Get an insider view of the magnificent Library of Congress as Dr. Liu explores the architecture, art, main reading room, and specialized reading rooms as she shares how to make the most of the Library of Congress’s (LC) resources.
The LC is both the research library that serves the US Congress and the de facto national library of the US. The LC, established in 1800, is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its collection has more than 173 million items, including more than 51 million books and other printed materials in 470 languages, more than 75 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. It is overwhelming just to contemplate these numbers!
During this two-session course, Dr. Liu will introduce many of the fascinating stories behind the long history of LC, its collections, and functions. She will lead us on a “virtual tour” based on the material used in researching her award-winning book, “Touring the Library of Congress – A World of Knowledge.” This book is the product of an entire year using her academic skills for scholarly research, reading a copious amount of historical material, interviewing librarians, and visiting several reading rooms, including storage rooms not usually open to the general public.
What to Expect: During these two lectures, Dr. Liu will introduce many fascinating stories behind the long history of LC, its collections, and its functions. She will show us the magnificent buildings and their fabulous art decoration, take us to the splendid main reading room and various specialized reading rooms, and share with us how to make the most of LC’s resources to expand our knowledge.
Feedback from Yuan’s past courses:
“I enjoyed the participatory nature of the tour. Yuan was engaging, entertaining and well prepared. This experience encouraged me to look more closely at artwork that I might not have had an interest in previously. Thanks for arranging this opportunity.”
“Yuan, our docent, planned and conducted an interactive tour and created an atmosphere of collaboration. The items she selected, the slide show she designed, and the encouragement of listener participation all served to enhance the audience’s knowledge for and appreciation of particular art.”
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