Digital Resources

Research guides, digital collections, and subscription databases provide additional strategies and resources for broadening research on topics related to the Bible Collection.

Library of Congress Research Guides

Introduction to the Gutenberg Bible LibGuide

The Gutenberg Bible at the Library of Congress
Printed in Mainz, Germany in 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg and Johannes Fust, the Gutenberg Bible is the first large-format typographic bible produced in Europe.

Introduction Page for Giant Bible of Mainz Guide

The Giant Bible of Mainz : A Resource Guide
Created between April 4, 1452 and July 9, 1453, the Giant Bible of Mainz is one of the world's most important illuminated manuscripts.

Early American Sacred Music at the Library of Congress
Sacred music has been a vibrant part of American culture from the earliest sacred oral traditions of indigenous peoples through the written traditions of the first European colonists.

Introduction page for Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives

Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia
This guide is a directory of large or unique religion collections in Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia libraries and archives.

Image of Introduction to Church and Synagogue Records for Genealogy LibGuide

Church and Synagogue Records for Genealogy
Baptisms, marriages, and burials are recorded in religious records and can be used to verify or substitute for missing genealogical data.

Image of Introduction to the Old Church Slavonic and Church Slavic LibGuide

Old Church Slavic and Church Slavic: Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of Congress
This research guide is a starting point for research on Church Slavic and Old Church Slavic sources found at the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Digital Selections

The following items have been digitized in order to increase access while preserving the artifact for future generations. For reasons of preservation, security, and staffing logistics, these items are not available for research consultation in the Reading Room without advance arrangements. Questions about these items should be directed to the reference staff through the Ask-A-Librarian service.

Gutenberg Bible
Crafted in Mainz, Germany in 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg and his partner, Johannes Fust, the Gutenberg Bible enjoyed a print run of perhaps as many as 180 copies, one of which is in display in the Great Hall of the Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress.
Giant Bible of Mainz
One of the great illuminated manuscripts, the Giant Bible of Mainz represents an amazing moment of transition within the history of the book. A magnificent Middle-Rhenish manuscript copied between April 1452 and July 1453, the Giant Bible was written at the same time as Johann Gutenberg was printing his famous 42-line Bible using moveable metal type.
Bay Psalm Book
Printed 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Bay Psalm Book required importing the tools and materials of printing to the new colony. The first full venture of printing in British North America, this ambitious effort is an important monument of the establishment of a nation and its culture. It is estimated that 1,700 copies of the book were printed, and only 12 copies are known to have survived.
The Lincoln Inaugural Bible
The 1,280-page “Lincoln Bible” is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim around the three outside edges of both covers. First used for President Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, 1861.
The Lincoln Family Bible in the Manuscript Division
Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 3. General Correspondence. 1837-1897: Lincoln Family Bible, 1847 (Cover, title page, newspaper clippings and pages of Family Record).

Please note that the famous Jefferson BibleExternal is not housed at the Library of Congress but at the Smithsonian Institution. The Rare Book and Special Collections Division does keep a facsimile of the Jefferson Bible in the Reading Room for patrons who would like to learn more about this work.

Library of Congress Blog Posts, Story Maps, Exhibits

From Jikji to Gutenberg: Guardians of Memory, Preserving the National Collections.
This post is co-written by Jacob Nadal and Dan Paterson. Jacob Nadal is Director for Preservation, and his work focuses on creating a sustainable plan for keeping the Library’s collections available. Dan Paterson is a senior book conservator in the Preservation Directorate. He works on materials from the Asian Division and the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, providing conservation treatment primarily for early printed books and manuscripts. He has been a member of the Jikji to Gutenberg team since 2021.
Religious Practice in America and Around the World: A Conversation With Mark Noll
Members of the Library of Congress Scholars Council are appointed by the Librarian of Congress to advise on matters related to scholarship at the Library, with special attention to the Kluge Center and the Kluge Prize. The Council includes distinguished scholars, writers, researchers, and scientists. “Insights” is featuring some of the work of this highly-accomplished group of thinkers. Dan Turello continues the series interviewing Mark Noll. Mark A. Noll specializes in the history of Christianity in the United States. He holds the position of Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. In 2005, he was named by Time Magazine as one of the twenty-five most influential evangelicals in America. Noll is a prolific author and many of his books have earned considerable acclaim within the academic community. In particular, “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind,” a book about anti-intellectual tendencies within the American evangelical movement, was widely covered in both religious and secular publications. He was awarded a National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush in 2006. In the interview below, Noll talks about the evangelical tradition, his time at as a scholar at the Library of Congress, and his new interest in world Christianity.
The Giant Bible of Mainz at the Library of Congress
This Story Map provides a visual journey through the Giant Bible of Mainz, a lavish yet unfinished Middle-Rhenish manuscript written at the same time as Johannes Gutenberg was printing his famous bible.
Illuminating the Word: The St. John's Bible
This exhibition is devoted to a single work of art, an illuminated, handwritten Bible commissioned by Saint John's University and Abbey in Minnesota. This contemporary Bible is at once old and new: a masterpiece of the ancient crafts of calligraphy and illumination that could only be made by artists of today. The Saint John's Bible is being created by professional scribes in a scriptorium in Wales, under the direction of Donald Jackson, one of the world's foremost calligraphers. Begun at the start of the new millennium, this unique undertaking combines a centuries-old tradition of craftsmanship with the latest capabilities of computer technology and electronic communication. It is a collaborative effort, involving many persons in both Wales and the United States. In the Middle Ages, monumental Bibles were made for daily use in monastic communities, yet they were carefully preserved for future generations. The Saint John's Bible is the modern representative of that great tradition. The pages of the Bibles shown in this exhibition represent a work in progress. The completion date for the St. John's Bible is 2008.
“Bible of the Revolution”: the Aitken Bible in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division
The publication of the Aitken Bible, the first complete Bible published in an independent America, was a landmark moment in the book history of the United States. This blog post provides information about former owners of the copy that is now housed in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress. Written by Monica Varner, Collections Manager, Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

Subscription Databases

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Early American Imprints, Series I Evans 1639-1800 External This link opens in a new window
Full-text of more than 36,000 printed works covering American history and literature through the colonial period up to the eighteenth century. Contains a wide range of genres, including advertisements, ballads, broadsides, cookbooks, grammars, maps, memoirs, novels, prayer books, prospectuses, sermons, songs, textbooks, trade catalogues, and travel literature. The database is a digitization of the microform set Early American Imprints, Series I (1639-1800), which was itself based on the American Bibliography of Charles Evans (14 volumes). Continued by Early American Imprints Series II Shaw-Shoemaker 1801-1819. Two additional imprint collections are now available: the Supplement from the Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP) and the Supplement from the American Antiquarian Society (AAS).
Users can select which imprint collection to search by clicking "Searching" in the top right corner of the screen and selecting the desired collection(s) from the drop down-menu.
Early American Imprints, Series II Shaw-Shoemaker 1801-1819 External This link opens in a new window
Based on the renowned bibliography by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker, this digital collection contains virtually every book, pamphlet and broadside published in America during the first two decades of the 19th century. Providing complete digital editions of more than 37,000 printed works, Early American Imprints Series II covers subjects ranging from history, literature and culture to politics, government and society. Among the genres included are advertisements, allegories, almanacs, autobiographies, ballads, campaign literature, diaries, elegies, eulogies, hymns, imaginary voyages, jestbooks, novels, plays, poems, prayer books, primers, sermons, songs, textbooks, travel literature and many others. Accessible collections include:
- Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819
- Shaw-Shoemaker: Supplement from Library Company of Philadelphia
- Shaw-Shoemaker: Supplement 1 from American Antiquarian Society
- Shaw-Shoemaker: Supplement 2 from American Antiquarian Society
- Shaw-Shoemaker: Supplement 3 from American Antiquarian Society
Users can select which imprint collection to search by clicking "Searching" in the top right corner of the screen and selecting the desired collection(s) from the drop down-menu.
HathiTrust External This link opens in a new window

HathiTrust is a digital repository for the nation's great research libraries that brings together the immense collections of its partner institutions. Initially conceived as a collaboration between the thirteen universities of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the University of California system, and the University of Virginia in order to establish a repository for those universities to archive and share their digitized collections, HathiTrust quickly expanded to include additional partners with a fast growing treasure of digitized collections.
Additional content and features are available to researchers and staff with patron accounts. Log In by clicking on the button in the upper right of the Hathi Trust website and following the instructions. Additional information is available here: HathiTrust Authentication Help
Internet Archive External This link opens in a new window

The Internet Archive (IA) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to provide “universal access to knowledge.” IA provides free access to collections of digitized materials, including millions of books; archived websites; software applications and games; music; movies and videos; and moving images. Projects include OpenLibrary, a catalog with more than 20 million online edition records and access to 1.7 million scanned versions of books; and the Wayback Machine, a digital archive of the World Wide Web. A collection of more than 166,000 digitized items from the Library of Congress is also available.
Early English Books I (Pollard and Redgrave, STC I), 1475-1640 External This link opens in a new window
From the first book published in English through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare, Early English Books I, 1473-1640, contains nearly all of the 26,500 titles listed in A.W. Pollard and G.R. Redgrave's Short-Title Catalogue and its revised edition. The collection comprehensively documents the English Renaissance, an era that witnessed the rebirth of classical humanism, the broadening of the known world, and the rapid spread of printing and education. Textual scholars are able to compare variations in the early quarto editions of Shakespeare's plays with the renowned First Folio edition of 1623, and the great Renaissance authors can be studied in light of lesser-known literature from the era. The original, printed version of royal statutes and proclamations, military, religious, legal, Parliamentary, and other public documents are reproduced in the collection. As are almanacs and calendars, broadsides and romances, plus popular pamphlets such as The Trail of Witchcraft, showing the true and righte method of discovery (1616).
The following EEBO collections are also available: Early English Books II (1641-1700), Thomason Tracts (1640-1661), and Early English Books Tract Supplement. The EEBO search interface will cross search all four collections. To limit search only to Early English Books I, click on Advanced Search and then select the desired collection from the drop down menu under UMI Collection.
Book History Online External This link opens in a new window
The "BHO" is an international bibliography in the field of book and library history. It provides a comprehensive survey of all scholarly publications written from a historical perspective. Included are monographs, articles and reviews dealing with the history of the printed book, its arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, its economic, social and cultural environment, as well as its production, distribution, preservation and description. BHO is published in partnership with the University of St Andrews and the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing (SHARP).
Biblical Archaeology Society Online Archive External This link opens in a new window
Contains the content of selected journals and books published by the Biblical Archaeology Society. It includes each issue of the magazines Biblical Archaeology Review, Bible Review, and Archaeology Odyssey, and the content of five books. The site allows users to browse the entire corpus of material and perform Boolean searches by title, author, subject, word, issue, or date range in any combination.
Oxford Reference Online Premium External This link opens in a new window
Oxford Reference Online Premium provides 25 core subject areas represented across hundreds of reference titles. It also includes all the continuous updating and exclusive online-only content provided by the Oxford Quick Reference collection which includes a core foundation of 135+ academic subject, language, and quotations dictionaries providing carefully vetted and trusted content.

The Bible Collection: A Resource Guide from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division

Rare Books & Special Collections: Ask a Librarian

Digital Resources

Library of Congress Research Guides

The Gutenberg Bible at the Library of Congress
Printed in Mainz, Germany in 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg and Johannes Fust, the Gutenberg Bible is the first large-format typographic bible produced in Europe.

The Giant Bible of Mainz : A Resource Guide
Created between April 4, 1452 and July 9, 1453, the Giant Bible of Mainz is one of the world's most important illuminated manuscripts.

Early American Sacred Music at the Library of Congress
Sacred music has been a vibrant part of American culture from the earliest sacred oral traditions of indigenous peoples through the written traditions of the first European colonists.

Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia
This guide is a directory of large or unique religion collections in Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia libraries and archives.

Church and Synagogue Records for Genealogy
Baptisms, marriages, and burials are recorded in religious records and can be used to verify or substitute for missing genealogical data.

Old Church Slavic and Church Slavic: Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of Congress
This research guide is a starting point for research on Church Slavic and Old Church Slavic sources found at the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Digital Selections

Library of Congress Blog Posts, Story Maps, Exhibits

Subscription Databases

The Bible Collection: A Resource Guide from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division

Rare Books & Special Collections: Ask a Librarian

Digital Resources

Library of Congress Research Guides

The Gutenberg Bible at the Library of CongressPrinted in Mainz, Germany in 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg and Johannes Fust, the Gutenberg Bible is the first large-format typographic bible produced in Europe.

The Giant Bible of Mainz : A Resource GuideCreated between April 4, 1452 and July 9, 1453, the Giant Bible of Mainz is one of the world's most important illuminated manuscripts.

Early American Sacred Music at the Library of CongressSacred music has been a vibrant part of American culture from the earliest sacred oral traditions of indigenous peoples through the written traditions of the first European colonists.

Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: Maryland, Virginia and the District of ColumbiaThis guide is a directory of large or unique religion collections in Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia libraries and archives.

Church and Synagogue Records for GenealogyBaptisms, marriages, and burials are recorded in religious records and can be used to verify or substitute for missing genealogical data.

Old Church Slavic and Church Slavic: Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of CongressThis research guide is a starting point for research on Church Slavic and Old Church Slavic sources found at the Library of Congress.

Library of Congress Digital Selections

Library of Congress Blog Posts, Story Maps, Exhibits

Subscription Databases

The Gutenberg Bible at the Library of Congress
Printed in Mainz, Germany in 1455 by Johannes Gutenberg and Johannes Fust, the Gutenberg Bible is the first large-format typographic bible produced in Europe.

The Giant Bible of Mainz : A Resource Guide
Created between April 4, 1452 and July 9, 1453, the Giant Bible of Mainz is one of the world's most important illuminated manuscripts.

Early American Sacred Music at the Library of Congress
Sacred music has been a vibrant part of American culture from the earliest sacred oral traditions of indigenous peoples through the written traditions of the first European colonists.

Religion Collections in Libraries and Archives: Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia
This guide is a directory of large or unique religion collections in Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia libraries and archives.

Church and Synagogue Records for Genealogy
Baptisms, marriages, and burials are recorded in religious records and can be used to verify or substitute for missing genealogical data.

Old Church Slavic and Church Slavic: Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of Congress
This research guide is a starting point for research on Church Slavic and Old Church Slavic sources found at the Library of Congress.