Monday’s Blog, Quote by Thomas Jefferson; “I live for books.”

After all of the years of my life and many visits to Washington, DC, I finally toured the incredible building, the Library of Congress. What a gift to our country, to each citizen just for the “cost” of mounting the dramatic stairway into the entrance hall.  After passing through security and entering the vast vestibule of the building, you look up for the first time and gasp at the unexpected beauty of this legacy building.  The ceilings are glowing in color, text shimmers in gold, statuary is done with fine detail and forethought; all fresh, clean and fulled with meaning and nuance.  When the Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public on November 1, 1897, it was hailed as a glorious national monument and “the largest, the costliest, and the safest” library building in the world; for more, visit web site, https://www.loc.gov/about/history-of-the-library/

From this site we learn that “throughout his life, books were vital to Thomas Jefferson’s education and well-being. When his family home in Shadwell burned in 1770 Jefferson most lamented the loss of his books. In the midst of the American Revolution and while United States minister to France in the 1780s, Jefferson acquired thousands of books for his library at Monticello. Jefferson’s library went through several stages, but it was always critically important to him. Books provided the little traveled Jefferson with a broader knowledge of the contemporary and ancient worlds than most contemporaries of broader personal experience. By 1814 when the British burned the nation’s Capitol and the Library of Congress, Jefferson had acquired the largest personal collection of books in the United States. Jefferson offered to sell his library to Congress as a replacement for the collection destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. Congress purchased Jefferson’s library for $23,950 in 1815. A second fire on Christmas Eve of 1851, destroyed nearly two thirds of the 6,487 volumes Congress had purchased from Jefferson.”

The remainder of the books belonging to Jefferson on on display on the 2nd floor of library, and what a vast and varied collection it is.  After the second fire in 1851, about a third of the lost volumes have been replaced by books representing as closely as possible the same edition of the book that had been in Jefferson’s original collection. They cover many topics and themes and include many languages.
Some photos;

Searches for more of the Jefferson’s lost books are ongoing and each book on the shelf is being digitized to enter into the archive for future research and preservation.  Furthermore, anyone over age 16 wishing to do research in the library, in one of its 23 reading rooms (don’t miss the main reading room and the fine ceiling) may do so.  Your book orders are filled withing 45 minutes from the vast stack system on or nearby the library campus.  On going programming is offered throughout the year in music, lecture and more. 

What more can I add? Go to the web sites for more historical input, photos and drawings underlining the value of this institution or to refresh memories of your own visits to the Library.  Our excellent docent, Fred summed it up for me; to paraphrase, he couldn’t be more pleased but to be a docent for this library. The value of the 3 months of training, exposure to items from the collection, instruction by the experts on staff and the enthusiasm shown by the visitors on his tours have enriched his life.  Mine has been enriched as well. What took me so long? Everything in its time I guess.