September 16, 2018 Library to Hold Annual Fall Open Houses

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 Columbus Day holiday, Monday, Oct. 8, 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 Street S.E., Washington, D.C.

The Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) once again invites the public to visit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to learn more about the audio-visual conservation services offered by the Library. This year special attention will be given to how education and training led the employees of the Packard Campus to their careers within the Library of Congress. Children and school groups are welcome to participate in the Open House activities. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour the facility, participate in interactive sessions in the listening room and view a video highlighting the Library’s work and items from the collection in the theater. Tickets are required for the facility tours. Ticket information can be found here. The NAVCC is located at 19053 Mount Pony Road, Culpeper, VA 22701.

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 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Reference librarians will be on hand to demonstrate services, offer instruction on obtaining a reader-registration card and answer questions. They will 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. 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 come with their families and engage in learning about space exploration, astronomy and even astrobiology as they explore the treasures in the Library’s collections. Visitors can have fun with trivia games, engage in space-related crafts and enjoy the center’s collection of books, games and puzzles, puppets and more. Young people under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.

The Library’s exhibitions will be open throughout the day. A tour of Exploring the Early Americas will begin at 11:30 am at the entrance to the gallery. Exploring the Early Americas provides insight into indigenous cultures, the drama of the encounters between Native Americans and European explorers and settlers, and the pivotal changes caused by the meeting of the American and European worlds. Other exhibitions include Baseball Americana, which considers the game then and now—as it relates to players, teams, and the communities it creates; Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I, which examines the upheaval of world war as Americans confronted it at home and abroad; and Drawn to Purpose: American Women Artists and Illustrators, which closes October 20 and brings to light remarkable but little-known contributions made by North American women to the art forms of illustration and cartooning.

More information about the Library and the exhibitions is available at the information desks, at loc.gov/visit/ or by calling (202) 707-8000.

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 on-site 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.