Ainsworth Rand Spofford (1825-1908) is credited with establishing the Library of Congress as a national institution. Spofford worked as a publisher, book-seller and newspaper editor in Cincinnati before moving to Washington in 1861 to work at the Library of Congress. He served in many roles there, including as the 6th Librarian of Congress from 1864 to 1897. His tenure at the Library was marked by the rapid expansion of the Library's book collection. This was largely triggered by the 1870 revision of the U.S. Copyright Act, for which he was largely responsible. This revision centralized in the Library of Congress copyright activities, including deposit and registration.

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