Gateway to Knowledge,” a Library of Congress traveling exhibition — mounted in a customized 18-wheel truck — arrives at the West Windsor Library on Tuesday, August 16 for a two-day visit. The exhibit is free and will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.
The exhibition bring high-quality facsimiles of many of the library’s top treasures and information about the millions of resources in the library’s collections to communities across America that may not be aware of their access to the wealth of information in the publicly funded institution. The truck will visit 90 sites in states across the midwest, south, and east coast through September.
The exhibit includes programming especially for teachers and students and provides relevant and engaging learning experiences for lifelong learners. The truck, which will be staffed and driven by two docents well-versed in the library and its collections, will be parked at various schools, libraries, community centers, and other public venues.
The trailer expands to three times its road width, and visitors will enter from a central staircase to find several areas of museum-style exhibits including a welcoming multimedia display and computer terminals displaying Library of Congress websites including www.loc.gov and www.read.gov.
The exhibition outlines the history of the library, including Thomas Jefferson’s role in re-establishing the library, when he provided his personal book collection to the nation after the burning of the U.S. Capitol in 1814. Jefferson’s organization of his books by categories of “Memory, Reason and Imagination” will inform the organization of the exhibition.
The exhibition features facsimiles of such treasures as the 1507 Waldseemuller Map (the first document to use the word “America”); the 1455 Gutenberg Bible; the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, in Thomas Jefferson’s hand with edits by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams; the 1962 drawings for the comic book that introduced Spider-Man to the world; the handwritten manuscript to jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton’s “Frog-i-More Rag”; and Walt Whitman’s poem “Leaves of Grass.”
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions.
Library of Congress: Gateway to Knowledge Traveling Exhibition, West Windsor Library, 333 North Port Road, West Windsor, 609-799-0462. Tuesday and Wednesday, August 16 and 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
