October 29, 2013 Main Reading Room Open House on Veterans Day

Press Contact: Deanna McCray-James (202) 707-9322
Public Contact: Visitor Services (202) 707-8000

Twice each year, the Library of Congress opens its magnificent Main Reading Room for a special public open house. The fall open house has been rescheduled and will take place on the federal Veterans Day holiday, Monday, Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Veterans History Project (VHP) of the Library will have staff available at an information kiosk within the Main Reading Room to talk with visitors about the VHP archive with its nearly 89,000 inspiring veterans' stories from WWI to the current conflicts. Staff will provide information to visitors about how they can record the stories of the veterans in their lives for the Veterans History Project. Learn more at www.loc.gov/vets.

The Main Reading Room is located on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St., S.E., Washington, D.C. Reference librarians will be available to demonstrate the Library’s online resources and discuss access to the Library’s vast onsite collections, including services and collections for use in family history research. No other reference services will be available and all other Library of Congress reading rooms and buildings will be closed. Visitors can join the conversation that day on Twitter using #LCFall2013.

The Prints and Photographs division will once again host a Flickr meet-up for photography enthusiasts. Images from either the Main Reading Room or the incomparable Great Hall that convey the theme of “Books and Reading” should be uploaded to Flickr with the tag #LCFall2013. Visitors may not use mono-, bi- nor tripods to capture images throughout the building.

The Jefferson Building, which will be open to the public between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., also features exhibitions and the Library Shop.

Among current exhibitions in the Jefferson building is “The Civil War in America.” The Nicolay copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address will be on display in the Great Hall from Nov. 8-19 before it is moved inside the exhibit. The Gettysburg Address, delivered Nov. 19, 1863, is one of the most famous speeches in American history and recognized as a literary masterpiece.

Housed in the Southwest Gallery on the second floor through Jan. 4, 2014, “The Civil War in America” exhibit presents the Library’s unmatched Civil War collections. Items displayed chronicle the sacrifices and accomplishments of those — in both the North and South — whose lives were lost or affected by the events of 1861–1865.

Unreserved guided tours of the Thomas Jefferson Building will be offered at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. Each tour is limited to 40 people and designed to accommodate individuals and families, not large groups. More information about the Library, the exhibitions and tours is available at the orientation desks at www.loc.gov/visit/ or by calling (202) 707-8000.

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, is the world’s preeminent reservoir of knowledge, providing unparalleled integrated resources to Congress and the American people. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov.

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PR 13-194
2013-10-29
ISSN 0731-3527