美国国会图书馆

nullThe World's Largest LibraryThe World's Largest LibraryThe Library of CongressnullAbout the libraryBrief IntroductionArchitecturenull 　　President John Adams started the library in 1800 for members of Congress．He wanted them to be able to read books about law．The first 740 books were bought in England．They were simply set up in the room where Congress met．Then Thomas Jefferson sold Congress many of his own books．He felt Congress should have books on all subjects, not just on law．This idea changed the library for good．The library grew and grew．Now it covers acres of land．It contains 20 million books as well as scores of picture, movies, globes and machines．Experts(专家) in every field work there．Hundreds of people call every day with all kinds of questions．Many of them get answers right over the phone． 　　　　The library is a huge storehouse．Thomas Edison's first movie and Houdini's magic books reside（居住） there．And it is the proud owner of the world's best collection of comic（喜剧的） books． 　　HistorynullWhen the Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public on November 1, 1897, it was hailed as a glorious national monument and "the largest, the costliest, and the safest" library building in the world.Today's Library of Congress is an unparalleled world resource. The collection of more than 130 million items includes more than 29 million cataloged books and other print materials in 460 languages; more than 58 million manuscripts; the largest rare book collection in North America; and the world's largest collection of legal materials, films, maps, sheet music and sound recordings.The Librarian of CongressJames Hadley Billington was nominated in April 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and was confirmed by the Senate to be the 13th Librarian of Congress. He took the oath of office in the Library's Great Hall on September 14, 1987.nullThe Library of Congress consists of three buildings that took the president’s name.THE THOMAS JEFFERSON BUILDING THE JOHN ADAMS BUILDING THE JAMES MADISON MEMORIAL BUILDING nullThe Library of Congress was established in 1800 when the American government moved from Philadelphia to the new capital of Washington on the Potomac River. For 97 years the Library was housed in various locations within the Capitol Building. The first separate Library of Congress Building, known today as the Thomas Jefferson Building, was suggested by Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford in 1871, authorized in 1886, and finally completed in 1897. When its doors were opened to the public on November 1, 1897, the new Library of Congress building was an unparalleled national achievement; its 23-carat gold-plated dome capped the "largest, costliest, and safest" library building in the world. Its elaborately decorated facade and interior, for which more than forty American painters and sculptors produced commissioned works of art, were designed to show how the United States could surpass European libraries in grandeur and devotion to classical culture and to inspire optimism about America's future. A contemporary guidebook boasted: "America is justly proud of this gorgeous and palatial monument to its National sympathy and appreciation of Literature, Science, and Art. It has been designed and executed solely by American art and American labor (and is) a fitting tribute for the great thoughts of generations past, present, and to be." This new national Temple of the Arts immediately met with overwhelming approval from the American public.nullKnown as the Library of Congress (or Main) Building until June 13, 1980, when it was named for Thomas Jefferson, the Library's principal founder, the structure was built specifically to serve as the American national library, and its architecture and decoration express and enhance that grand purpose. The elaborate entrance pavilion and Great Hall gradually lead to the central reading room where, properly prepared, the user can take full advantage of the Library's vast resources of knowledge and information. A national library for the United States was the dream and goal of Librarian Spofford; the new building was a crucial step in his achievement. It was a functional, state-of-the-art structure as well as a monument to American cultural nationalism, for it used and celebrated the latest technology to demonstrate the new role of the library as an efficient workshop. nullFloor Plan of the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building Floor Plan of the second floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building nullIn 1928, at the urging of Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam, Congress authorized the purchase of land directly east of the Library's Main Building for the construction of an Annex Building. The bill was sponsored by Robert Luce, chairman of the House Committee on the Library. On June 13, 1930, $6,500,00 was appropriated for the building's construction, for a tunnel connecting it to the Main Building, and for changes in the east front of the Main Building, including the construction of a Rare Book Room. An additional appropriation approved on June 6, 1935, brought the total authorization to $8,226,457. The simple classical structure was intended as a functional and efficient bookstack "encircled with work spaces." David Lynn, the Architect of the Capitol, commissioned the Washington architectural firm of Pierson & Wilson to design the building, with Alexander Buel Trowbridge as consulting architect. The contract stipulated completion by June 24, 1938, but the building was not ready for occupancy until December 2, 1938. The move of the Card Division started on December 12, and it opened its doors to the public in the new building on January 3, 1939. The building is five stories in height above ground, with the fifth story set back 35 feet. It contains 180 miles of shelving (compared to 104 miles in the Jefferson Building) and can hold ten million volumes. There are 12 tiers of stacks, extending from the cellar to the fourth floor. Each tier provides about 13 acres of shelf space.nullThe dignified exterior of the Adams Building is faced with white Georgia marble. Today, the building's decorative style is widely admired for elements inspired by the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs held in Paris in 1925 and the use of new materials such as acoustical block, formica, vitrolit, and glass tubing. Decorative features and metalwork in the first floor lobbies and corridors and in the fifth floor lobbies and reading rooms are worth special note. nullIn 1957, Librarian of Congress L. Quincy Mumford initiated studies for a third Library building. Congress appropriated planning funds for that structure, today's James Madison Memorial Building, in 1960, and construction was approved by an act of Congress on October 19, 1965 that authorized an appropriation of $75 million. Excavation and foundation work began in June 1971, and work on the superstructure was completed in 1976. The cornerstone, inscribed with the date 1974, was laid on March 8, 1974. Dedication ceremonies were held on April 24, 1980, and the building actually opened on May 28, 1980. nullThe Madison Building serves both as the Library's third major structure and as this nation's official memorial to James Madison, the "father" of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the fourth president of the United States. Modern in style, the Madison Building was designed by the firm of DeWitt, Poor, and Shelton, Associated Architects. It is one of the three largest public buildings in the Washington, D.C. area (the others are the Pentagon and the F.B.I. Building), and contains 2,100,000 square feet with 1,500,000 feet of assignable space. nullFor more information on the history of the Library of Congress:Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of CongressOn These Walls: Inscriptions and Quotations in the Buildings of the Library of Congress Click:www.loc.govnull