The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-04-27
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
Housed In the Finest Building OF Its Kind
In the World.

Housed In the Finest Building OF Its Kind
In the World.
Ten years after tho United States Of
America came into existence the library
had its beginning. Congress was about to
move from Philadelphia. The seat of gov
ernment was TO be transferred on two
sloops to the District of Columbia. There
was fire collection of town lots, but not
much else i'm Washington. So Yong as they
remained In Philadelphia the senators and
representatives made use OF the LoganiaD
library. When they came to consider the
needs of the new location, they appropri
ated 1000 to buy books and ordered
room set apart for them in the capitol.
The grandfather of the present ambassadors
Bayard was one of the committee which
carried out the provision. Two years later
congress employed librarian at % a day
to take care of the books, but stipulated
that the pay was for Only such time as no
was actually at worn. The early appro-
priations for the library were $3.50 year.
1t took ii years to get together 8, 900 books
Then came the British, under General
Ross entering Washington in 1914. They
burned the capitol, and the library went
up In flames. The next year congress made
another start by purchasing the g, 200 books
of Thomas Jefferson for S23, $50. In 1851
the library Of congress, as it Is officially
known, had grown TO about $4,000 vol
umes. A fire on Christmas day destroyed
35, 600 books and a part of the capitol.
From 10000 volumes In 1859 the library
has reached its present collection Of SOO,-
900 and the finest library building In tho
world, which cost $4,000, 900 and was
nine years in course Of construction,
A public building covering block Of
ground and without dark corner Is some
thing novel in architecture. Yet that Is
what the new library Is. Such q result is
made possible by / 800 windows and by IN
arrangement of courts within the exterior
rim of halls, The reading room is in the
very Center. But food Of light pours In
on the cloudiest day. 1t Is under the gold.
en- dome 1t Is an eight sided roop, with
the elevated desk of tho librarian In the
center and all Of the apparatus for oom-
municating with assistants around and
beneath. The desks for readers are in cir
cles facing the librarian. The distance
across this octagonal room is 100 feet.
Rotunda Is better description than room,
for the ceiling Is the vaulted interior Of
the dome. The walls Of this rotunda for
40 feet from the floor are Of amber tinted
marble, rich enough In polish and color to
be mistaken at first glance for onyx.
Opening into the rotunda on the eight
sides are alcoves, where encyclopedias
books of reference, dictionaries and works
for which there Is almost continuous use
will be kept. These alcoves are on the
level Of the floor. Readers will be allowed
to go into them and consult such books as
they may need. Sitting on his high perch
in the center of the rotunda, the librarian
or his immediate representative occupies
position much like the lookout's In mod
ern penitentiary. He not only has every
occupant of the reading room under his
eyes, but he can see into every one of the
alcoves which arc open to the public.
These reference alcoves will be the only
parts of the library containing books to
which readers will have direct access. The
book racks arc completely isolated.-St
Louis Globe-Dcmocart.