"American Treasures of the Library of Congress"can be viewed online at //www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures. Approximately 60 items from the exhibition are now available, with additional items being added periodically.
"This online exhibition will give Americans everywhere the opportunity to view these materials that are so important in their nation's history," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "And for those who can come to the Library to view the exhibition, the electronic version will serve as an informative preview of what they will see."
To accommodate the varying capabilities of users' equipment, the Library is offering two versions: a high-end one that will incorporate animation and audio in its presentation, and a standard version. The online exhibition will provide links to the two choices, with information on the type of software required to visit the high-end version
Items available online include:
- One of the Library's "top treasures," Thomas Jefferson's "rough draft" of the Declaration of Independence, with notations by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams;
- The laboratory notebook of Alexander Graham Bell, including his drawing of the first telephone;
- The earliest known baseball card, of the Brooklyn Atlantics, in 1865;
- Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial;
- The contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night he was assassinated; and
- The design plan for a house in California by Frank Lloyd Wright.
This online version of "American Treasures of the Library of Congress" as well as the exhibition in the Jefferson Building are made possible by generous support from the Xerox Foundation. The items in this permanent exhibition will be changed periodically, due to the fragility of some of the items; however, those items removed from display will continue to be available online, 24 hours a day.
The online exhibition is one of 14 currently offered by the Library at //www.loc.gov.
