The Library of Congress, located in Washington, DC, is the research library that serves the United States Congress and the national library of the United States. It is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill, and its primary purpose is for research inquiries made by members of Congress. The Library claims to be the largest library in the world. While most of its original collection was destroyed by British troups during the War of 1812, the library sought to restore its collection, including purchasing Thomas Jefferson’s personal collection of 6,487 books. Many of these books were destroyed by a fire in 1851. After the American Civil War, the Library sought to grow by receiving the right of transference of all copyrighted works. It was further reasserted under Librarian Ainsworth Rand Spofford, who was director from 1865 to 1897, building the libraries collections and leading the construction of a new building.