You may recall that last President’s Day, members of the public enjoyed a rare treat—and recorded it with their cameras. Twice each year, the Library of Congress offers a public open house in the Main Reading Room of the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C. The space is not normally open to photographers, but cameras are welcome on open house days (sorry, no tripods). Another opportunity to enjoy and record the beautiful mosaics, sculpture, and architectural details is coming up on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The sights can be awe-inspiring, as well as challenging to capture with a camera. This time, we’re offering an added challenge: look for images in either the Main Reading Room or Great Hall that express the theme of “books and reading.” Many elements in the room may tie in with the theme, including real books on the shelves and authors represented in murals and statues. We know from past experience that many eyes make exciting new perspectives from which to view the space and the ideas it conveys.
As with previous photography events at the Library, we’ve enjoyed pooling the results for all to see. So if you wish to share your open house photos on the books and reading theme, upload them to your Flickr account with the tag LCFall2013, and we’ll put together galleries on the Library’s Flickr Commons account in the weeks that follow.
Learn more:
- Get more details about the event from the Library’s news release and the Library of Congress Blog.
- If you can’t attend in person, take a look at options to enjoy the buildings virtually through online tours and apps.
- View Flickr galleries from previous photography and participatory events at the Library of Congress.
- Explore resources for learning more about the art and architecture of the Jefferson Building
- Images relating to books and reading are, of course, rife in the Library’s visual collections as well as on its walls and ceilings. Have a look at some of the images relating to books and reading in the Prints and Photographs Division.