Luckily, I was recently invited to a press conference hosted by Dr. James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, where the new Library of Congress Experience was being debuted.

The library’s new visitor experience located in the stunning Thomas Jefferson Building, take visitors on a tour of some of the library’s most treasured pieces, including a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible, and Thomas Jefferson’s original book collection. 

Besides the collections, there’s the building itself, which should be on everyone’s Top 10 List of places to see while visiting Washington, DC. The architecture and ornate decorating make it one of the most impressive building interiors in Washington, DC.

The four main exhibits in the library’s new visitor’s experience include:

• The Art and Architecture of the Thomas Jefferson Building – Starting in the ornate Great Hall, the tour guides visitors through the spectacular architectural details focusing on the of the Minerva mosaic and the lamps of knowledge. Embellished with art from 50 American painters and sculptors, the Great Hall also hosts a collection over a dozen Old World bibles, including two world-famous bibles, the Gutenberg Bible (1455), the first great book printed using moveable type, and the Giant Bible of Mainz (1453). The Mainz bible is one of the last  large-format handwritten bibles, which took 15 months to create by hand.
• Creating the United States – From a purely historical point of view, this was my favorite section of the experience. The National Archives holds the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, but the LOC has on display several other critical historical documents regarding the founding of our nation. Some of the documents that we might today call “working copies”, include a rough draft of the Declaration of independence, which show changes and contributions made by Benjamin Franklin and  John Adams. A second document, called the John Beckley’s Bill of Rights, which was ratified by Congress a full two years before the current Bill of Rights was approved. And another rare document, a copy of the draft Constitution, with George Washington’s annotations. Numerous other documents allow visitors to follow the road of America, from British colony to independent nation.

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• Exploring Early Americans – Using audiovisual presentations and interactive touch-screen stations, the visitor can tour artifacts and learn about Native American life and culture in the time before Europeans arrived in America and shortly thereafter.
• Thomas Jefferson’s Library – When the British army invaded Washington, DC in 1814 and burned the Capitol Building, the Library of Congress was also completely destroyed. Thomas Jefferson, who had retired from public life to his Monticello plantation, offered to sell his collection of 6,500 books to Congress. The collection doubled the original size of the Library of Congress and expanded it to include not just volumes on law, history and government, but everything from farming and philosophy to music and the arts. Many of the books have been digitally reproduced to allow visitors, using an interactive kiosk, to read, from cover to cover, each book in the collection (see example below).

Besides a new experience for people who have the opportunity to visit the library, the LOC also unveiled a new interactive web site that offers online visitors the ability to view ongoing exhibitions.  The online Passport to Knowledge also offers audio and video tours of some the library’s most popular exhibits and artifacts.

At www.myLOC.gov, and www.loc.gov, online visitors can tour over 13 million of the library’s 138 million item collection and enhance their learning and knowledge of American,world and literary history. Additionally, there are online educational learning activities for school children and teachers.

If you visit the LOC in person, don’t miss the often overlooked view of the famous circular Main Reading Room from the visitors gallery.  Surrounded by eight tall giant marble columns, each crowned with a 10-foot tall female statue, and representing a different aspect of life and learning (commerce, history, science, law, art, philosophy, poetry and religion), the room is one of the most ornate in the country.

Library of Congress
Jefferson Building Visitor’s Center
101 Independence Ave. SE, between East Capitol and Independence Ave.
Washington, D.C. 20540 (map it)
202-707-3399

Dates and Times – Daily, except Sundays and holidays, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Admission – Admission to the visitors center is free. Researches must have a current Reader Identification Card to enter the Main Reading or other library rooms. ID cards are free, but must be obtained in person.

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Capitol South – Orange and Blue lines, then a 2-block walk, or use the DC Circulator.

Parking – Limited metered street parking is available, especially during business hours. Try parking south of the Capitol in the residential neighborhood behind the Supreme Court or at Union Station.

Images – from personal collection – © 2008 – Jon Rochetti

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Post from: The DC Traveler