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Library of Congress

In research, Library of Congress stands highest in Social Sciences (#7,897 of 9,585 worldwide), 2022-now. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Arts and Humanities (Arts and Humanities is 9.3× its share of world research).

loc.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022-now
#17,214
of 22,385 · #4,583 all time
Rank in United States
#2,515
of 3,332
Research works
2.8k
▼ 27% vs 2018-21
Citations
12k
4.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
5.5%
all institutions 10.0%
vs its own fields
0.93×
1.00× is exactly expected
Open access
20%
world 40%
International
4%
world 18%
Library of Congress

What is Library of Congress known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022-now, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #7,897 of 9,585 5.1%73 #2365

Each strip is that field's whole ranked pool, with the notch where Library of Congress sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no average mark, because the average differs by field (from about 6% in Dentistry to 21% in Economics).

Which fields of science does Library of Congress work in?

In 2022-now, 73% of research at Library of Congress is in Social Sciences, 16% in Physical Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (34%), Arts and Humanities (27%), Computer Science (11%). It does 2.8× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Social Sciences: 88 fractional works · 73.2% of its workSocial Sciences: 40 fractional works · 33.8% of its workSociology and Political Science: 12 fractional works · 10.2% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 11 fractional works · 9.4% of its workCultural Studies: 3 fractional works · 2.7% of its workEducation: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workDemography: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workCommunication: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workLibrary and Information Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workSafety Research: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workUrban Studies: 1 fractional works · 1.0% of its workHuman Factors and Ergonomics: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workLaw: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workAnthropology: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Social Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workTransportation: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDevelopment: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workArts and Humanities: 32 fractional works · 27.0% of its workConservation: 6 fractional works · 4.8% of its workMusic: 6 fractional works · 4.8% of its workHistory: 5 fractional works · 4.5% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 5 fractional works · 4.4% of its workVisual Arts and Performing Arts: 3 fractional works · 2.4% of its workArcheology: 2 fractional works · 1.8% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workMuseology: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workClassics: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHistory and Philosophy of Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhilosophy: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 6 fractional works · 5.1% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 5 fractional works · 4.5% of its workFinance: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPsychology: 3 fractional works · 2.6% of its workClinical Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGeneral Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSocial Psychology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 3 fractional works · 2.5% of its workAccounting: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBusiness and International Management: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workManagement Information Systems: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workStrategy and Management: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMarketing: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDecision Sciences: 3 fractional works · 2.2% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workPhysical Sciences: 20 fractional works · 16.5% of its workComputer Science: 13 fractional works · 10.8% of its workInformation Systems: 7 fractional works · 6.1% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 2 fractional works · 1.7% of its workComputer Science Applications: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSoftware: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEngineering: 2 fractional works · 1.6% of its workAerospace Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMechanical Engineering: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEnvironmental Science: 2 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workEarth-Surface Processes: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSpace and Planetary Science: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMathematics: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workGeometry and Topology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workMaterials Science: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSurfaces, Coatings and Films: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 0 fractional works · 0.1% of its workHealth Sciences: 10 fractional works · 8.1% of its workMedicine: 7 fractional works · 5.9% of its workSurgery: 1 fractional works · 0.8% of its workReproductive Medicine: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 1 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workDermatology: 1 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPharmacology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workHematology: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workInfectious Diseases: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 2 fractional works · 1.4% of its workHealth Professions: 2 fractional works · 1.5% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 1 fractional works · 1.1% of its workHealth Information Management: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNursing: 0 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDentistry: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOral Surgery: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workLife Sciences: 3 fractional works · 2.2% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 1 fractional works · 1.2% of its workFood Science: 1 fractional works · 0.7% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNeuroscience: 1 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNeurology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMicrobiology: 0 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0 fractional works · 0.2% of its workALL ITS WORKLibrary ofCongress120fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences2%Physical Sciences16%Health Sciences8%Social Sciences73%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this institution does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 22 fields, with their numbers
    1. Social Sciences4033.8%
    2. Arts and Humanities3227.0%
    3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance65.1%
    4. Psychology32.6%
    5. Business, Management and Accounting32.5%
    6. Decision Sciences32.2%
    1. Computer Science1310.8%
    2. Engineering21.6%
    3. Environmental Science21.3%
    4. Earth and Planetary Sciences11.2%
    5. Physics and Astronomy10.8%
    6. Mathematics10.5%
    7. Materials Science00.2%
    8. Energy00.1%
    1. Medicine75.9%
    2. Health Professions21.5%
    3. Nursing00.4%
    4. Dentistry00.3%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences11.2%
    2. Neuroscience10.5%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology00.3%
    4. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology00.2%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What does Library of Congress specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Arts and Humanities takes 9.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Arts and HumanitiesField · 32.3 works9.3×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.25× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.04× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.28× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.31× its world share, 1 worksNeuroscienceComputer Science: 1.39× its world share, 13 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.73× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.08× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.26× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.06× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.40× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.38× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.57× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.58× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.31× its world share, 7 worksMedicineNursing: 0.76× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 9.34× its world share, 32 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.78× its world share, 3 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.31× its world share, 3 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.40× its world share, 6 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.86× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.67× its world share, 40 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 9.3×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 22 fields, with their numbers
  1. Arts and Humanities9.34×32 works
  2. Social Sciences2.67×40 works
  3. Economics, Econometrics and Finance2.40×6 works
  4. Decision Sciences2.31×3 works
  5. Computer Science1.39×13 works
  6. Psychology0.86×3 works
  7. Business, Management and Accounting0.78×3 works
  8. Nursing0.76×0 works
  9. Earth and Planetary Sciences0.73×1 works
  10. Health Professions0.58×2 works
  11. Dentistry0.57×0 works
  12. Mathematics0.40×1 works
  13. Physics and Astronomy0.38×1 works
  14. Neuroscience0.31×1 works
  15. Medicine0.31×7 works
  16. Immunology and Microbiology0.28×0 works
  17. Environmental Science0.26×2 works
  18. Agricultural and Biological Sciences0.25×1 works
  19. Engineering0.11×2 works
  20. Energy0.08×0 works
  21. Materials Science0.06×0 works
  22. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.04×0 works

Who are the top researchers at Library of Congress?

Ranked on the quality score, Arthur William Hummel, George B. Galloway and Howard F. Cline lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Library of Congress.

  1. 1 Arthur William Hummel United States · #514,230 worldwide 1.9k citations · 125 works
  2. 2 George B. Galloway United States · #619,484 worldwide 438 citations · 99 works
  3. 3 Howard F. Cline United States · #792,234 worldwide 1.3k citations · 179 works
  4. 4 A. O. Sarkissian United States · #819,698 worldwide 929 citations · 59 works
  5. 5 Ernest S. Griffith United States · #927,518 worldwide 253 citations · 63 works
  6. 6 Prosser Gifford United States · #995,016 worldwide 537 citations · 33 works
  7. 7 Samuel Kucherov United States · #1,096,493 worldwide 234 citations · 25 works
  8. 8 Gerard W. Gawalt United States · #1,129,462 worldwide 500 citations · 46 works
  9. 9 Ronald C. Moe United States · #1,131,859 worldwide 1.1k citations · 38 works
  10. 10 Halford Lancaster Hoskins United States · #1,167,834 worldwide 496 citations · 119 works
All ranked researchers at Library of Congress

What are the most cited papers from Library of Congress?

The most cited paper from Library of Congress is "LSST: From Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products" (Željko Ivezić et al., 2019), with 3,523 citations. Next come "Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative" (1,028) and "A threshold distribution hypothesis for packet storage of insulin and its mathematical modeling" (401).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 LSST: From Science Drivers to Reference Design and Anticipated Data Products Željko Ivezić et al. · The Astrophysical Journal Open access327 authors 10 Mar 2019 3,523
2 Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative Susan L. Cutter, Joseph A. Ahearn, Bernard Amadei et al. · Environment Science and Policy for Sustainable Development Mar 2013 1,028
3 A threshold distribution hypothesis for packet storage of insulin and its mathematical modeling Gerold M. Grodsky · Journal of Clinical Investigation Open access Aug 1972 401
4 Conversion of blood androgens to estrogens in normal adult men and women Christopher Longcope, Tatsuo Kato, Richard Horton · Journal of Clinical Investigation Open access Dec 1969 374
5 Behind the Curve: Globalization and International Terrorism Audrey Kurth Cronin · International Security 2003 354
All 60 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Which keywords describe research at Library of Congress?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: History, Identity, Cultural Heritage, Globalization, Nationalism, Literature, Colonialism and Metadata Standards.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Globalization8▲ 3.6×24 topics
  2. History8▲ 9.1×18 topics
  3. Identity7▲ 8.2×21 topics
  4. Cultural Heritage6▲ 9.5×9 topics
  5. Nationalism5▲ 10×10 topics
  6. Literature5▲ 7.1×10 topics
  7. Colonialism4▲ 7.4×13 topics
  8. Human Rights4▲ 3.3×13 topics
  9. Ethics4▲ 6.5×6 topics
  10. Gender4▲ 6.1×14 topics
  11. Social Justice4▲ 5.5×6 topics
  12. Ethnomusicology4▲ 79×2 topics
  13. Metadata Standards4▲ 159×2 topics
  14. Conservation4▲ 7.2×3 topics
  15. Archives4▲ 226×1 topic
  16. Digital Preservation4▲ 198×1 topic
  17. Data Citation4▲ 58×2 topics
  18. Democracy4▲ 8.3×9 topics
  19. Feminism4▲ 9.9×7 topics
  20. Cultural Exchange3▲ 22×2 topics
  21. Cultural Identity3▲ 5.4×9 topics
  22. Empire3▲ 29×4 topics
  23. International Relations3▲ 10×6 topics
  24. Culture3▲ 4.6×7 topics
  25. Memory3▲ 9.9×8 topics
  26. Security3▲ 3.6×5 topics
  27. Language Policy2▲ 15×2 topics
  28. Digital Repositories2▲ 58×2 topics
  29. Ecomusicology2▲ 86×1 topic
  30. Environmental Sustainability2▲ 13×1 topic
  31. Visual Culture2▲ 37×2 topics
  32. Colonial Spanish America2▲ 162×1 topic
  33. Indigenous History2▲ 162×1 topic
  34. Sea-Level Rise2▲ 16×3 topics
  35. Academic Libraries2▲ 85×3 topics
  36. Museum Environments2▲ 95×1 topic
  37. Social History2▲ 23×4 topics
  38. Sovereignty2▲ 20×4 topics
  39. Eastern Europe2▲ 33×3 topics
  40. European Union2▲ 7.9×4 topics

Which research topics does Library of Congress publish most on?

By volume in 2022-now: Digital and Traditional Archives Management, Diverse Musicological Studies, Latin American history and culture and Conservation Techniques and Studies.

Digital and Traditional Archives Management: 4 fractional worksDiverse Musicological Studies: 2 fractional worksLatin American history a…2Latin American history and culture: 2 fractional worksConservation Techniques …2Conservation Techniques and Studies: 2 fractional worksCultural Heritage Materials Analysis: 2 fractional worksScottish History and National Identity: 2 fractional worksLibrary Science and Info…1Library Science and Information Systems: 1 fractional worksCinema and Media Studies1Cinema and Media Studies: 1 fractional worksMusicology and Musical A…1Musicology and Musical Analysis: 1 fractional worksIntelligence, Security, …1Intelligence, Security, War Strategy: 1 fractional works
ConservationMusicVisual Arts and Performing ArtsArcheology4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 Digital and Traditional Archives Management Conservation 4 works
  2. 2 Diverse Musicological Studies Music 2 works
  3. 3 Latin American history and culture Visual Arts and Performing Arts 2 works
  4. 4 Conservation Techniques and Studies Conservation 2 works
  5. 5 Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis Archeology 2 works
  6. 6 Scottish History and National Identity History 2 works
  7. 7 Library Science and Information Systems Information Systems 1 works
  8. 8 Cinema and Media Studies Economics and Econometrics 1 works
  9. 9 Musicology and Musical Analysis Music 1 works
  10. 10 Intelligence, Security, War Strategy Political Science and International Relations 1 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world's own shares: the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available20.4%not open79.6%

World: 40% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors3.8%domestic only96.2%

World: 18% is written across borders.

How has Library of Congress's research output changed?

Output in 2022-2025 was 27% lower than in 2018-2021.

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Library of Congress as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.00055% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%Library of Congress0.00035% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Library of Congress over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%all institutions10.0% in 2025Library of Congress3.1% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 17.7% in 2004.

Other research institutions in Washington D.C.

All research institutions in Washington D.C.

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Library of Congress on Science Explorer

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