On April 24, 1800, 224 years ago today, President John Adams signed legislation appropriating the sum of $5,000 “for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress…and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them.”  The Library of Congress is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States.

The original Library consisted of 740 books and three maps, kept in the United State Capitol building.  Much of that original collection was burned by the British in the War of 1812; Congress eventually purchased Thomas Jefferson’s personal library of over 6,000 books to rebuild the collection.  Today, the Library of Congress contains about 32 million books and more than 61 million manuscripts.  It is one of the largest libraries in the world.

Thomas Jefferson played a significant role in shaping the functions of the Library of Congress.  He “believed that a democratic legislature needed information and ideas in all subjects to do its work,” and that there was “no subject to which a member of Congress may not have occasion to refer.”  And an 1802 law gave official permission to the President and Vice President of the United States to borrow books from the Library, a privilege that was eventually granted to other federal officials as well.

As you know, we love books here at CCA, and we share the view that to be educated is to be knowledgeable in many subjects, not just one or two.  My question for you this morning is, how should we decide what to read next?  If we were in the Library of Congress and had 32 million books to choose from, which one should we pick?  And why?

Have a wonderful day.