Name/Title
StereographEntry/Object ID
2023.055.3.0345Description
A black and white stereograph. Image is of the reading room of the Library of Congress. Above the image "15" is printed, below the image "32235 Public Reading Room of the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C." is printed, to the left of the image "Keystone View Company COPYRIGHTED Manufacturers MADE IN U.S.A. Publishers" is printed, to the right of the image "Meadville, Pa., New York, N. Y., Chicago, Ill., London, England." is printed. On the reverse the following is printed:
32235
THE PUBLIC READING ROOM, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Ascending the stairs to the second story and walking back from the gallery of the Entrance Hall, we have come to the gallery of the Rotunda and are looking down upon the pubic Reading Room, which occupies the entire first floor of this vast apartment, 100 ft. in diameter. Above us the Rotunda rises 125 ft. from the floor to the base of the lantern in the dome. Fine statues look down from clustered piers of red numidlan marble supporint the etablature of the dome and from the baiustrade of the second, or Visitors' Gallery. Althought he whole library is, in theroy, for the use of Congress, only two smaller reading rooms are reserved exclusively for Senators and Representatives. the main one upon which we are now looking together with all the resources of the vast library, largest in the Western Hemisphere and third largest in the world, are freely open to the public from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The book stacks occupy two divisionf of the building extedning N. and S. from the Public Reading Room, and all the other corridors and pavilions might be removed without seriously inconveniencing the practical book service of the library. On june 30, 1924, about 102 miles of shelving were in use in the stacks. At this time the collections included 3,179,104 books and pamphlets, 182,233 maps and charts, 986, 354 pieces of music and 442,977 photographs, pritns, etc. The size and rapid growth of the collections are largely due to the fact that two copies of every book or other printed article copyrighted in the U. > are required by law to be deposited in the Library of Congress. The latter has incred to its present proportions from a nucleus of 954 books and 9 maps in January, 1802, when the first Librarian of Congress was appointed.
Copyright Keystone Vew CompanyCollection
Photograph Collection