The Space and Physical Access

The Library of Congress (LOC) is nothing short of an amazing space. The LOC rests on Capitol Hill tucked in directly behind the Capitol Building. The LOC encompasses three large buildings all connected via sidewalks, roads, and underground tunnels. There is a Metro subway line nearby and plenty of bus service as well. Bike sharing and scooter sharing services can be found nearby. The main building, the Thomas Jefferson Building, has an ornate Italian Renaissance design that fits in with the stature of a large federal building you would expect to see in the capital of the nation, and while it is quite impressive I wouldn’t label it as particularly welcoming. They do use the large lawn area to host special events, show movies, and invite people inside to their Coolidge Auditorium. Inside the Jefferson Building you are greeted by an airport-style security screening process, and you must have obtained free, timed tickets to visit in advance, although it appears that a limited number of passes are available each morning. After entering there is an information desk and a free coat/bag check area. Since much of the building is a constant tourist attraction, you have to make your way past a gift shop and the impressive Great Hall (which also contains the Gutenberg Bible) to make you way to the galleries and eventually on to the reading rooms. Staircases are everywhere, but elevator banks are available as well. There are few spaces or nooks to linger, and no seating anywhere for long-term other than in the reading rooms. Wifi is available but no computer terminals were present in any of the spaces I visited. The space is open to all, but the children’s area is temporarily relocated to a smaller room while that wing of the building is renovated to give the children’s section a much larger and diverse space. A graphic arts and comics exhibit was on display in the gallery between the children’s area and the gift shop. Beyond that wing of the building lies the reader processing area just before the main reading room. In order to view materials from this collection you must obtain a free reader’s card. Preregistration for the card is available online in advance, but you still must wait in a line (an hour total during my visit) to be processed, have your picture taken, and be presented with a card that is good for two years.

Digital Access

You can access the LOC by pointing your browser to loc.gov. The inviting site is well organized with plenty of updated images, scrolling galleries, videos, and important links for readers wanting to access the online catalog, teachers, researchers, visitors, and those seeking copyright information. Some of the site is dedicated to the annual National Book Festival. The thread of diversity winds through the pages as you are presented with images, videos, and links that embrace all sorts of people. The main catalog is easily searched and also contains sub-categorical links for a variety of specialized catalogs and research tools. There is an easy to use FAQ section (also available in Spanish), an ask a librarian link for email help, and links to the LOC magazine and a variety of blogs and social media channels they utilize.

Services and Intellectual Access

Accessibility is covered in-depth with a variety of services, tools, and programs to make the LOC buildings and their website accessible. Being the LOC, they use the LOC organizational method. Signage and arrows on the ground lead you to the most useful places in the LOC, although very little signage was available in any language other than English. Being such a special collection library, the LOC is full of amazing, special collections. In addition to the huge collection, there are a number of services aimed at changing the visitor experience including: music and movie series, art exhibits, and ongoing lectures and talks about a huge variety of subjects and from an amazing array of people spanning every walk of life.

People (Patrons and Staff)

Many of the staff I witnessed during my visit are the type you would expect to see from such a national landmark as the LOC. Security guards and visitor guides (wearing brightly colored “Ask me a question” vests) where found everywhere. I interacted with visitor guides in the children’s area who helped my son look through a historical baseball card collection, and I interacted with two separate staff members while working to process my reader’s card. In the main reading room I could see other staff members who were handling documents and responding to reader requests for access to artifacts. Even though this is the “people’s library” the LOC primarily works to help researchers and members of Congress with their requests. They do have incredible spotlights of staff working for the LOC scattered about throughout the building which I thought was an amazing idea.

Collections

Rubin and Rubin (2020) point out that libraries “have a special responsibility to ensure that cultural information, regardless of format, remains available over time” (p. 94). To this end, the LOC is the world’s largest library and has over 167 million items that includes books, recordings, photographs, maps, sheet music, manuscripts, and more. They have specialty reading rooms organized by topics, the US Copyright Office and their documents, the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped which circulates audio and braille materials throughout the country, the Congressional Research Service which provides research for members of Congress, and an international law collection found in the Law Library of Congress. My son was fascinated with their world’s largest collection of baseball cards while my wife and I enjoyed looking more into the manuscripts and collection of Jonathan Larson (Rent). Once you have obtained a reader’s card you can present yourself at one of the reading rooms. You can request materials through the catalog using your reader’s card number and the materials will be brought to you while you are in the reading room. You may not check out any materials, and several materials you are not even able to handle without a staff member assisting you. The ability to gain a reader’s card can certainly be hampered for those that have limited time or do not have a government issued ID, and you have to be at least 16 to get the card.

Other

I was utterly awe struck with the LOC itself, but what amazed me even more was their collection and their access to original materials. I have to plan carefully what I want to see and do some additional pre-planning before I visit again. It amazes me that I can simply request these original materials and then have access to them. I was a little disappointed by the children’s area, but I am looking forward to their expansion and renovation being complete so my kids can enjoy the area. I also learned that they have a separate campus in Culpeper, VA that focuses on their collection of movies and recordings, which sounds amazing, but I was disappointed to learn that you cannot access that building or those materials other than through occasional screenings of movies they do in their movie theater.

References

Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.