Library of Congress Magazine November / December 2024

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Bold, white text on a transparent background reading "AMERICA'S GREATEST LIBRARY" in large capital letters, with "225 YEARS OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS" in smaller text below.
March/April 2025
On the cover: Visitors take in the magnificent architecture and artwork on the mezzanine of the historic Jefferson Building. Shawn Miller
The Library of Congress was created by this act of Congress, signed by President John Adams on April 24, 1800. National Archives and Records Administration

Features

  • LCM logo
  • March / April 2025
    Vol. 14 No. 2
  • Mission of the Library of Congress
  • The Library’s mission is to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.
  • Library of Congress Magazine is issued bimonthly by the Office of Communications of the Library of Congress and distributed free of charge to publicly supported libraries and research institutions, donors, academic libraries, learned societies and allied organizations in the United States. Research institutions and educational organizations in other countries may arrange to receive Library of Congress Magazine on an exchange basis by applying in writing to the Library’s Director for Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington DC 20540-4100. LCM is also available on the web at loc.gov/lcm/. All other correspondence should be addressed to the Office of Communications, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington DC 20540-1610.
  • news@loc.gov
    loc.gov/lcm
    ISSN 2169-0855 (print)
    ISSN 2169-0863 (online)
  • Carla Hayden
    Librarian of Congress
  • William Ryan
    Executive Editor
  • Mark Hartsell
    Editor
  • Ashley Jones
    Designer
  • Shawn Miller
    Photo Editor
  • Contributors

    Katherine Blood
    Nathan Cross
    Olivia Dorsey
    Carla Hayden
    Sahar Kazmi
    Wendi A. Maloney
    Mari Nakahara
    Adam Silvia
    April Slayton
    Neely Tucker

Connect On

loc.gov/connect

Text in a pale yellow font reading "PARALLEL LIVES IN AN AGE OF REVOLUTION" on a transparent background.
Bold navy blue text reading "OPENING SOON!" on a transparent background.
Bold navy blue text reading "OPENING SOON!" on a transparent background.
Text in a pale yellow font reading "PARALLEL LIVES IN AN AGE OF REVOLUTION" on a transparent background.
Trending
A vibrant watercolor-style poster for the 2025 National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., featuring pink cherry blossoms, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Washington Monument set against a colorful sky.
Vibrant pink blossoms frame the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument in this poster promoting the 2025 edition of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Prints and Photographs Division; courtesy of the National Cherry Blossom Festival Inc.

Think Pink

Joyful and stylish posters promote the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
From saplings to centenarians, the fabled cherry blossom trees of Washington, D.C., entice more than 1.5 million visitors to the capital each spring. The initial 1912 gift of 3,020 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to Washington launched such treasured and enduring traditions as the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which officially began in 1927 and continues to this day.

The Washington Sakura Matsuri (the Japanese name for the festival) collection at the Library includes over 30 vibrant posters — beginning with 1987 and ongoing — commissioned to promote the festival. Their artist-designed images spark joy and reflect on natural beauty, friendship between Japan and America and local and global communities coming together in celebration. Inspired by the glowing blossoms, pink is almost always involved!

off the shelf
A collage of historical artifacts, including a sepia-toned portrait of a soldier in uniform, a black-and-white studio photograph of a young man in a suit, and an open handwritten diary filled with dense cursive script.
The letters and journals of Jessie Lockett and Arthur Singleton (shown above in both Army and civilian life) offer insight into the experiences of Black soldiers during the First World War. Veterans History Project

Soldiers’ Stories

New collections chronicle the service of two African Americans during WWI.
As far as we know, Arthur Singleton and Jessie Lockett did not know each other when they arrived in France with the American Expeditionary Forces in autumn 1918.

Their fates intertwined years later, when their families united through the marriage of Lockett’s son to Singleton’s daughter — and again in 2024, when their mutual granddaughter donated their manuscript collections to the Veterans History Project.

The Singleton and Lockett collections are the Veterans History Project’s first from African American veterans of World War I, and their letters, journals and photographs offer glimpses into the adversity and resilience that characterize the African American experience of that war.

online offerings
A black-and-white photograph of Elton John playing the piano and singing into a microphone at a public event. He is wearing glasses, a suit, and a hat, with a large audience in the background attentively watching the performance. A heart-shaped floral arrangement is visible in the foreground.
Elton John performs “Skyline Pigeon” at the funeral of Ryan White on April 11, 1990. Prints and Photographs Division; courtesy of Taro Yamasaki

Through the lens

Photographer captured the tragic and inspiring story of Ryan White.
As a photojournalist, Taro Yamasaki photographed at-risk children in the United States and around the world — Nicaragua, Bosnia, Rwanda, the Middle East.

The Prints and Photographs Division recently acquired three collections that document such work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer: “Children in Peril,” “Escaping Human Trafficking” and “Ryan White and the Battle Against AIDS” — the last a chronicle of the American teenager who became an international symbol of the fight against the disease.

People magazine had hired Yamasaki and reporter Bill Shaw to contribute to a special feature on living with AIDS, along with other teams in major cities across the U.S. The pair arrived at White’s home in Cicero, Indiana, in summer 1987 to begin work.

Reimagined Lives

Exhibit honored the experiences of enslaved children.

By Olivia Dorsey
Artist Maya Freelon at the installation of her exhibition, “Whippersnappers,” at the 1799 Bennehan house at Historic Stagville in North Carolina. Photo by Lissa Gotwals, courtesy of Maya Freelon and North Carolina Historic Sites
Entering the living quarters of a late 18th-century plantation house, the last thing you might expect to see is a rainbow of colors, dancing in the breeze. Figures frozen in a moment of play trail tissue paper along worn, dusty floorboards. Through a veil of vibrant colors and textures, a portrait appears: A Black girl stares ahead, her hand gently perched on the back of a chair.

The piece, titled “Complex,” was one of many on view as part of artist Maya Freelon’s immersive exhibition “Whippersnappers: Recapturing, Reviewing, and Reimagining the Lives of Enslaved Children in the United States” at Historic Stagville in Durham, North Carolina.

The Bennehan-Cameron family enslaved more than 900 people at Stagville, once one of the largest plantations in the state, at its peak in 1864.

The Magical ‘Maple Leaf Rag’

With a cascade of notes, Joplin created an American classic.

By Neely tucker
Scott Joplin and John Stark submitted this printed copy of “Maple Leaf Rag” to the U.S. Copyright Office at the Library in 1899. Music Division
In the final year of the 19th century, a little-known pianist and composer named Scott Joplin and a Missouri music publisher named John Stark sent a small package to the U.S. Copyright Office at the Library.

Tucked inside were two copies of sheet music for a highly syncopated, upbeat piano piece with intense flurries of notes — more than 2,000 in a song that took less than three minutes to perform. It was called “Maple Leaf Rag,” and it blew the doors off everything.

“Maple” sold 75,000 copies of sheet music in six months and went on to sell millions both as sheet music and in dozens of recordings. It changed the lives of both men and changed popular music. It became the signature piece of ragtime, which itself lent its name to an era of American life and helped set the foundations for jazz.

library in history
A historical engraving depicting an early 19th-century library with tall bookshelves, classical columns, and elegant furniture. Several individuals are seen reading, writing, or conversing in the spacious room, which features decorative busts, framed artwork, and a large urn on a pedestal.
This 1832 drawing by Alexander Jackson Davis and Stephen Gimber is the only known view of the Library’s first permanent, dedicated space in the U.S. Capitol. New York Public Library

Forged in Fire

Disaster played a key role in shaping the Library.
The Thomas Jefferson Building has awed visitors ever since it opened its doors in 1897. The grand building is more than a marvel of art and architecture, though; it’s also a monument to function and safety — fire safety in particular.

It was built that way. For good reason.

Not once, but twice, within the decades preceding the building’s design, the Library literally went down in flames.

On Aug. 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British troops set fire to government buildings in Washington, D.C. The Library’s 3,000 or so reference books, then housed in an unfinished U.S. Capitol, provided ready fuel for the fire.

An original set of keys to the Jefferson Building, shown here with a combination of historical and contemporary photos of the building. Prints and Photographs Division (bullding); Shawn Miller (keys)

America’s
Greatest
Library

From humble beginnings, the institution grew into the largest in history.

By April Slayton
A historical architectural floor plan of the U.S. Capitol from 1817, drawn in faded ink on parchment. The symmetrical design features the House of Representatives and Senate chambers, with labeled rooms and corridors.
An ornate silver souvenir spoon featuring detailed engravings of the U.S. Capitol. The handle has decorative scrollwork and a raised image of the Capitol dome, while the bowl showcases a side view of the building with labeled text.

How it started:

When Congress established the Library of Congress in 1800, it provided $5,000 and purchased a collection of 152 works in 740 volumes and three maps for the use of its members. A joint committee of Congress selected the books and organized the volumes themselves when they arrived from London.

How it’s going: 225 years later, the Library has amassed what is widely considered the greatest collection of knowledge ever assembled. And, while Congress remains the Library’s first audience, the Library also reaches millions of people around the world, who now have access to its unparalleled resources.

page from the past
A split image featuring a painted portrait of a bearded man in formal attire on the left, and a historical document on the right. The document, dated December 31, 1864, bears the signature of President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward.
Left: Former Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford, painted by noted landscape and portrait artist Bayard Henry Tyler. Prints and Photographs Division
Right: On New Year’s Eve in 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed this document appointing Spofford the sixth Librarian of Congress. Manuscript Division

Making a national library

The appointment of Spofford by President Lincoln transformed the institution.
With about 175 words, elegantly inscribed in ink and set off by the Great Seal of the United States, Abraham Lincoln unknowingly put the Library of Congress on course to be the world’s largest, greatest library.

“Know ye,” Lincoln proclaimed on New Year’s Eve in 1864, “That reposing special Trust and Confidence in the Integrity, Diligence and Discretion of Ainsworth R. Spofford of Ohio, I do appoint him Librarian … .”

Spofford would serve as Librarian of Congress for over 32 years — a period during which, thanks largely to his drive and vision, the Library grew into a position of national prominence.

At the time of Spofford’s appointment, the Library was a small institution that served only Congress. The Boston Public Library, Boston Athenaeum and Astor Library in New York City were bigger, as were the Harvard and Yale libraries.

favorite place
Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, stands confidently behind an ornate wooden desk in a historic library office. She is wearing a blue blazer and black dress, with bookshelves, an arched window with sheer curtains, and the American and Library of Congress flags in the background.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in the ceremonial office of the Jefferson Building. Shawn Miller

The Librarian’s Historic Office

“Liber delectatio animae.”

This inscription — meaning “Books, delight of the soul” — adorns the circular mural in a corner of the ceremonial office of the Librarian of Congress in the historic Thomas Jefferson Building. Beneath the words, a young woman holds a book in one hand and touches her heart with the other.

Her sentiment is clear, and it is present in embellishments throughout the office. Occupied by Librarians of Congress from 1897 to 1980, the space is a magnificent ode to the power of the written word.

Owls, lamps and books appear repeatedly among the office’s decorations, and illustrations on the north and south walls trace the evolution of the poet. Nearly everywhere you look, there are gold engravings, stately marble and figures of trumpeters blaring their song.

Thomas
Jefferson’s
Library

The president’s personal collection is the foundation of the modern Library of Congress.

By Neely Tucker
Three of the original volumes from Thomas Jefferson’s personal library. Rare Book and Special Collections Division; photo by Shawn Miller
In September 1814, Thomas Jefferson wrote one of the more important letters in American history to Samuel H. Smith, a longtime friend and prominent academic and newspaper publisher. Jefferson, furious that British troops had burned the U.S. Capitol a few weeks earlier, asked Smith to act as an intermediary and offer his immense book collection to Congress to replace the in-house library that had been torched.

Smith did so, and Jefferson sold Congress 4,931 titles (encompassing 6,487 volumes) for $23,950 the next year, forming the DNA of today’s Library of Congress, now the largest library in the world. But even in that 1814 offer, Jefferson indicated he wasn’t going to include everything he had. That would come later, after his death, “so that the whole library, as it stands in the catalogue at this moment should be theirs, without any garbling.”

Around the Library
Two women seated on stage in red chairs engage in a conversation. One, dressed in a red suit, holds a notebook and smiles, while the other, in a black top and gray pants, gestures with her hand while speaking into a microphone. A wooden table between them holds two water bottles and a small bouquet of flowers.
Norah O’Donnell of CBS News, left, interviews actress and author Brooke Shields in the Coolidge Auditorium on Jan. 28.
A woman in a white blazer and pearl necklace stands behind a podium, passionately speaking into a microphone while gesturing with both hands. Behind her, a blue flag and a colorful mural adorn the room.
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware attends an event with supporters held at the Library on Jan. 3 in conjunction with the start of a new Congress.
A speaker on stage interacts with a large audience in a dimly lit auditorium. The screen above displays "Remember That. Now." while audience members, many of them children, raise their hands enthusiastically
Bestselling author and illustrator Dav Pilkey gives a special presentation about his work in the Coolidge Auditorium on Jan. 29.
A man in a black suit and red tie holds up a small booklet while standing beside a woman in a red dress and black coat. Both smile as they stand in front of microphones, with a blue flag behind them.
Rep. Troy Downing speaks to a crowd of supporters during a reception at the Library on Jan. 3.
A woman in a pink blazer and glasses holds a piece of paper while speaking with a man wearing a medal around his neck. They are seated in red chairs with a richly decorated mural behind them. The man gestures with one hand as he responds.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden interviews Mac Barnett, the ninth national ambassador for young people’s literature, at his inauguration ceremony at the Library on Feb. 6.
A snowy winter scene outside the Library of Congress, with a leafless tree in the foreground. The historic building’s ornate architecture is partially illuminated by the sunlight, with its iconic dome visible in the background.
Snow blankets the grounds of the Jefferson Building on Jan. 8.
ALL PHOTOS BY SHAWN MILLER

News Briefs

  • ‘Star Trek II,’ ‘Social Network’ Among Films Added to Registry

    In December, the Library announced the addition of 25 films to its National Film Registry for their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage.

    Popular Hollywood releases chosen include the first Star Trek film added to the registry, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” from 1982, and Eddie Murphy’s first feature film on the registry, “Beverly Hills Cop.”

    The public submitted nominations for over 6,700 titles. Several selected titles received strong public support, including: “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “No Country for Old Men,” “The Social Network” and “Dirty Dancing.”

    The selections bring the number of titles on the registry to 900. Some films are among the 2 million moving image collection items held at the Library. Others are preserved in coordination with copyright holders or other film archives.

  • Date Set for 2025 Edition Of National Book Festival

    The Library will host the 2025 National Book Festival on Sept. 6 at the Washington Convention Center, festival organizers recently announced.

    The event will mark the 25th anniversary of the festival, which was co-founded in 2001 with first lady Laura Bush. In 2025, the festival will expand its footprint in the Washington Convention Center to host booklovers from across the region and nationwide. Updates on plans will be shared at loc.gov/bookfest and at the Bookmarked blog at https://blogs.loc.gov.

    The festival is free and provides a full day of conversations with dozens of authors, poets and illustrators from a variety of genres about their latest books. The festival offers readings, giveaways, book signings and activities for children and young adults, as well as the opportunity to purchase books from the festival’s official bookseller.

Shop

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The cover of the children's book Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated with a whimsical drawing of Thomas Jefferson reaching for a book on a tall bookshelf, with a young girl reading below.

‘Thomas Jefferson Builds a Library’

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This picture book biography tells how Thomas Jefferson’s book collections helped create the world’s largest library, the Library of Congress.
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support
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and his wife Gene Jones stand on the sidelines of a football field, smiling at the camera. The stadium behind them is filled with fans, players warming up, and event staff preparing for the game.
Madison Council members Gene and Jerry Jones. Courtesy of the Jones family

Gifts to the Library, Gifts to the Nation

Philanthropy Helps Reconstruct Jefferson’s Library.
The full measure of Thomas Jefferson shines forth in the sanctuary of his personal library. This remarkable library has been reconstructed through the generosity of members of the James Madison Council, a group of civic-minded philanthropists dedicated to advancing the mission of the Library of Congress.

In 1999, council members Jerry Jones — the owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys — and his wife, Gene, kicked off the Library’s bicentennial celebration with a $1 million gift. They were joined in support by several other council members.

At the time of this gift, then-Librarian of Congress James Billington observed that in the meditative space of Jefferson’s library, you feel as though you are communing with the spirit of the man himself. Jerry Jones noted that “all of the people of this country should help make the Library of Congress a truly vital and active treasure house of knowledge.”

Help shape the next 225 years of the nation’s Library.
Join Friends of the Library of Congress.
last word
Carla Hayden
Shawn miller

CARLA HAYDEN

“Be it further enacted, that for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress … the sum of five thousand dollars, shall be, and hereby is appropriated.”

In a neat cursive script, President John Adams added, “Approved,” followed by his signature and the date: April 24, 1800 — 225 years ago this April.

With that — an act of Congress that also provided for the furnishing of congressional offices and the construction of sidewalks in the capital city — the world’s greatest library was born.

The Library of Congress couldn’t be recognized as such at the time, of course.

The collections of the Library — set in a room at the back of the new U.S. Capitol building — held a scant 152 titles and three maps. From that modest beginning, the Library grew into a global treasure of more than 181 million collection items — the greatest collection of human knowledge ever assembled.

Cherry blossoms in full bloom frame the ornate dome of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., against a clear blue sky. The building's detailed architecture, including the gold-tipped lantern atop the dome, stands prominently in the background.
Cherry blossoms spring into bloom on the grounds of the Library’s Jefferson Building. Shawn Miller
White text on a transparent background reads: "Create your LIBRARY legacy with a gift in your will," with "LIBRARY" emphasized in bold capital letters.
White text on a transparent background reads: "Create your LIBRARY legacy with a gift in your will," with "LIBRARY" emphasized in bold capital letters.

Current Exhibitions

A promotional image for "The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution," featuring side-by-side portraits of King George III and George Washington. Below the title are two photographs of an exhibition at the Library of Congress: one showing visitors examining displays under a grand arched ceiling, and the other showcasing shelves of historical books in a decorative hall.</p>
<p>
THE TWO GEORGES
Opens March 28

COLLECTING MEMORIES: TREASURES FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Ongoing

THOMAS JEFFERSON’S LIBRARY
Ongoing

More Information

loc.gov/exhibits

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