In the past two days the 2011 Class of the School of Public Service has been thinking about knowledge, both new- and old-style. On Wednesday, SPS heard from speaker Pedro Burelli, an international businessman and political commentator. Mr. Burelli took a wide-ranging and thought-provoking look at knowledge in what one might think of as the twin age of Google and globalization. Mr. Burelli started with the premise that, with the aid of technology and the massive digitization of some of the great libraries of the world, this is the first generation where it might truly be argued that, for those with access to technology, anyone who is ignorant will be ignorant by choice. 
After thinking about the opportunities for learning available via the technology of digitization of books, the stage was set for today’s trip to the greatest library in the world, the Library of Congress. (Photo above on the steps of the Library of Congress, from left: Alyssa, Alex S., Nicko, Madeleine, Lachlan, Brady, Andrew.) Thanks to the efforts of Mrs. R. Gordon, a St. Albans parent and volunteer at the Library of Congress, our group was able to get unprecedented access to some of the treasures of the library. A highlight of the trip was a presentation by the Library of Congress’s music division in which we were able to examine original scores created by Beethoven and Mozart. (!!!!)
On the heels of yesterday’s presentation from Mr. Burelli, it was interesting to hear about the Library of Congress’s continuing efforts to digitize much of its own collection. One of our students, John C. from Atlanta, noticed an quotation gracing one of the Library’s many ornate walls (see photo above left), “The true university of these days is a collection of books,” that seemed particularly apt. See below for a slideshow of photos from today's visit to the Library of Congress:
