SPS 2013: Private Tour of the Library of Congress

Our trio of Sarahs* (*one is a Sararose) prior to the tour

SPS 2013 on the stairs of the Library of Congress

In the Great Hall

The Gutenberg Bible

Nik V. checking out the ceiling of the Great Hall

This morning the St. Albans School of Public Service visited the largest library in the world and America's oldest cultural institution -- the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress dates back to 1800, but the fledgling collection was burned by the British during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt at one stroke when Congress authorized the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's personal library of over 6000 books in 1815. With 33 million books today, that was a productive 200 years! We were fortunate enough to get an exclusive tour of the wonders of this great institution from Ms. Rachel Gordon, including a meeting with an expert in the Jeffersonian collection and a viewing of one of three perfect copies of the Gutenberg Bible in the world.  The video below gives just a brief glimpse of the scale of this grand building.