I was actually in DC on business, attending a Preservation workshop at none other than the Library of Congress! It was amaz-tastic, to say the least! Preservation (what I do) isn't a big topic in O-hi-o...so opportunities for staff development that are actually legit and useful are few and far between. So when a week-long workshop at the Library of Congress my boss told me, "You're going!" And my little book-nerd heart went pitter-patter. Not only was this the first useful Preservation intensive that's come up in the last four years that I've been working here, but I'd never been to the LoC! And now I can say honestly, that place is the shit!
LoC consists of three buildings named after three "green people from history times" (aka, dead presidents): the Jefferson (the oldest of all the buildings), the Adams building and the Madison building (the newest/ugliest...the one where most of our workshop was held). As far as wow-factor, the Jefferson building is where it's at! The other two buildings are okay (the Adams has some interesting Art Deco elements), but the main interest is what's inside. But with the Jefferson, the building itself is drop-dead gorgeous! Built in 1897, the Jefferson is all marble, gold detail, and mosaic wall panels and it sits directly across the street from the Capitol building. Seriously, how could you not love going to work when your building looks like this...
The main reading room in the Jefferson building (we got an impromptu behind-the-scenes view, so all I had on me was my iPhone! Normally, the public has to view this reading room from behind a glass wall that prevents you from seeing a lot of it, but not us...we were allowed to look over a private balcony off the closed stacks and take it all in!)
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