The Law Library of Congress Web site is an outstanding tribute to this nation's foremost legal library, which comprises more than two million volumes, including a 65,000 volume reference collection. The largest legal library in the world, the Law Library was established in 1832 as a separate branch of the Library of Congress, serving as the library of record and official repository of the Congress of the United States. Both historically and practically valuable, the Law Library site offers information on the library's vast holdings and a wealth of information about the great edifice constructed to house them. The site offers numerous links to electronic records made available by the Library, primarily through the Guide to Online Law and GLIN, the Global Legal Information Network. Also impressive are two presentations on the inscriptions and art gracing the library building, respectively entitled "On These Walls" and "And Sovereign Laws." While serving as a portal to the study of the American law, through such services as the Thomas Register and the Congressional Report, the Law Library Web site links information on the laws and legislative institutions of other lands as well, many presented in both native languages and English translations. A study in itself, the site is a great starting point for the study of law by both students and scholars, offering great historical perspective of the birth and evolution of American legal concepts and practices while maintaining up-to-the-minute information regarding challenges to and revisions of our great judicial heritage.
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