It’s been 14 years since I moved to the Washington, DC area but I had not yet been to the Library of Congress. Why? Partly because I live here and have to make time to see the sights, and partly because I didn’t have any compelling reason to go. Now that I’m diving into new worlds of historical letters, bookbinding, and other bygone trades, I have high hopes for it as a resource. So in spite of the cold, I set a date with myself on my calendar to go.

These days, the first step is to register online for a Timed Entry Pass. Without one of these, one cannot get in. I tried and tried to get one on the website, but for whatever reason I couldn’t get any of the buttons or links on the page to work (using Chrome or Safari on my Macbook), so I emailed for assistance. Apparently most people have trouble with the page on their phones, so the helpful person who responded suggested that I try my computer instead of my phone. This gave me the idea to try my phone, which worked! You never know. If one wants to actually do research at the library, one also has to obtain a Reader Identification Card. I filled out the pre-registration form online and printed it to bring with me (I could have applied there but didn’t want to spend my time there that way). The fact that my current address isn’t on my driver’s license wasn’t a problem because there were spaces to enter my current address and the address on my license.

*Gorgeous vaults which I got to see many times while trying to find my way to the next thing*

That Saturday morning dawned in bitter cold, and cruel winds scoured the landscape. But my Appointment must be kept! I would see the Library of Congress at long last, and set off on my path to Real Research. I bundled up in my full-length down coat with faux-fur-trimmed hood and made the 40-minute drive into the City, a place barren of its usual bustling life. Whether because of COVID or the weather, not a person was to be seen on the streets. It being Saturday, I was able to get a neighborhood parking spot and avoid paying for parking.

My next task was to get to the library and find the entrance ~ easier said than done where there are so many monumental buildings in one place and they are concerned about not spoiling their impression with big signs. I’d driven past the library a bit to find parking and now needed to return. My guess (which proved to be correct) was that it was the large squarish building with a dome in the middle. But I had to walk almost all the way around the building to discover the right entrance, and the “Visitors’ Entrance” sign which appeared to be pointing me to an impressive set of stone stairs leading to a door, was in fact pointing me to a hidden entrance on the ground floor under the impressive stairs. Still, I was undaunted. I had arrived!

I donned my mask, and after going through security I approached the visitors’ desk. (Your reception there may differ depending on demographic factors.) Eventually the lady at the desk took my pass and told me where to go to get my Reader Identification Card. I must say, finding my way around this building was not easy for me as a directionally-challenged person! There are central areas with the most beautiful rooms of the building and the exhibits; but on the lower levels much is inaccessible because of offices and reading rooms being closed to tourists. Although I’d gotten my card, I did not have an appointment to visit the Main Reading Room or any of the other reading rooms for various topics. Some floors were best reached by elevator, but not all the elevators were in the central area. Being terrible at finding my way in general, I spent a lot of time going up and down, back and forth, trying to get to what I wanted to see next.

And there was a lot to see! I went to the gift shop first, so that I could look through the offerings quickly before I got tired. I loved the mug with old books, the mousepad, and some of the bookmarks. Then I went to the Great Hall, which is on the floor above the entry. It really is gorgeous and I basked in the atmosphere of beauty and aspiration to erudition. Many learned and distinguished people are recalled with quotes and mentions of their names, and these are placed near the ceiling, which gave me a feeling of humble admiration. Some great thinkers were certainly left out due to their not belonging to the Western tradition of education; but I think those included are still worth listening to. From the Great Hall, one climbs a set of stairs to the next floor; and at the top of the stairs is a nice mosaic of Minerva. Turning to the side, one can overlook the Main Reading Room, where the lucky few are Reading Books.

There are four main exhibits on right now. I was interested in the one with maps from the United States’ history, to see what the conventions were at the time for representing various things; but most of the maps were from the westward expansion of the States. There was a really good one ~ the first map of the United States made here in the States. Unfortunately, the light over it was set up to dim and go out when the map wasn’t being viewed, and I was usually invisible to it! So I could hardly see the map, and will use the digital image instead.

The exhibit on Rosa Parks was one I really wanted to see; growing up in Michigan, I knew she lived not far from us in Detroit, and was very proud of this. The interviews, videos, letters, and other history in the exhibit gave me a much deeper understanding of her life and her involvement in the Civil Rights movement. What hit me from the moment I entered the room and saw the first video was how much we were alike. Her personality and bearing are so much like mine, I was taken aback. I can only hope that anything I do might have the impact her actions did.

*Taking the stairs allows one to remain in the most beautiful spaces while also getting some exercise! Note the bench ~ these are interspersed around the sides so that one can rest or even read.*

On to see Thomas Jefferson’s Library; a spiral of shelves displaying a representation of the original collection Jefferson donated to the Library of Congress. Tragically, two thirds of these books were burned in a huge fire in 1851. “Included in this re-creation are 2,000 volumes from the original Jefferson Collection—survivors of fire and time. An additional 3,000 or so volumes—editions that match those lost in the fire at the Capitol in 1851—come from other collections in the Library of Congress. Other missing works have been acquired through gifts. Several hundred volumes have been purchased since 2000.” As a budding bookbinder, these venerable volumes were of great interest to me. I could only see the front or back covers of those on the end of the shelves, but the spines were informative. I called up my recently gained knowledge from David Pearson’s English Bookbinding Styles 1450 - 1800. A Handbook to place at least the century of some of the bindings. They were fascinating. I wonder if they are inaccessible to researchers right now or whether the librarians can pull them from the exhibit if requested. Entire shelves were missing for various internal reasons that were noted on placards.

*I think these covers are made with tawed vellum, which was very common in the 1400s and became less common as the popularity of tanned leather grew. Tawed vellum is always white.*

The Exploring the Early Americas exhibit wasn’t my cup of tea, but might be yours. Seeing little pottery houses representing pre-contact natives of Mexico relaxing on their front porches was pretty neat. And in the lobby, there’s a copy of the Gutenberg Bible! One hears about this book so much that not having seen it feels like a Life Failure! This particular copy is printed on vellum instead of paper; I thought they had all been printed on paper.

*A page of the Gutenberg Bible, printed on vellum!*

Now I just need to decide what to research first at the Library of Congress, and I too can be admitted to those gorgeous reading rooms. This is joining my list of favorite places in DC alongside the National Gallery of Art.

A Visit to the Library of Congress

Renaissance Letter-sealing