One of my hobbies is tourism. After I arrived in Washington DC, my first visit was at the U. S. Capitol and the Library of Congress. I was especially fascinated by the magnificent Thomas Jefferson Building, which receives more than 1 million visitors each year. I was always interested to interact with some of those visitors. No long ago, I took advantage of the volunteer opportunities, and I enrolled in a docent program that trains docents to lead visitors on tours. This activity inspired me to blog about my experience as a docent at the Library of Congress.
The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800 – with $5000 appropriated by the legislation – by President John Adams. In 1814, British troops set fire to the Capitol Building, where the library was housed. Retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library as a replacement of the burned library. Jefferson’s concept of universality, the belief that all subjects are important to the library, is the philosophy and policy of the current Library of Congress.
The construction of the new Library of Congress building was authorized by Congress in 1866, and was built in the style of the Italian Renaissance. It was opened to the public on November 1, 1897 and was named the Thomas Jefferson Building in 1980. Here is its photo:
Dr. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, states in his welcome message on the library’s main web page: “The Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps, and manuscripts in its collections.”
Let’s go on a brief virtual tour. Start your visit here, at the Visitors’ Center, where volunteers like me will help with your questions. Docent led tours are offered in the Great Hall of the Thomas Jefferson Building.
Continue your tour by visiting the Caroline & Erwin Swann Memorial Exhibit Gallery for Caricature and Cartoon, the Bob Hope of American Entertainment, and the Coolidge Auditorium, which is used for free musical concerts.
Proceed to the First Floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building. If you are interested in doing research at the Library of Congress, read about registering process here. Otherwise, continue your tour by visiting the Vestibule of the Great Hall built of white Italian marble in a splendid architecture (pictured in the image bellow).
As you proceed to the East Corridor, you can explore the series of eight paintings by George Barse Jr. that represents various facets of Literature. Walking up the staircase, you will be lead to the Visitor’s Gallery, which facilitates your view of the Main Reading Room (pictured here).
Then, you will see female figures on the cupola painted by Edwin Blashfield, and which represent “Human Understanding“. There are also eight marble columns and statues that represent features of life, creation, and thought: Religion, History, Art, Commerce, Philosophy, Poetry, Law, and Science.
Next, you will visit the North Corridor of the Great Hall and will see ceiling paintings by Robert Reid representing The Five Senses, and by Charles Sprague Pearce featuring the themes of idyllic existence: The Family, Recreation (pictured bellow), Study, Labor, Religion, and Rest.
Walk to the South Corridor and notice the paintings by Henry Walker honor poets and the single youthful male figures suggested in various poems by English and American poets: Milton and Shakespeare on the north wall and Tennyson, Keats, Wordsworth and Emerson on the south side of the corridor.
You should walk to the Northwest Gallery and Pavilion, which is used for exhibitions, and then, visit the Southwest Gallery and Pavilion (Treasures Gallery), which features a permanent exhibition of the Library’s treasures of American history and cultural heritage.
Before leaving the library, be sure to visit the Members of Congress Room, the Librarian’s Room, and see the exterior of the Jefferson Building, especially the keystones of the first-story windows all around the building, the bronze doors, and the view of the U.S. Capitol.
The Library of Congress is more than a library. It is the research arm of Congress, a protector of creativity, a site on the Internet, an archives, a center for international studies, a performing art center, an exhibition gallery, a publisher, a conservator and preservation laboratory, and it is also the Nations’ Library.
As Giulia Adelfio, the head of the Office of Visitors Center, mentioned during her New Visitor Experience presentation, the Library of Congress will debut its new interactive experience for visitors in Spring 2008, making “this treasure house and its unmatched contents newly accessible through a seamless integration of content, design, and technology”.
There is so much history, art, creation, and activity in and around the Library of Congress that cannot be encompassed in a blog entry like this one. Therefore, my recommendation is that you explore its web site and interactive sites, and why not visit the library yourself and take advantage of the docent’s services.
Enjoy the tour!
