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The head of the world's largest library has reached the end of the story.


James Billington, who has been the librarian of Congress since the Reagan administration, says he is retiring. The 

 says Billington, 86, will step down on Jan. 1, 2016.


 Billington says, "Leading this great institution ... for nearly three decades has been the honor and joy of my 42 years of public service in Washington." The statement adds:


Billington is a Russia scholar and the author of several books on Russian and European history. During his tenure at the Library of Congress, he has overseen the institution's transformation into the digital age (though it still collects plenty of books, photographs, recordings and other "legacy media.")


And there were some who felt that Billington had perhaps stayed on the job too long. As

The library is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its purchase of Thomas Jefferson's personal library. That collection was used to replace what the British burned and pillaged in 1814, when it was housed in the Capitol.

In an earlier audio version of this story, we incorrectly referred to Indiana University as the University of Indiana.

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James Billington, who has been the the librarian of Congress since the Reagan administration, says he is retiring.

After nearly 30 years, librarian of Congress is calling it quits

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