{"product_id":"americas-library-the-story-of-the-library-of-congress-18002000-9780300083088","title":"America's Library: The Story of the Library of Congress  1800-2000","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Library of Congress  considered by many to be the greatest library on earth  holds over 110 million itemsbooks in 450 languages  irreplaceable national documents  priceless art works  and objects of cultural fascination. From a modest collection of 740 books purchased by the Congress in 1800  the Library has grown to house hundreds of miles of bookshelves. Laid end to end  they would stretch from Washington  D.C.  to Chicago. This book tells the continuously interesting story of the first two hundred years of the Library of Congress. It is a vast history  filled with an immense cast of characters ranging from presidents  poets  journalists  and congressmen to collectors  artists  curators  and eccentrics.  James Conaway centers this history around the thirteen men who have been appointed by presidents to lead the Library of Congress. The author investigates how the Librarians experiences and contributions  as well as the Librarys collections  have reflected political and intellectual developments in the United States. Each Librarian confronted great challenges: the entire Library collection was lost when the British burned the Capitol in 1814; in the 1940s  a backlog of one and a half million objects waited to be catalogued; the gigantic task of replacing the card catalogue with a computerized system was undertaken in the 1980s. Yet each Librarian also enjoyed the excitement of acquiring unique treasuresfrom Walt Whitmans walking stick to the papers of the Wright brothers  from the Civil War photographs of Mathew Brady to the archives of Leonard Bernstein. This lively account of the Library of Congress and those who guided its progress over two centuries is the history of an American institution that today is truly a library to the world  serving readers and researchers everywhere.  Copublished with the Library of Congress\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45651386531893,"sku":"ByrdShop_0300083084","price":39.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780300083088.jpg?v=1781834299","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/americas-library-the-story-of-the-library-of-congress-18002000-9780300083088","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}