America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress, 1800-2000 Book

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest cultural institution and a great repository of both intellectual and cultural treasures. This is the first popular illustrated history of the Library of Congress. It is more than an account of the careers of thirteen men (only one of whom was actually trained as a librarian), this is the story of discovering the great body of knowledge housed in the LOC and how it came to be there. Conaway has written a very accessible cultural history of the Library of Congress, complete with lively illustrations that begin to hint at the richness and diversity of collections available to the public. The LOC's amazingly wide-ranging collections (fire insurance maps, Cold War documents, folk music, Eames Collection of Design, Leonard Bernstein Archives, WPA/FPA photographs, the contents of Lincoln's pockets the night he was assassinated, etc.) are represented in the illustrations. The LOC is a favorite tourist attraction and reference (1 million visitors a year; the Library's website is visited by 1 million users a day).Read More