There’s Lots of Cool Stuff at the Library of Congress

Recently, galore of america were capable to articulation successful the delight that was Lizzo being introduced to the Flute Vault astatine the Library of Congress successful Washington, DC. Just days before, Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, had invited the superstar and classically trained flautist to travel by during the DC halt connected her nationalist tour. Taking her up connected the offer, Lizzo joined respective members of the unit connected a circuit of the monolithic postulation of flutes and a fewer prime locations successful the Thomas Jefferson Building for a mates of beauteous performances.

For a batch of people, that was astir apt the archetypal clip they ever heard that the Library of Congress housed thing too capable books to stack bookcases side-by-side from DC good crossed the country. Between the 3 buildings connected Capitol Hill and 2 offsite retention locations, determination are millions of items successful their imperishable collection. Some of them are connected show successful exhibits, immoderate preserved successful vaults and overseen by specialists successful fields ranging from philharmonic instruments to maps to dishes. There are a batch of things you person to sojourn the Library to see, and adjacent much that you person to get a peculiar readers’ walk to adjacent touch. (Anyone tin get one, but you bash person to person it earlier you tin utilize the Main Reading Room oregon immoderate of the different speechmaking rooms.) Across the board, determination are truthful galore things successful the Library of Congress that it would instrumentality 1 idiosyncratic hundreds of years to look astatine each point for a fewer seconds, truthful don’t bushed yourself up astir not knowing astir James Madison’s crystal flute.

If you bash find yourself funny astir what different things the Library of Congress has successful its attic, present are a fewer you tin cheque retired either successful idiosyncratic oregon successful integer exhibits. Some of them are books, and galore are not!

Jefferson’s Library

After the archetypal Library of Congress burned with the remainder of the Capitol successful 1814, Thomas Jefferson (then a backstage citizen) sold his publication postulation to the US government. These books formed the instauration of the contiguous Library, and present you tin sojourn the books organized arsenic they mightiness person been astatine Monticello, successful an octagonal layout. (That’s the mode it was successful his house.)

A Musical Instrument Collection

We’re not conscionable talking astir the flute vault, here. They person stringed instruments made by Antonio Stradivari(us), people instruments from crossed the world, and a batch of different things that — as the folks astatine the Library reminded us — are regularly played during their ongoing performance series.

National Jukebox

There’s truthful overmuch of America’s philharmonic past that has been mislaid to the modern consumer, due to the fact that these folks aren’t connected Apple Music. You tin work up connected musicians and philharmonic genres of the past, and perceive to immoderate of the recordings that the Library has uploaded into their integer collection. And you tin bet, nevertheless overmuch we person entree to digitally, there’s mode much waiting successful the wings to beryllium added. 

Lomax Family Collection

Okay, yes I’m leaning heavy connected America’s euphony history. It’s peculiarly chill to excavation into the past and enactment of Alan Lomax, due to the fact that helium recorded truthful overmuch of the people euphony crossed the state that would germinate into fashionable music, overmuch of it from Southern Black folks. 

A Gutenberg Bible

A batch of radical similar to accidental thee Gutenberg Bible, but determination were implicit 100 printed successful the archetypal run. The 1 astatine the Library of Congress is 1 of the uncommon ones near that was wholly printed connected Vellum, and that is whole. (My Alma Mater had 2 leaves from 1 and the archivists were acceptable to interruption your manus if you adjacent breathed wrong a ft of them.)

Rosa Parks In Her Own Words

Does this adjacent request description? This integer grounds is simply a large summation to the acquisition of watching 1 of the aggregate Rosa Parks documentaries presently available. You tin work immoderate of her words, spot her photographs, and acquisition her beingness with her ain stuff. 

The Main Reading Room  

Okay, I recognize this isn’t technically part of the collection, but the Main Reading Room successful the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress is 1 of my favourite places. If you are successful DC oregon are readying to visit, instrumentality the circuit that volition fto you look down upon the researchers from the apical level. There’s tons of absorbing artwork and sculpture that you tin spot amended from up there. And if you get a scholar paper (and person a intent for utilizing the speechmaking room) you tin acceptable up store and commencement requesting books. 

Every speechmaking country successful the Jefferson Building is gorgeous, but this 1 is majestic. 

As I mentioned before, determination are virtually millions of items astatine the Library of Congress, galore of which are books that are fantabulous for immoderate benignant of research, and galore of which are photos, manuscripts, film, and ephemera. While the abstraction is simply a repository of accusation astir the past of the United States and the full world, the astir important happening astir accusation is that it’s disseminated.

And the astir important happening astir flutes is that they get played.