Library of Congress: The Ultimate Library Card

Photo Description: Main Reading Room at the Library of Congress

I confess.

Every time I move to a new location, even before all the boxes are unpacked, I find the local library and get my library card. And when I move away again, I keep the library card 'just in case'. One may never know when those cards will come in handy. I've got a handful of them now.


Why a library card? What's so great about a flimsy piece of laminated cardboard or plastic?

Library cards are keys to the world. Once one has acquired a card, they have opened up a Pandora's box of knowledge. Looking at my most recent bin full of checked-out items, I see a nice balance of fiction books (adult, young adult, and children's) and nonfiction books along with a few audiovisual items mixed in (CDs of Broadway musicals as well as Season 4 of Downtown Abbey to prepare for the upcoming season).

The education I gained through schooling has been supplemented by a tall stack of nonfiction books in a variety of subjects - currently I've got one on the Holocaust, one on ocean liners, another on the history of railroads in America, and the Boston molasses flood.

So a library card is indeed worth a bit more than just plastic or cardboard.

Yet I did not have what is considered the ultimate library card, at least in the United States. A reader card to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

I visited the national capital a week ago and made the rounds (Gallaudet University to visit old faces as well as meet new ones, the Newseum, Georgetown cupcakes, and attending a performance of Visible Language). On the day before departing the city, I hopped on the Metro and made my way to Capitol Hill to visit the Library of Congress (LOC) for the first time.

Before my visit, I read online at the LOC page that if one was an US citizen with proper identification, one could get a (free) reader card and access the wealth hidden within the walls of the three-building library complex. Of course I wanted one - and having a reader card would allow access into the gorgeous Main Reading Room, the pinnacle of the Jefferson building.

Once I registered and got my card, I toured the spaces open to the public (without cards) including the Great Hall where one of three known perfect copies of the Gutenberg Bible resides as well as a copy of the Mainz bible.

The Gutenberg Bible. The first book to be published in the writing world. In my many years of schooling of history, the Gutenberg Bible was just words on a page of textbooks - it had no meaning to it. Until now, with the gigantic book resting open on a pedestal right in front of me. Now the Gutenberg had meaning, once I'd seen it up front and personal (as personal as one could get with a sheet of Plexiglas separating the book and the hordes of tourists). This was the freaking Gutenberg Bible, all laid out in its glory.

I must admit, I spent several good minutes staring at the book, feeling its presence through its pages impregnated with history. The Gutenberg Bible was published in the 1450s. Imagine what the book must have experienced in its 500+ years of existence...

Moving on, I peeked at the Mainz Bible (one of the last handwritten Bibles in Europe) before moving on to my destination - the Main Reading Room. Tourists without cards can see this room from a balcony up near the dome, accessible through the second floor of the Great Hall. I joined them for a glimpse of what they would see high above in the peanut gallery, and took the picture above.

Knowing a secret that they did not know, I gleefully left the tourists with their iPhones and cameras to make for the secret entrance to the restricted-section of the library. Down on the ground floor, I flashed my LOC reader card at the info desk and was pointed towards a nondescript hallway without signage. This hallway led to a maze of offices and rooms and more rooms within rooms. Taking the elevator up, I soon found the entrance to the Main Reading Room and made my way in.

The view from the peanut gallery is nothing like the view from standing in the middle of the room. (Who knows what the Reference assistants were thinking, watching me do a series of 360* turns, absorbing the magic of the Reading Room's architecture.) This was so worth getting registered for a Reader Card, to be part of this magical room.

And now, I had the ultimate library card in hand, with access to materials in the library.

The Library of Congress as known as a last-resort library - two copies are held on file, and can be lent to other libraries. The catch? These books cannot be checked out - they are to be perused in the reading rooms at LOC or within the lending library's building. A small price to pay in order to ensure the safety and preservation of materials cataloged within the library collections.

Upon returning home, I added my own personalized LOC Reader Card to my stash of library cards, immensely proud of myself for acquiring one. At last, I now have the ultimate library card in hand!

As a friend responded to my news, "Every self-respecting geek should have one!"

And now I do.



For US citizens wanting more information on registering for a Reader Card, please visit the following link: http://www.loc.gov/rr/readerregistration.html