Library of congress

The Library of Congress is America’s national library. It has millions of books and other objects. It has newspapers, popular publications and letters of historical interest. It also has maps, photographs, art prints, movies, sound recordings and musical instruments. All together, it has more than one-hundred-million objects.

The Library of Congress is open to the public Monday through Saturday, except for government holidays. Anyone may go there and read anything in the collection. But no one is permitted to take books out of the building.

The Library of Congress was established in Eighteen-Hundred. It started with eleven boxes of books in one room of the Capitol building. By Eighteen-Fourteen, the collection had increased to about three-thousand books. They were all destroyed that year when the Capitol was burned during America’s war with Britain.

To help re-build the library, Congress bought the books of President Thomas Jefferson. Mister Jefferson’s collection included seven-thousand books in seven languages.

In Eighteen-Ninety-Seven, the Library moved into its own building, across the street from the Capitol. Today, three buildings hold the library’s collection.

The Library of Congress provides books and materials to the United States Congress. It also lends books to other American libraries, government agencies and foreign libraries. It buys some of its books and gets others as gifts. It also gets materials through its copyright office. Anyone who wants copyright protection for a publication in the United States must send two copies to the library. This means the Library of Congress receives almost everything that is published in the United States.

Computer users can learn more about the Library of Congress and its collection on the Internet Computer network. The address is w-w-w dot l-o-c dot g-o-v. Again, the Library of Congress web address is w-w-w dot l-o-c dot g-o-v.

The washington monument

The Washington Monument is the tallest structure in the city. It stands almost one-hundred-seventy meters tall. It is named for the first President of the United States, George Washington. Millions of people from around the world visit the white stone structure every year.

The monument is a structure called an obelisk. Its four sides end in a point at the top. Fifty American flags surround it. They represent the fifty states. Lights shine on the Washington Monument at night. It can be seen from far away. Fireworks are launched from near the monument on American Independence Day – July fourth -- and at other special celebrations.

It took many years to build the Washington Monument. One group started raising money for a memorial in Eighteen-Thirty-Three. Officials placed the first stone of the monument on July fourth, Eighteen-Forty-Eight.

Roman Catholic Church leader Pope Pius the Ninth gave a piece of marble from Rome for the monument. But the stone was stolen in Eighteen-Fifty-Four. After that, the public almost stopped giving money for the structure. Many people believed it would never be finished.

A group called the Know Nothings was suspected of trying to stop the monument from being built. Finally, in Eighteen-Seventy-Six, Congress voted to pay for building the Washington Monument. It was finished in Eighteen-Eighty-Four and opened to the public in Eighteen-Eighty-Eight.

The Washington Monument recently re-opened after being closed for more than a year. Officials used that time to make improvements. New security measures also were added. And a new elevator now carries visitors to the observation area on top of the monument. From there, visitors can look out over the capital city.