CBS News: “Inside Some of the Most Unique Collections at the Library of Congress as it Celebrates 224th Anniversary”
From CBS News:
The Library of Congress was founded in 1800, and will celebrate its 224th anniversary this year. It’s the largest library in the world and adds about 10,000 items to its collection each day. That collection plenty of unusual relics, like locks of hair.
For centuries, long before photography was affordable, it was common practice to send or gift locks of one’s hair as a sentimental keepsake, according to Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.
“Think about it. That was a tangible way of having something of the person after they’re gone,” Hayden said.
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Hair is just one unique example of the enormous range of the Library of Congress’ collection of artifacts, books and more. The library has a total of more than 175 million items, filling 836 miles of shelves. That’s longer than the distance between Washington, D.C. and Daytona Beach, Florida.
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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