I am pretty excited as we have entered my favorite time of year – summer! To me one of the greatest pleasures of living in Coastal Georgia is the extended pool season.

Honestly, I count the days until I next get a chance for a pool day. I could easily become addicted to spending too much time lying by or floating on the pool, slathered in sunblock and reading, reading, reading!

I make no secret of my love of books, reading, libraries, and pretty much everything to do with literature and literacy which is why I want to share with you the birthday of something very special. Exactly 225 years ago today, a true national treasure was born….the US Library of Congress.

While today this institution stands as a beacon of knowledge and a testament to the power of learning in the USA, its beginnings are modest and humble. Back in the earliest days of the USA, one of my personal heroes and the author of the Declaration of Independence, the great Thomas Jefferson, saw the need for a national repository of knowledge that would serve as a resource for citizens and lawmakers alike. Jefferson was a true renaissance man, a scholar and a visionary with an amazingly wide range of interests, who believed that access to information was essential for a thriving democracy. In 1800, when the seat of government moved from Philadelphia to the brand-new city of Washington, D.C., he proposed the establishment of a new library to house books for Congress to aid in their work.

And so it was on April 24, 1800, President John Adams signed a bill into law establishing the Library of Congress.

Originally housed in the Capitol Building, the library started with just a few hundred books, many of them donated by Jefferson himself from his large personal collection.

Over the next few years, the library grew steadily, with acquisitions coming from all corners of the globe. Then, right as the library was growing impressively in size and scope, disaster struck. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the British looted and then burned down the Capitol building, which at that time housed Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Library which had grown to house several thousand books.

But Jefferson dipped into his vast personal library again, and collections of other books were donated and purchased.

The library was rebuilt, restocked and continued to expand.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Answorth Rand Spofford as the Librarian of Congress. Spofford played a crucial role in shaping the library’s development and establishing it into a more prominent and influential national institution. He recognized and capitalized on the growing sense of cultural nationalism, and worked hard to not only convince Congress of the library’s importance as a national asset but also to increase public awareness of it. During his tenure in 1870, the library became home to the United States Copyright Office. Spofford held the job for over 30 years, during which time the library continued its expansion.

During both World Wars, the Library of Congress played a vital role in supporting the war effort, providing research and information to aid the government and the military. In 1980, the Library of Congress moved to its current home, the magnificent Thomas Jefferson Building, where collections continued to expand, now including more acquisitions from outside the USA, including rare books, manuscripts, maps and more.

In the 21st century, the library is prioritizing efforts to digitize much of its collection and provide free online access to the public. In addition, the Library of Congress provides on-site access to a wide range of subscription databases. Information about these, as well as a lot more about the history of the library, can be found on www.loc.gov Today, the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with literally millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps, and other materials in its collections. From the Declaration of Independence to the Gettysburg Address, from the papers of presidents to the works of great American authors, the Library of Congress holds many of our nation’s treasures and shares them with the world. It serves as a research institution, a legislative library, and the USA’s national library. It is open to the public six days per week and dedicated to the promotion of literacy and learning. During my trip to our nation’s capital a few years ago, I only had the chance to briefly walk through a small part of the library. Someday, I hope to spend a couple of weeks there!

I say goodbye this week with a short but sweet quote from Thomas Jefferson himself: “I cannot live without books”. Yet another thing I completely agree with from this great man.

God Bless America and enjoy pool season!

Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com or via her full-service marketing agency at www. lesleyfrancispr.com