Memory is the core of history, and shared memories constitute the core of a common national past.
They reflect the private side of life as well as the public and include unpublished and unofficial materials. Together they make a richly textured tapestry of failure as well as triumph, of broken promises as well as exalted dreams. T hey constitute a road map for discovery, and, as Jefferson knew well, the journey of discovery in a library is always, to some degree, a journey of self-discovery.