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Archive · Washington D.C. · United States

Library of Congress

In research, Library of Congress stands highest in Social Sciences (#8,284 of 10,521 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Arts and Humanities — Arts and Humanities is 10.4× its share of world research.

loc.govROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#20,553
of 28,054 · #8,368 all time
Rank in United States
#3,028
of 4,192
Research works
2.8k
▼ 34% vs 2013–17
Citations
12k
4.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
11.4%
record average 16.5%
Open access
20%
world 28%

What is Library of Congress known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #8,284 of 10,521 12.0%73 #1288

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 world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

What does Library of Congress specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Arts and Humanities takes 10.4× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Arts and HumanitiesField · 30.4 works10×
← 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: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.33× its world share, 0 worksNeuroscienceComputer Science: 1.29× its world share, 10 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.87× its world share, 1 worksEarth and Planetary …Engineering: 0.11× its world share, 2 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.31× its world share, 2 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.47× its world share, 1 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.30× its world share, 1 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.68× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.69× its world share, 2 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.33× its world share, 6 worksMedicineNursing: 0.90× its world share, 0 worksNursingArts and Humanities: 10.43× its world share, 30 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.56× its world share, 2 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 2.05× its world share, 2 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.11× its world share, 5 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 0.95× its world share, 3 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.47× its world share, 32 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 10.4×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Library of Congress?

Ranked on the composite score, Arthur W. Hummel, Lewis Hanke and Salīm Tamārī lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Library of Congress.

  1. 1 Arthur W. Hummel United States · #48,378 worldwide 116 citations · 38 works
  2. 2 Lewis Hanke United States · #57,034 worldwide 68 citations · 72 works
  3. 3 Salīm Tamārī United States · #109,321 worldwide 42 citations · 42 works
  4. 4 Howard F. Cline United States · #118,619 worldwide 44 citations · 54 works
  5. 5 Robert W. Schaaf United States · #171,706 worldwide 145 citations · 20 works
  6. 6 Harold C. Relyea United States · #233,012 worldwide 45 citations · 46 works
  7. 7 Halford L. Hoskins United States · #240,902 worldwide 36 citations · 33 works
  8. 8 Larry A. Niksch United States · #245,317 worldwide 16 citations · 35 works
  9. 9 Leszek Kołakowski United States · #311,112 worldwide 15 citations · 36 works
  10. 10 James B. Childs United States · #328,287 worldwide 3 citations · 38 works
All ranked researchers at Library of Congress

Which keywords describe research at Library of Congress?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, 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 2022–2025 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. Globalization7▲ 3.6×21 topics
  2. History7▲ 9.7×18 topics
  3. Cultural Heritage6▲ 11×9 topics
  4. Identity6▲ 8.4×20 topics
  5. Nationalism5▲ 10×10 topics
  6. Literature4▲ 7.9×10 topics
  7. Colonialism4▲ 8.1×13 topics
  8. Metadata Standards4▲ 194×2 topics
  9. Conservation4▲ 8.5×3 topics
  10. Archives4▲ 289×1 topic
  11. Digital Preservation4▲ 248×1 topic
  12. Social Justice3▲ 5.7×6 topics
  13. Cultural Exchange3▲ 25×2 topics
  14. Ethnomusicology3▲ 82×2 topics
  15. Gender3▲ 6.0×14 topics
  16. Feminism3▲ 11×6 topics
  17. International Relations3▲ 12×6 topics
  18. Ethics3▲ 6.0×5 topics
  19. Qualitative Research3▲ 3.3×9 topics
  20. Security3▲ 4.4×5 topics
  21. Democracy3▲ 7.8×7 topics
  22. Cultural Identity3▲ 5.1×8 topics
  23. Empire3▲ 32×4 topics
  24. Data Citation3▲ 57×2 topics
  25. Culture2▲ 4.7×7 topics
  26. Language Policy2▲ 18×2 topics
  27. Visual Culture2▲ 44×2 topics
  28. Colonial Spanish America2▲ 188×1 topic
  29. Indigenous History2▲ 188×1 topic
  30. Sea-Level Rise2▲ 20×3 topics
  31. Environmental Monitoring2▲ 5.7×1 topic
  32. Museum Environments2▲ 108×1 topic
  33. Academic Libraries2▲ 100×3 topics
  34. Digital Repositories2▲ 71×2 topics
  35. Soviet Union2▲ 34×3 topics
  36. Ecomusicology2▲ 82×1 topic
  37. Environmental Sustainability2▲ 12×1 topic
  38. Memory2▲ 7.7×7 topics
  39. National Identity2▲ 16×2 topics
  40. Social History2▲ 22×4 topics

Which research topics does Library of Congress publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Digital and Traditional Archives Management, Latin American history and culture, Conservation Techniques and Studies and Diverse Musicological Studies.

Digital and Traditional Archives Management: 4 fractional worksLatin American history and culture: 2 fractional worksConservation Techniques …2Conservation Techniques and Studies: 2 fractional worksDiverse Musicological St…2Diverse Musicological 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 Studies: 1 fractional worksMusicology and Musical Analysis: 1 fractional worksIntelligence, Security, …1Intelligence, Security, War Strategy: 1 fractional works
ConservationVisual Arts and Performing ArtsMusicArcheology4 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 Latin American history and culture Visual Arts and Performing Arts 2 works
  3. 3 Conservation Techniques and Studies Conservation 2 works
  4. 4 Diverse Musicological Studies Music 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: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Library of Congress's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 34% lower than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in Washington D.C.

All research institutions in Washington D.C.

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.