Did you know that there was a Library of Congress Police Force? Neither did we, but turns out they won’t actually exist for much longer anyway. The Post says a merger between the LOC force and the U.S. Capitol Police has finally been approved after years of trying to hammer out an agreement between the two law enforcement agencies.

Combining the LOC police, which boasts only about 100 officers, and the Capitol Police, with its 1,700 officers, has been in the works since Sept. 11, 2001, when weaknesses in communication between the two Hill forces led to the library officers being left out of the human cordon formed around the Capitol that morning. It apparently took this long to put a deal together due to big differences in things like training and retirement packages between the two.

The Library of Congress police force were formed in 1950 as an unarmed force that was designated to control entry and exit procedures for the library and its tunnels that connect the buildings to the rest of the Capitol complex. As of 1987, the LOC police have carried guns, however.

The AP says the merger will be completed by October 2009, and that library police officers will be eligible to the Capitol Police force as long as they meet eligibility requirements and complete the training program. Those who don’t qualify will get civilian jobs with the force.

Photo by Eye Captain