Core elements

PART 1.
Core Elements of Art & Architecture Tour
“Building Blocks”

Knowledge of Core Elements/Building Blocks
Each docent tells the Library’s story differently, because of his or her varying interests, and because each of you will actively respond to the interests of each tour group. However, there are some basic facts and bits of information that you need to be able to address in your tour. Although you will not be able to cover every item below in an ordinary tour, please be sure that you are able to answer questions about each of the items. You need to be able to discuss and field questions on these points. This is a basic skeleton; how you flesh the tour out will depend on you and your group.

1. Library of Congress History:
• Library of Congress was established as a legislative library in 1800 with a $5,000 appropriation and was housed in the capitol.
• After the British burned the Capitol (including the library), Thomas Jefferson sold his collection to congress in 1815.
• About 2/3 of the Library’s collections, including many of Jefferson’s books, were burned in the Christmas Eve fire in the Capitol in 1851.
• The Library of Congress overflowed its space in the Capitol trying to accommodate the growing collections resulting from the 1870 copyright law, which brought the copyright office to the Library. The original law enacted in 1790 by the U.S. Congress to establish rules of copyright for intellectual works created by citizens and legal residents of the United States.
• On March 3, 1873, President Grant approved a $5,000 appropriation for a commission that would select a plan to “supervise the location and erection of a building” for the Library of Congress.
2. Thomas Jefferson Building:
• Designed in a Beaux Art style by John Smithmeyer and Paul Pelz.
• General Thomas Lincoln Casey and Engineer Bernard Green (from Army Corps of Engineers) oversaw construction. 1892 Edward Pearce Casey (son) replaced Paul Pelz to become the third Architect.
• The Jefferson Building was opened in 1897 under President Grover Cleveland. It was the first public building built in Washington with electricity in place. The Library went with Alternating Current or AC by Westinghouse and Tesla and not Direct Current by Edison. They did use the Edison lightbulb in all of the light fixtures.
• Inspired by some of the finest buildings in Europe, the Thomas Jefferson Building showed that this young nation had a culture that could “compete” with Europe.

CONTINUOUS THEMES:
• Minerva represents wisdom and understanding as well as national defense
• Lamps, torches represent the enlightenment that knowledge brings
• Democracy is based in knowledge
• Learning is a life-long endeavor
• Celebrating America’s newness and its inventions, coming into its own on the world stage

GREAT HALL
FLOOR
• The marble floor of the Great Hall contains a number of modeled and incised brass inlays.
• The center represents the Sun, on which are noted the four cardinal points of the compass, indicating the main axes of the building.
• A decorative scale pattern encloses the Sun with alternate sections of red and yellow Italian marble, the former from Verona and the latter from Sienna.
• The other squares form two patterns of rosettes. They are embedded in blocks of dark red, richly mottled French marble, with borders of pure white Italian marble.
• Twelve squares at the perimeter of the floor of the Great Hall represent the signs of the zodiac.
• Proceeding clockwise from the northwest corner, the zodiac signs are Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra, and Virgo.

PUTTI
The figures of little boys on the staircase are known as “putti” in Italian Renaissance art. They are by sculptor Phillip Martiny and represent the various occupations and pursuits of contemporary American life when the Jefferson Building was completed in 1897.
North Side
A gardener, with spade and rake.
An entomologist, with an insect specimen box slung over his shoulder, running to catch a butterfly with his net.
A student, with a book in his hand and a mortarboard on his head.
A printer, with type, a press, and a type case.

Globe
Asia is represented by an Asian figure, dressed in flowing silk robes, the folds of which are delicately rendered in marble. In the background is a dragon and a porcelain jar.
Europe is represented with a lyre, book and Ionic column―the three objects symbolizing Music, Literature, and Architecture. The fifth continent – Australia – is on the globe.

A musician, with a lyre by his side, studying the pages of a musical composition.
A physician grinding drugs in a mortar, with a distilling vessel beside him and the serpent sacred to medicine.
An electrician, with a burst of electric rays shining on his brow and a telephone receiver at his ear.
An astronomer, with a telescope and a terrestrial globe, encircled by the signs of the zodiac that he is measuring by the aid of a pair of compasses.

South Side
.
• A mechanic, with a cogwheel, a pair of pincers, and a crown of laurel, signifies the triumphs of invention.
• A hunter, with his gun, holds a rabbit by the ears.
• An infant Bacchanalian (Vintner), with Bacchus’s grape vines and panther skin, joyously holds a champagne glass in one hand.
• A farmer holds a sickle and a sheaf of wheat.
Globe
America is represented as an American Indian, with a tall headdress of feathers, a bow and arrow, and a wampum necklace. With one hand he shades his eyes while he gazes intently into the distant West.
Africa is represented with a war club and a necklace of the claws of a wild beast and a crocodile.
• A fisherman, with rod and reel, taking a fish from a hook.
• A Little Mars (the Roman god of war), polishing his helmet.
• A chemist, with a blowpipe.
• A cook, with a pot hot from the fire.

Commemorative Arch
This arch by Olin L. Warner (1844–1896) leading to the Main Reading Room commemorates the erection of the Library of Congress. Its sculpture The Students represents the pursuit of knowledge. On the left a young man seeks knowledge through study. On the right an older man with flowing beard is shown absorbed in meditation, no longer concerned so much with a source of learning because he observes life and engages in original reflection and thought.

In the frieze above them the words “Library of Congress,” are inscribed in tall gild letters.

A second inscription names those involved in the building of the Library. The text reads:

Erected Under the Acts of Congress of
April 15, 1886; October 2, 1888; and March 2, 1889 by
Brig. Gen. Thos. Lincoln Casey
Chief of Engineers U.S.A.
Bernard R. Green Supt. and Engineer
John L. Smithmeyer Architect
Paul J. Pelz Architect
Edward Pearce Casey Architect – Completed Architectural studies at the School of Mines, then worked for McKim, Mead, and White a prominent Beaux Arts architectural firm. Casey was admitted to the École de Beaux-Arts in 1890. Started his own architectural firm in New York in 1892 and began advising Green and his father on the interior decoration of the Library. To stave off charges of nepotism, he was not given an official title for his Library work nor was he initially paid directly by the government, he instead received a stipend from his father. Both Smithmeyer and Pelz tried to discredit Edward Pearce Casey and were very upset that his name went on the commemorative arch.
Thomas Lincoln Casey, Jr. – Was an entomologist and an astronomer.

HALL OF THE WRITTEN WORD: (with bibles)
Ceiling mosaics show 3 professions: Theology, Medicine, and Law. Medallions show other professions
Lunettes show progression of the “Evolution of the Book”: cairns, oral tradition, hieroglyphs, picture writing , manuscript illumination, Gutenberg and printing press.

BIBLES:
Giant Bible of Mainz
Manuscript created by one unknown scribe, written at the rate of one page a day for 15 months between April 4, 1452–July 9, 1453.
Produced on vellum (stretched, dried animal skins)
The Giant Bible of Mainz was purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald and gifted to the Library of congress on April 4, 1952, five hundred years after the manuscript was begun.
We DO NOT know the actual name of the scribe who wrote the Giant Bible of Mainz, we only know his “pen name”
Gutenberg Bible
First book produced by movable metal type printing press in Western Europe.
Printed on vellum in Mainz, Germany 1455.
This is one of three perfect vellum copies. The other two perfect copies are in British Library in London and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
Along with 3,000 other fifteenth-century books (incunabula), it was purchased from Dr. Otto Vollbehr by an act of Congress in 1930 for 1.5 million dollars.
Why are some Gutenberg’s dated 1454 and others 1455? Is that because of the dates that they were bound? Both dates are used. We don’t quite know when a copy was first finished. We do know that they were available in 1455.
Binding was done by the owner, not the printer.

Approximately 180 copies were printed, but the exact number is unknown.
Of these, 145 were likely done on paper. The paper was imported from northern Italy.
Three different papers used (7 bales of bull’s head, 2 bales of grapes, 1 bales of ox). These refer to watermarks, suggesting that he bought his paper from several sources. This makes sense because of the volume of paper the Bible required. Not so much a distinction in the kind of paper as it is a distinction in the vendor. Gutenberg used fine, handmade paper imported from Italy. Each sheet has a watermark left by the paper maker, which can be seen when the paper is held up to the light. There are four different watermarks in this Bible: a bull’s head, a trotting ox, and two variations of grape clusters. Additional papers added when edition size was increased.

The remaining 35 on vellum (treated calfskin).

To produce 180 copies of 1,282 pages would require 230,760 passes through the press = 330 working days or approximately two years of work. The average scribe could complete an entire Bible in approximately three years.

MAIN READING ROOM:
General statistics:
á Height of dome: Up to bottom of lantern is 125 feet; to top of lantern is 160 feet
á Octagonal room with 8 alcoves which hold reference books
á Marble from Algeria (deep red), Siena (yellow), and Tennessee (brown)
á There are 236 desks.

ARTWORK
DOME:
– Dome mural is Human Understanding shown lifting the veil of ignorance revealed only to those within the Main Reading Room
– Collar around Dome is the “Evolution of Civilization” by Edwin Howland Blashfield
– Shows cultures, countries and time periods and their contributions to the progress of Western Civilization

SCULPTURE:
The 8 female statues at the top of the massive piers represent characteristic features of civilized life and thought with 16 Bronze statues of figures below as representatives of the fields of:
– ART with Michelangelo and Beethoven
– HISTORY with Herodotus and Edward Gibbon
– COMMERCE with Columbus and Robert Fulton
– RELIGION with St. Paul and Moses
– SCIENCE with Newton and Joseph Henry (secretary of the Smithsonian)
– LAW with Chancellor Kent and Solon (an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet)
– POETRY with Homer and Shakespeare
– PHILOSOPHY with Bacon and Plato

INSCRIPTIONS:
Chosen by President Eliot of Harvard University. Each is attributed and appropriate to the statue below it: Art, History, Commerce, Religion, Poetry, Science, Philosophy, Law.

STAINED GLASS WINDOWS: Show 48 state seals as Alaska and Hawaii were not yet part of the United States. Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona were still territories at the time the building was completed, but their seals are included.

SECOND FLOOR/MEZZANINE CORRIDORS:
ARTWORK:
56 Printers’ Marks – Are engraved in the title-page of printer’s books, partly as a kind of informal trademark guarding against counterfeited editions, and partly as a personal emblem.
N9. William Caxton (c.1421-1491)
Printer History. William Caxton is considered England’s first printer, although he was initially apprenticed in the textile trade. After considerable success on the Continent, his interest turned to literature. He learned printing in Cologne in 1470-72; set up a press in Brugge and printed The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye, the first book printed in English. Toward the end of 1476 he returned to England where he devoted himself to writing and printing. Some books that Caxton printed were The Canterbury Tales and Fables of Aesop.
Printer’s Mark Description. In elaborate script are his initials, Won the left and C on the right, with the figure 74 in the middle. Interpretation of Mark. The hieroglyphs between his initials have been a subject of speculation among bibliophiles. They are commonly supposed to represent the figures 74, possibly marking a notable event in Caxton’s life, though some students of Caxton interpret the hieroglyphs as his mercer’s mark.

W2. Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer (1457)
Printer History. Johann Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and money lender, loaned substantial sums to Johann Gutenberg. When Gutenberg was unable to repay these sums, his press and types became Fust’s property. In a partnership with his brother-in-law, Peter Schoeffer, Fust carried on the work begun by Gutenberg. This may be the first printer’s mark to be created. Printer’s Mark Description. Two shields hanging from a branch bearing two compositor’s setting rules in saltier (crossed) with the addition of three stars on the right-hand shield.

S12 Pierre Le Rouge, 1488.
Printer History. Pierre Le Rouge printed books for most of the great publishers of Paris. His books were ornamented lavishly and with startling originality. He was the first to take title “Librarie-Imprimeur du Doi” ceded to him by Charles VIII. Printer’s Mark Description. His name is displayed on a red rosebush of his sign; it is guarded by two doves surmounted by a crowned fleur-de-lis. Interpretation of Mark. The red rose is a play on his name and the crowned fleur-de-lis indicates his office as Royal Printer.

E14 Aldus Manutius (Italian), 1452-1516
Printer History. Aldus Pius Manutius, founder of the Aldine family of printers, was the foremost editor, printer, and publisher of the Italian Renaissance. He combined scholarship with business acumen. In 1489 he entered a partnership with Andrea Torresano and in 1505 married his daughter. In Venice he published Greek and Roman classics, often in small format, at low cost for scholars. He was also an innovator in producing new type designs, for example, italic. Aldus was succeeded in the publishing business by his youngest son, Paolo, and later by his grandson, Aldo II, who headed the firm until 1598.
Printer’s Mark Description. The graceful Anchor and Dolphin design, one of the most famous of all printer’s marks or colophons, first appeared as an illustration in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the first edition of which was published in December 1499. Aldus adopted the device as his printer’s mark in January 1501 in the second volume of Poetae Christiani veteres, and subsequently used it in at least 19 versions.
The Anchor and Dolphin emblem is called an impresa, a form of pictorial puzzle popular in renaissance Italy. The picture illustrates a motto, in this case a saying of the emperor Augustus that Aldus knew from Suetonius’ biography and from the Noctes Atticae of Aulus Gellius: Festina lente, “Make haste slowly.” Another motto that he used was A L’Adventure Tout Vient a Point Qui Peut Attendre—By fortune, all things come to him who can wait. Interpretation of Mark. The anchor was symbolic of slowness and the dolphin of speed, an apt representation of the printer’s painstaking and relentless style of work. George Willoughby Maynard’s 8 Pompeiian Red Panels showing civic virtues in the corners (northeast corner, Fortitude and Justice; southeast corner, Patriotism and Courage; southwest corner, Temperance and Prudence; northwest corner, Industry and Concord)

NORTH Mezzanine:
Robert Reid
5 Senses in the ceiling (Touch, Smell, Hearing, Taste, Sight)
4 Intellects above the doors (Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Philosophy)
5 Ancient outdoor athletic contests or Olympic scenes in the ceiling between each of the 5 senses.
(Starting at the West Side (Capitol side) Throwing discus, Wrestling, Running, the Rub Down, Kneeling to receive the crown of victory, and the Victorious march home crowned with garlands

WEST Mezzanine:
3 Arts in the ceiling (Sculpture, Architecture, and Painting)
8 Sciences in the arches Walter Shirlaw (west Zoology, Physics, Mathematics, Geology and east Archeology, Botany, Astronomy, Chemistry)

SOUTH Mezzanine:
Frank Weston Benson
3 Graces in the ceiling Aglaia at the east (husbandry), Thalia in the center (music), and Euphrosyne at the west (beauty)
4 Seasons above the doors (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter)
Baseball and Football Images

EAST Mezzanine:
Elihu Vedder’s Mosaic: Minvera of Peace
Vedder painted his cartoon in Rome, sent it to Murano, outside of Venice where the mosaic was executed in glass and marble ahd shipped to the US in larger panels. Installed by Maitland Armstrong , a well-known stained glass studio in New York.
Glass & gold leaf mosaic, Cartooning method
Iconography related to protecting civilization:
Spear is pointing down and shield is on the ground
Clouds of ignorance are parting
Statue of Nike (Winged victory) is to the right
Owl, representing wisdom, is to the left
Scroll with various departments of learning
Nil invita Minerva quae monumentum aere perennius exegit.

“Minerva, who has completed a monument more lasting than bronze, [does]
nothing against her will.”

Our quote seems to be a combination of two famous Horatian quotes.
First, in Ode III.30 the following line: Exegi monumentum aere perennius… “I have completed a monument more lasting than
bronze…etc.” But Horace is here referring to his own poetry, not an actual physical monument.

In the Ars Poetica we find: Tu nihil invita dices faciesve Minerva.
“Thou wilt neither say nor do anything, Minerva, against thine own will.”

3 Ages of Man in the ceiling (Birth, Middle Age, Death)
8 Literary Genres in the arches George Randolph Barse (north end Lyrica, Tragedy, Comedy, History and south end Erotica, Tradition, Fancy, Romance)

Library of Congress work:
• Support Congress: Congressional Research Service, Law Library of Congress
• US Copyright Office
• Researcher Rooms
• Exhibitions, Concerts, Symposia, Lectures, etc.
• http://www.loc.gov

Original quantity of building materials, 1897–before the stacks were added to 2 of the courtyards.
409,000 cubic feet of granite
500,000 enameled bricks (look at the courtyard)
22,000,000 Red bricks
3,800 tons of steel and iron
73,000 barrels of cement
2,165 windows
15 varieties of marble

10/26/2016 6:41 AM

PART 2
Docent Evaluation Form – To be filled out by VSO

Docent Trainee: _______________________ Date of Tour: _____________

VSO Staff: ___________________________ Tour start/end times: _______ /_______

# in group/tour type: _______ /_______

Directions: Use this form to give qualifying tour feedback to a docent.

Part I: Qualifying Tour: Focus Areas

a. Structure – delivers a well-organized tour, including introduction, 4-6 “stops” and conclusion; kept tour to within an hour

b. Content – demonstrates knowledge and understanding of Library Tour Core Elements including Q&A responses

c. Presentation – engages visitors by using effective communication skills (voice projection, etc.) throughout the tour

d. Logistics – manages tour logistics, such as timing, group movement and visitor behavior

Part II: Qualifying Tour Overall Feedback

a. Highlights of this tour to keep:

b. Recommendations for improving this tour:

c. Additional comments:
1. Presents tour with enthusiasm, interest, and confidence. Readily adapts and enhances presentation by recognizing that interests may vary depending on group.
Comments:

2. Addresses entire group and treats everyone with respect.
Comments:

3. Uses appropriate voice projection for size of group and is easily heard by all attendees.
Comments:

4. Displays courtesy and respect towards volunteers and staff.
Comments:

5. Adheres to dress code with appropriate attire and ID badges and name tags visible.
Comments:

6. Controls attention of the group and keeps them moving and focused throughout the tour.
Comments:

7. Completes tour within recommended timeframe of 45 minutes to one hour, allowing for accessibility concerns or other circumstances that impact tour length.
Comments:

8. Answers questions correctly and willingly (if applicable).
Comments:

Based on all observed focus areas of and overall feedback for this tour, indicate if docent
□ Needs additional practice □ Completed in a satisfactory manner

VSO Staff ____________________________________ Date___________________________

Part III. Docent Self-Evaluation
POST TOUR REFLECTION
(Docent use only)
DOCENT___________________________________ TOUR DATE______________
What aspects of your tour went particularly well today?  Why do you think these were successful?

Did you face any challenges on this tour?  Why do you think these aspects were difficult?

Please list/describe topics you’d like to cover further in informal Docent meetings to help you plan/prepare for future tours.

Thoughts about anything you’d do differently, try or add next time……

Any incidents/comments that made this tour especially enjoyable or memorable?

Please check the box(es) that best describe how you feel you did on your tour today.
Tour Preparation
Yes
No
A Little
Did I arrive 15 minutes before my tour time?

Did I check in with my colleagues and the coordinator(s)?

Did I test all necessary equipment before the tour?

Body Language and Interaction

Did I appropriately introduce myself to the group?

Was I welcoming, friendly and courteous to all participants?

Did I make eye contact with all members of the group?

Did I stand so that I did not obscure the art or have my back to any participants?

Central Organization of the Tour

My audience for this tour was:

Given my audience, my specific objective for the tour was:

The theme or focus of my tour was:

Did I clearly state my purpose and theme for my audience?

Did I organize the tour with an intro, body and conclusion?

Did I use transitions to tie the tour together and move smoothly from stop to stop?

Tour Content

Did I include the history of the Library as part of my tour?

Did I use the architecture or art to achieve my focus & objectives?

Did I include factual information about the artwork?

Did I relate art and architecture to visitors’ personal experiences?

Audience Engagement

Did I adapt my tour to the learning levels, styles and special needs and interests of my audience?

Was the content and vocabulary I used age-appropriate?

Did I encourage group participation?

Did I use open-ended questions to encourage participants to look, engage and respond?

Did I provide plenty of “wait time” for responses?

Did I paraphrase audience responses?

Was I open to all perspectives?

Was I objective?

Tour Pacing

Did I pace the tour properly? (Did the tour have 5 to 6 stops lasting no more than 5 minutes in any one spot?)

Did I complete the tour in the specified time?

Overall Effectiveness

Will these visitors want to return?

Will the visitors want to learn more about LOC and collections?

Did I tell them about the Library of Congress website?

Did I achieve the objectives for the tour?

Fun Fact or Myth

Minerva: Greek or Roman? Goddess of War or Peace?
The artist has chosen for his subject Minerva, her armor partly laid aside, appearing as the guardian of civilization. She is the Minerva of Peace, but Mr. Vedder indicates that the prosperity which she now cherishes has been attained only through just and righteous war, whether waged against a foreign enemy or against the forces of disorder and corruption within. Small’s Handbook, 1897. pg 57

Is that the “tree of life” surrounding Minerva Mosaic? Vedder’s whole design is surrounded by a border containing, a convention laurel tree displayed like a vine. Small’s Handbook, 1897. pg 57

Jefferson: Sold or gave his 6,487 book collection? http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/thomas-jeffersons-library/overview.html

Gutenberg: Inventor of the first metal moveable type printing press in the whole world? http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/world/world-record.html#obj152

Italian Renaissance vs. Beaux Arts
In the late 19th century the architectural style of the Jefferson Building was said to be “Italian Renaissance.” Today, it is recognized as a premier example of the Beaux Arts style, which is theatrical, heavily ornamented and kinetic. It is a style perfectly suited to a young, wealthy, and imperialistic nation in its Gilded Age. The materials — marble (15 varieties), granite (400,000 cubic feet), bronze, gold, mahogany — were expensive but would last a thousand years. http://www.aoc.gov/library-congress

Copyright – How many copies get deposited?
For works first published in the United States on or after January 1, 1978, the applicant generally should submit two complete copies of the best edition of the work. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.20(c)(1)(iii). However, there are several exceptions to this rule, which are discussed in Sections 1509.1 through 1509.3.
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/

How many desks are in the Main Reading Room? 236 desks, with more in the alcoves for up to 260 desks

The Hewlett-Packard Campus of the National Audi-Visual Conservation Center is located in
a.) Culpepper, VA
b.) Manassas, VA
c.) Sharpsburg, MD
d.) Gettysburg, PA
http://www.loc.gov/avconservation/packard/

How many books are in the Library of Congress?
1801 – 152 titles in 740 volumes and three maps for $5,000
1802 – 964 volumes and nine maps and charts
1812 – 3,076 volumes and 53 maps, charts and plans (catalogue produced before the fire in 1814)
1814 – 0 Volumes
1814 – 6,487 volumes in 4,929 titles purchased from Thomas Jefferson
Today – 38,669,160
Cole, John. For Congress and the Nation: A Chronological History of the Library of Congress. Washington, 1979.

How many public reading rooms are there in The Library of Congress?
18
1. African and Middle Eastern
2. American Folklife Center
3. Asian
4. Business, Science and Technology
5. Children’s Literature
6. European
7. Geography & Map
8. Hispanic
9. Law Library
10. Main Reading Room includes Local History and Genealogy
11. Manuscript
12. Microform& Electronic Resources Center
13. Motion Picture and Television
14. Newspaper & Current Periodical
15. Performing Arts/Music
16. Prints & Photographs
17. Rare Book & Special Collections
18. Recorded Sound Reference Center

+ 2 for Congressional use –Lafollette and the Jefferson Congressional Reading Room

The British stacked up all the books in the LoC in 1814 to burn the Capitol down during the War of 1812. True or False or somewhere in between.

The statue of Art in the main reading room has a model of what building in her hand?
a) The Supreme Court
b) The Pantheon
c) The Parthenon
d) The Acropolis

Putti vs. Cherub
Putto
noun put·to \ˈpü-(ˌ)tō\ Plural put·ti \-(ˌ)tē\ : a figure of an infant boy especially in European art of the Renaissance —usually used in plural
cherub
noun cher·ub \ˈcher-əb, ˈche-rəb\ : a type of angel that is usually shown in art as a beautiful young child with small wings and a round face and body
Why do we have Islam on the Blashfield Collar? – Because Islam is responsible for preserving Chemistry and Physics during the Dark Ages.
Have we digitized everything? – NO!
We are not even close. It is hard to say how close we are since the way we count physical items vs. digital items is different. EXAMPLE: An eight page letter from Abraham Lincoln would count as
1 Physical item, but 8 digital files (1 for each page) or 16 digital files if the letter was written on the front and back of the pages.

Congress spent 10 million dollars of tax payers money on the Waldseemüller Map? NO!
The cost of Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 map was $10million, but was a combined public/private effort with funds from:
• The Congress of the United States
• Discovery Channel
• Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest
• David H. Koch
On April 30, 2007, Chancellor Angela Merkel, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, transferred the map to the people of the United States of America. The Library is grateful for the additional funding to display this map, given in memory of Martin M. Gray.
Why is the letter “V” used when it should be a “U”?

In the original Latin alphabet, the character “v” sufficed for both the consonant “v” and the vowel “u”. The replacement of the character “u” with “v” can be seen on neoclassical architecture in the United States, derived from the American Renaissance movement (1876-1917), reflecting the Ancient Roman influence on the architectural style.

Where are the books?
Books and other materials are shelved on some 838 miles of shelves in three buildings on Capitol Hill and off-site storage facilities. All Library stacks are closed. But to get a sense of the breadth of the LOC collections, go see what is on exhibition.

What is the Library of Congress?
The Library serves as the research arm of Congress and is recognized as the national library of the United States. Its collections comprise the world’s most comprehensive record of human creativity and knowledge. Open to those age 16 and older without charge or special permission, it is the world’s largest library and a great resource to scholars and researchers.
Does the Library have a copy of every book published in the United States?
No, but it does have more than 38 million books and printed materials, as well as more than 121 million maps, manuscripts, photographs, films, audio and video recordings, prints and drawings, and other special collections.

How do I get into the Main Reading Room?
The intention is to provide access to researchers, not simply those who want to tour, so VSO helps to discourage “tourists” from getting cards.

“Anyone 16 or over can use the Library’s collections by getting a reader registration card. The card gives you access to the public reading rooms where reference staff can help with your research. If you simply wish to see the room, the bird’s eye view is from the gallery. If all these hundreds of people walked in, no one would get any work done. Or make the distinction between the “visiting” and “working” parts of the Library.

For Researchers:
If someone wants to do research, they register in LM 140. With have a photo ID that has a US address, they receive a card that is good for 2 years. With no photo ID, they will receive a non-renewable card that is good for 8 days and not fully accepted in all reading rooms. With a photo id without a US address (e.g. a passport), they will receive a card that is good for 2 weeks and is renewable.

FACTS AT A GLANCE
In fiscal year 2015, the Library of Congress …
■ Responded to more than 1 million reference requests from Congress, the public and other federal agencies. In addition, online research products were accessed on the Congressional Research Service website by congressional clients on more than 850,000 occasions. Approximately 20,540 volumes from the Library’s collections were delivered to congressional offices;

■ Registered 443,812 claims to copyright through the U.S. Copyright Office;

■ Circulated nearly 22 million copies of braille and recorded books and magazines to more than 862,000 blind and physically handicapped reader accounts;

■ Circulated nearly 900,000 items for use within the Library;

■ Preserved more than 9 million items from the Library’s collections;

■ Recorded a total of 162,477,060 items in the collections:

● 24,055,745 cataloged books in the Library of Congress classification system

● 14,613,415 items in the nonclassified print collections, including books in large type and raised characters, incunabula (books printed before 1501), monographs and serials, music, bound newspapers, pamphlets, technical reports and other print material

● 123,807,900 items in the nonclassified (special) collections, including:
3,601,323 audio materials (discs, tapes, talking books and other recorded formats)
70,296,299 manuscripts
5,559,470 maps
17,069,754 microforms
1,758,713 moving images
7,166,307 items of sheet music
14,974,472 visual materials, as follows:
14,200,418 photographs
106,676 posters
667,378 prints and drawings
3,381,592 other (including machine-readable items)

■ Welcomed nearly 1.6 million onsite visitors and recorded 86.1 million visits and more than 482.5 million page views on the Library’s web properties. At year’s end, the Library’s online primary-source files totaled 60.9 million;
■ Employed 3,094 permanent staff members; and
■ Operated with a total fiscal 2015 appropriation of $630.853 million, including the authority to spend $39.9 million in receipts