The Library of Congress: Jefferson's Legacy
Dateline: 09/02/97
(The Library of Congress - Washington, D.C.)
I can remember when the Library of Congress first hit the Internet. You could only get there via Gopher, and once you did, the directory structure scared off all but the most hardy of Internet veterans. You knew that they had what you were looking for, but you couldn't find it. Pretty frustrating.
Then along comes the graphic-based interface of the World Wide Web, the Library of Congress makes a major commitment to upgrading its cyber-product, and today the L/C Web site stands as one of the most complete, easiest to use, and entertaining resources on the Internet. Mr. Jefferson, you would be proud of your library.
A Little History
The Library of Congress will be 200 years old in the year 2000. Today, the L/C ranks as the largest depository of recorded history on earth. The collections currently include about 15 million books, 39 million manuscripts, 13 million photographs, 4 million maps, 3.5 million pieces of music, and over half a million motion pictures. Happily for us, more of the collection is being scanned, digitized, and placed online everyday.
Thomas Jefferson founded the Library and his personal library remains its core collection. Jefferson believed an informed and involved citizenry formed the keystone of self-government and democracy; he felt there was "no subject to which a Member of Congress may not have occasion to refer."
We constantly witness the dangers of rushing into the future without a knowledge of the past. In writings, pictures, paintings, movies, and sound, the vast collection of the Library of Congress stands out as one of America's most important foundations of freedom.
"The unleased, unlimited pursuit of truth may be the last frontier and the ultimate proving ground for our American ideal of freedom. In a world of increasing physical restraints and limitations, it is only in the life of the mind and spirit that the horizons of freedom can remain truly infinite. We must rediscover what we should have known all along, that the pursuit of truth is the noblest part of Jefferson's legacy."
- James H. Billington, The Librarian of Congress
In coming weeks, I want to take you on a brief tour of some of the major features of the Library of Congress and its Web site. Starting with...
The Photographic Collection
Taking
the Long View - Panoramic Photographs from 1851 - 1991
The Library's photography collection contains over 4,000 images featuring
landscapes, cityscapes, and other slices of American life made with "panoramic,"
or wide-format cameras, like the Cirkut camera patented in 1904.
(The Cirkut camera)
The collection focuses (Sorry.) on the years 1900 to1935 - the "heyday" of panoramic photography. Among many other topics, you'll find images of: cityscapes; landscapes; disasters like fires, earthquakes, floods, train wrecks, and hurricanes; bridges; dams; military and naval activities; sports; and transportation. All the preceding links lead to fairly large "thumbnail" pictures that you can click on to view a much larger version. Most of the larger images take well over a minute to load with a 28.8 modem, but they are well worth the wait.
You can also get A Brief History of Panoramic Photography.
Other Useful Library of Congress
Links
Library Home Page
Maps
of Library Buildings (gopher
menu)
Accommodations and Maps in & near Capitol Hill (gopher menu)
Library Orientation and Tours
The Library's Visitors' Center is open Monday - Saturday from 10 a.m. to
5:30 pm
A 12-minute orientation film is shown four times and hour.
Public tours are offered at 11:30 a.m. and 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. and are limited
to 50 people.
U.S.
Government Info/Resources Bulletin Board
Have a question, comment or something you want to discuss? Post it on the
Bulletin Board
Index
to U.S. Government Web Space
Links to over 250 agencies, bureaus, commissions and offices in all three
branches of government.
Federal
Job Openings and Resources
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