The World's Largest Library

Where is the world's largest library located? Right here in the USA! Located in Washington, D.C., the complex was established by an act of Congress in 1800 when President John Adams signed a bill that described a reference library for Congress only, containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress."
In 1815, retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal library collection of 6,487 volumes, collected over 50 years, to replace the manuscripts and papers burned by the British in the War of 1812. A new building was authorized in 1873, and again in 1888, to house the growing collection.
Today, the complex, completed in 1897, is one of the grandest libraries in the world and is still being used by US Congress members. The collection contains 144 million items with 33 million cataloged books, and other print materials in 460 languages.
The public may visit the displays and use the interactive kiosks. Keith Bellows in National Geographic Traveler commented, "The library houses its share of quirky material," so have everyone find Alexander Graham Bell's first drawing of the telephone or the library's first-edition Barbie doll. New interactive kiosks lets visitors use touch screens to flip through the pages of George Washington's copy of the U.S. Constitution or to decipher Mayan hieroglyphs.
The Main Reading Room, "the heart of the library," is best viewed from the open second level, "which surveys the book-filled floor below and the gilded dome towering 160 feet above."
[Mr. Bellow's quotes taken from The Week. March 16, 2012. p. 30]

This week I will visit with 3-Bruns and 4-Kahsdorf. Both classes will use the computer lab to search the web site of the Library of Congress at http://www.loc.gov/. I will not be in the district on Thursday.

Have a great rest of the week!
Mrs. T. Reiter
K-12 Teacher Librarian