Events at the Library of Congress

The Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building and all exhibitions will be open for extended hours on Thursdays. Visitors are invited to enjoy happy hour drinks and food available for purchase in the Great Hall and the Jefferson Building’s beautiful architecture while immersing themselves in the Library’s exhibits, collections and programs.

Put on your dancing shoes and join us for an evening celebrating the America at 250 and the Songs of America collection. The Appalachian string folk band, Big Cricket String Band, based in Baltimore, brings their raucous, rollicking string band sound to the great hall the sounds of George Washington’s Mt Vernon and traditional music from the home states of some of the American…

In poverty-stricken postwar Rome, a man begins a new job that offers hope of salvation for his desperate family. When the bicycle he needs for work is stolen, he and his young son set out to track down the thief. In Italian with English subtitles. Black & white, 89 min. (Digital)

In 2025, the Library of Congress acquired the papers of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated figures in twentieth-century musical theater. This small display in the Performing Arts Reading Room features highlights from the collection, including lyrics and music from his musicals "Into the Woods," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music."

This small display celebrates one hundred years of Black history commemorations. Historian Carter G. Woodson initiated the annual observance of “Negro History Week” in February 1926. His modest idea blossomed into a monumental educational and cultural movement. In 1976, Negro History Week was extended to a month-long celebration to coincide with the nation’s bicentennial. This display traces the evolution of Negro History Week over…

The Library of Congress preserves collective memories representing entire societies as well as intimate records of important moments and rites of passage in individual lives. The inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and in forms created across time and continents.

Our understanding of George Washington and King George III of Britain is clouded by myths that have accumulated over centuries. This exhibition explores the lives and legacies of the two adversaries during America’s war for independence. The Library of Congress brings their papers together for the first time to reveal the real men behind the myths.

The bookish daughter of an eccentric inventor finds herself imprisoned in the castle of a mysterious beast. With the help of the castle’s enchanted staff, she soon learns the most important lesson of all—that true beauty comes from within. This Disney classic was the first animated feature to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Color, 84 min. (Film)

Praised for impeccable style and musicianship, the brilliant, Berlin-based Leonkoro Quartet performs music by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Dutch composer Henriette Bosmans on the Library’s renowned Stradivari instruments.

Our understanding of George Washington and King George III of Britain is clouded by myths that have accumulated over centuries. This exhibition explores the lives and legacies of the two adversaries during America’s war for independence. The Library of Congress brings their papers together for the first time to reveal the real men behind the myths.

In 2025, the Library of Congress acquired the papers of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated figures in twentieth-century musical theater. This small display in the Performing Arts Reading Room features highlights from the collection, including lyrics and music from his musicals "Into the Woods," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music."

This small display celebrates one hundred years of Black history commemorations. Historian Carter G. Woodson initiated the annual observance of “Negro History Week” in February 1926. His modest idea blossomed into a monumental educational and cultural movement. In 1976, Negro History Week was extended to a month-long celebration to coincide with the nation’s bicentennial. This display traces the evolution of Negro History Week over…

The Library of Congress preserves collective memories representing entire societies as well as intimate records of important moments and rites of passage in individual lives. The inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and in forms created across time and continents.

Our understanding of George Washington and King George III of Britain is clouded by myths that have accumulated over centuries. This exhibition explores the lives and legacies of the two adversaries during America’s war for independence. The Library of Congress brings their papers together for the first time to reveal the real men behind the myths.

In 2025, the Library of Congress acquired the papers of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated figures in twentieth-century musical theater. This small display in the Performing Arts Reading Room features highlights from the collection, including lyrics and music from his musicals "Into the Woods," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music."

This small display celebrates one hundred years of Black history commemorations. Historian Carter G. Woodson initiated the annual observance of “Negro History Week” in February 1926. His modest idea blossomed into a monumental educational and cultural movement. In 1976, Negro History Week was extended to a month-long celebration to coincide with the nation’s bicentennial. This display traces the evolution of Negro History Week over…

The Library of Congress preserves collective memories representing entire societies as well as intimate records of important moments and rites of passage in individual lives. The inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and in forms created across time and continents.

Washington National Opera’s new production of Scott Joplin’s groundbreaking 1910 opera “Treemonisha” is the focus of a special event featuring performers from the WNO’s Cafritz Young Artists program, plus a panel discussion with WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello, director Denyce Graves, and composer Damien Sneed.

In 2025, the Library of Congress acquired the papers of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated figures in twentieth-century musical theater. This small display in the Performing Arts Reading Room features highlights from the collection, including lyrics and music from his musicals "Into the Woods," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music."

Our understanding of George Washington and King George III of Britain is clouded by myths that have accumulated over centuries. This exhibition explores the lives and legacies of the two adversaries during America’s war for independence. The Library of Congress brings their papers together for the first time to reveal the real men behind the myths.

In 2025, the Library of Congress acquired the papers of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated figures in twentieth-century musical theater. This small display in the Performing Arts Reading Room features highlights from the collection, including lyrics and music from his musicals "Into the Woods," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music."

This small display celebrates one hundred years of Black history commemorations. Historian Carter G. Woodson initiated the annual observance of “Negro History Week” in February 1926. His modest idea blossomed into a monumental educational and cultural movement. In 1976, Negro History Week was extended to a month-long celebration to coincide with the nation’s bicentennial. This display traces the evolution of Negro History Week over…

The Library of Congress preserves collective memories representing entire societies as well as intimate records of important moments and rites of passage in individual lives. The inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and in forms created across time and continents.

Our understanding of George Washington and King George III of Britain is clouded by myths that have accumulated over centuries. This exhibition explores the lives and legacies of the two adversaries during America’s war for independence. The Library of Congress brings their papers together for the first time to reveal the real men behind the myths.

In 2025, the Library of Congress acquired the papers of Stephen Sondheim, one of the most celebrated figures in twentieth-century musical theater. This small display in the Performing Arts Reading Room features highlights from the collection, including lyrics and music from his musicals "Into the Woods," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Merrily We Roll Along," "Sweeney Todd" and "A Little Night Music."