R.S. § 80 derived from act Jan. 26, 1802, ch. 2, 2 Stat. 128; Res. Oct. 21, 1814, No. 3, 3 Stat. 246; act Jan. 30, 1815, ch. 27, 3 Stat. 195; act June 25, 1864, ch. 147, § 1, 13 Stat. 148; Res. July 25, 1866, No. 77, 14 Stat. 365; and act Mar. 2, 1867, ch. 167, § 1, 14 Stat. 464.

1987—Pub. L. 100–202 struck out after first sentence “The law library shall be preserved in the Capitol in the rooms which were on July 4, 1872, appropriated to its use, and in such others as may hereafter be assigned thereto.”

1976—Pub. L. 94–553 substituted “acquisition of material under the copyright law” for “deposit to secure copyright”.

Amendment by Pub. L. 94–553 effective Jan. 1, 1978, see section 102 of Pub. L. 94–553 set out as an Effective Date note preceding section 101 of Title 17, Copyrights.

Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title XIV, § 1401, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3206, provided that: “This title [amending sections 135a, 136a–2, and 166 of this title, sections 701, 802, and 803 of Title 17, Copyrights, and section 2103 of Title 20, Education, repealing section 135a–1 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 802 of Title 17] may be cited as the ‘Library of Congress Technical Corrections Act of 2019’.”

Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title XVI, § 1601, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3209, provided that: “This title [amending sections 185 and 1808 of this title and sections 3902 and 3903 of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents] may be cited as the ‘Legislative Branch Inspectors General Independence Act of 2019’.”

Provisions for the removal of the Library to the Library Building, erected pursuant to act Apr. 15, 1886, ch. 50, 24 Stat. 12, and for the custody, care, and maintenance of that building, were made by act Feb. 19, 1897.

Pub. L. 85–147, Aug. 16, 1957, 71 Stat. 368, as amended by Pub. L. 87–263, Sept. 21, 1961, 75 Stat. 544; Pub. L. 88–299, Apr. 27, 1964, 78 Stat. 183, provided: “That the Librarian of Congress is authorized and directed to arrange, index and microfilm the papers of the Presidents of the United States in the collections of the Library of Congress, in order to preserve their contents against destruction by war or other calamity and for the purpose of making them more readily available for study and research to the fullest possible extent consistent with any existing limitations that may have been imposed on the use of or the access to such papers by their donors or by those placing them on deposit with the Library of Congress. Neither the United States nor any officer or employee of the United States shall be liable for damages for infringement of literary property rights by reason of any activity authorized by this Act.