May-June 2017

The visionaries of design represented in the Library's collections reveal where creativity and the day-to-day intersect. Plus, stories on monumental architecture, container design, courtroom illustration and more.

(Download PDF 2.25MB)

Mar.-Apr. 2017 issue cover

Vol. 6 No. 2: Mar.-Apr. 2017

Special World War I Centennial issue, commemorating the U.S. entry into the Great War. Profiles on personalities, an overview of the American involvement in the conflict, art and technology of the war, and more.

(Download PDF 2.46MB)

Jan.-Feb. 2017 issue cover

Vol. 6 No. 1: Jan.-Feb. 2017

All things presidential, from campaigns and women on the ballot to the electoral college and inaugurations. Also, Hamilton and the Federalist Papers, Washington’s first inaugural address and surrogate first ladies.

(Download PDF 1.75MB)

Issues from 2016

Nov.-Dec 2016. issue cover

Vol. 5 No. 6: Nov.-Dec. 2016

From daguerreotypes to digital, the Library's photo collections illustrate history and inspire new works. Also, photos in social media, opera before Instagram, documentary photography and women photographers.

(Download PDF 1.67MB)

Sept.-Oct. 2016 issue cover

Vol. 5 No. 5: Sept.-Oct. 2016

Advances in technology and the way we use maps continue to transform the ancient art and science of cartography. Also: imaginary maps and we welcome our new Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden.

(Download PDF 2.91MB)

July-Aug. 2016 issue cover

Vol. 5 No. 4: July-Aug. 2016

The Library is working to identify important American radio broadcasts for preservation. Also, we look back at Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” broadcast,the 1936 Olympics and more.

(Download PDF 2.4MB)

May-June 2016 issue cover

Vol. 5 No. 3: May-June 2016

We look at the evolving role of public libraries in America and how the Library's collection has been enhanced through private libraries. Plus, Alice in Wonderland, James Madison, Mother's Day and more.

(Download PDF 1.62MB)

Mar.-Apr. 2016 issue cover

Vol. 5 No. 2: Mar.-Apr. 2016

The Library has been a leader in the field of folklife for generations, and the ways of capturing & accessing it have seen much change through the years. Also, we uncover the only known audio recording made by the inventor of basketball.

(Download PDF 2.21MB)

Jan.-Feb. 2016 issue cover

Vol. 5 No. 1: Jan.-Feb. 2016

Not only does the Library acquire and maintain the world's premiere collection of knowledge, it must make it searchable, findable and usable. Also, shared cataloging, law of indigenous peoples, African American History and more.

(Download PDF 2.40MB)

Issues from 2015

Nov.-Dec. 2015 issue cover

Vol. 4 No. 6: Nov.-Dec. 2015

The Library offers a veritable feast of food-related collections, from cookbooks to food-related sheet music, posters and photos. Also, 13 Librarians of Congress, the end of WWII, recipes for pancakes and chocolate-chip cookies and more.

(Download PDF 3.02MB)

Sept.-Oct. 2015 issue cover

Vol. 4 No. 5: Sept.-Oct. 2015

The Library promotes reading and literacy nationally and internationally through a variety of programs and events. Also, baseball collections, a WWII sailor’s map journal, 15 years of the John W. Kluge Center and more.

(Download PDF 2.73MB)

July-Aug. 2015 issue cover

Vol. 4 No. 4: July-Aug. 2015

The Library seeks, finds and collects the creative output of the entire world in every format imaginable. Also, the path a book takes when it comes to the Library, remarkable gifts, the Civil War in 3-D and more.

(Download PDF 2.46MB)

May-June 2015 issue cover

Vol. 4 No. 3: May-June 2015

The many facets of comedy in the Library’s collections range from stage, screen & television to newspapers & comic books. Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Jerry Lewis, George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, the 3 Stooges and more.

(Download PDF 2.98MB)

Mar.-Apr. 2015 issue cover

Vol. 4 No. 2: Mar.-Apr. 2015

The Library has been a repository and patron of poetry throughout its history and is the home of the Poet Laureate. Also: Rosa Parks and the struggle for racial justice, Walt Whitman, Billie Holliday and more.

(Download PDF 2.25MB)

Jan.-Feb. 2015 issue cover

Vol. 4 No. 1: Jan.-Feb. 2015

The Library has some of the most advance material preservation labs and some of the most skilled preservation scientists in the world. Also, folklorist Alan Lomax, Mickey Hart, Downton Abbey and more.

(Download PDF 2.4MB)

Issues from 2014

Nov.-Dec. 2014 issue cover

Vol. 3 No. 6: Nov.-Dec. 2014

The great charter of 1215, Magna Carta, comes to the Library for a limited engagement & brings with it an incredible history. Also, Look Magazine offers a view into the world of 1950s America, and more.

(Download PDF 2.23MB)

Sept.-Oct. 2014 issue cover

Vol. 3 No. 5: Sept.-Oct. 2014

The archetypical American ballet, "Appalachian Spring," was commissioned by and premiered at the Library of Congress. Also, a history of the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and a look at Mark Twain's work on copyright.

(Download PDF 2.02MB)

July-Aug. 2014 issue cover

Vol. 3 No. 4: July-Aug. 2014

The Library's six overseas offices help grow and maintain a diverse international collection. Also, the World Digital Library shares world treasures in six languages and the Law Library contains laws of nations that no longer exist.

(Download PDF 2.59MB)

May-June 2014 issue cover

Vol. 3 No. 3: May-June 2014

For 100 years the staff of the Library's Congressional Research Service has served Congress with important research and information for its lawmaking work. Also, Roy Wilkins and the Civil Rights movement, a centennial of ASCAP and more.

(Download PDF 2.05MB)

Mar.-Apr. 2014 issue cover

Vol. 3 No. 2: Mar.-Apr. 2014

More than 400 years of great American pastimes — from baseball to volleyball, badminton to hunting, football to roller derby — can be found in the nation’s library. Also, preserving pulp fiction, Mexican treasures and historical computing.

(Download PDF 2.17MB)

Jan.-Feb. 2014 issue cover

Vol. 3 No. 1: Jan.-Feb. 2014

The Library preserves first-hand accounts from several key points in history, from the Civil War to the Civil Rights era to today. Also, oddities in the collections, an app for the annotated Constitution and the Library in works of fiction.

(Download PDF 7.22MB)

Issues from 2013

Sept.-Oct. 2013 issue cover

Vol. 2 No. 5: Sept.-Oct. 2013

It's back to school season! We feature resources and features designed to help teachers use the Library's unmatched primary resources to help in their classroom work. Also, 200 years of Wagner and Verdi and social media milestones.

(Download PDF 10.29MB)

July-August 2013 issue cover

Vol. 2 No. 4: July-August 2013

We set the clock back 50 years and examine 1963, a seminal year in American history, with events in the civil rights movement, shifts in popular culture and the assassination of a president. Also: federal buying power and a book by another Obama.

(Download PDF 6.14MB)

May-June 2013 issue cover

Vol. 2 No. 3: May-June 2013

The "Gibson Girl" set the archetype for young women at the start of the last century and was the epitome of illustration style for two decades. Also, the struggles for women's suffrage, celebrating Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine and the high-tech cloning of a Stradivari violin.

(Download PDF 7.12MB)

March-April 2013 issue cover

Vol. 2 No. 2: March-April 2013

The mission of the Library is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties, and here’s exactly how we do it. Also, a profile of Mary Pickford, Hollywood’s first female mogul, rock and roll interviews, March madness, and a word from the Poet Laureate.

(Download PDF 8.16MB)

January-February 2013 issue cover

Vol. 2 No. 1: Jan.-Feb. 2013

A presidential inauguration comes just once every four years, but each has had its special character. This issue focuses on presidents and the national celebrations where they are sworn in. Also: sharing Rachmaninoff’s music, preserving our film heritage and how to register for copyright.

(Download PDF 4.13MB)

Issues from 2012

November-December 2012 issue cover

Vol. 1 No. 2: Nov.-Dec. 2012

A new exhibition highlighting the personal aspects of the Civil War in America is the focus of the cover story of this issue, which also includes a celebration of books that shaped America, the facts behind the Maya calendar and 2012, and the first recipe for pumpkin pie.

(Download PDF 20.9MB)

September-October 2012 issue cover

Vol. 1 No. 1: Sept.-Oct. 2012

The War of 1812 resulted in the burning of the U.S. Capitol and its contents. The Library of Congress arose from those ashes to become the largest library in the history of the world. Our premiere issue discusses our history and the services we offer to Congress and to researchers today.

(Download PDF 14.55MB)

Library of Congress Information Bulletin

The first issue of the Library of Congress Staff Information Bulletin was published on Jan. 23, 1942—nearly two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor that led to America’s entry into World War II. The publication provided the staff with wartime information such as air-raid watches, In July 1943, the publication was renamed the Library of Congress Information Bulletin and its audience was broadened to include the public as well as the staff. Through improvements in technology, the Information Bulletin evolved from a mimeographed sheet to a four-color printed publication produced using digital technology. Issues dating from 1993-2011 are accessible online. Its successor publication, Library of Congress Magazine, debuted in 2012.

Go to Library of Congress Information Bulletin (1993-2011)

Issues of the Library of Congress Information Bulletin from 1972 to 1992 are available via the Hathi Trust Digital Library (external link).