April 6, 2018 Main Reading Room Open House on Memorial Day

Twice each year, the Library of Congress opens its magnificent Main Reading Room to share information about how the public can access the Library’s resources year-round. The Main Reading Room will be open to the public on the federal Memorial Day holiday, Monday, May 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Main Reading Room is located on the first floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C.   American Sign Language interpreters will be available during the open house.

The Jefferson Building will open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In lieu of the normal tour schedule, docents will be available to talk with visitors about the Jefferson Building, its history, art and architecture and the Library’s collections and exhibitions between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Reference librarians will be on hand to demonstrate services, offer instruction on obtaining a reader-registration card and answer questions. They will highlight Memorial Day-related items from the general collections and will also be available to demonstrate the Library’s online resources and discuss access to the Library’s vast on-site collections and electronic resources, including services and collections for use in family history research. U.S. Copyright Office staff will demonstrate how to register creative works and highlight items added to Library collections through copyright.  Additionally, staff from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped will be on hand to highlight the free braille and talking book service for people with temporary or permanent low vision, blindness or a physical disability that prevents them from reading or holding the printed page.  No other reference services will be available, and all other Library of Congress reading rooms and buildings will be closed. Photography is allowed; however, visitors may not use selfie sticks, mono-, bi- or tripods.

The Library’s Young Readers Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with activity stations and programming for visitors. Children and teens are invited to have fun with trivia games about the Library, engage in crafts celebrating books and reading, and enjoy the center’s collection of books, games, puzzles, puppets and more, as they explore the treasures in the Library’s collections. Young people under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

Exhibition tours will be available to visitors on the second floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building. All tours begin at the exhibition entrances.

More information about the Library and the exhibitions is available at the information desks, at www.loc.gov/visit/.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States—and extensive materials from around the world—both onsite and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov, and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.