World Treasures of the Library of Congress: Beginnings

This new series of titles is published to coincide with the ongoing exhibition,World Treasures of the Library of Congress, presents for the first time the Library’s unparalleled collections, which began with the acquisition of Jefferson’s library. The collections of the Library now total more than 120 million items, ranging from books, pamphlets, manuscripts, music, maps, newspapers, microforms and graphic arts. Beginnings reveals how common themes have been treated in different cultures - be they African, Hindu, Hispanic, Tibetan, Islamic, Judao Christian or Native American - and is an exploration of how such cultures have dealt with the creation of the universe and explained the heavens and the earth. Underlying these seemingly complex issues, are three key questions: Where does it - the universe, the cosmos all come from? How can we explain and order the universe and cope with it? How do we record the experience? These questions and the answers to them are presented in over 130 images from the Library’s collections ranging from twelfth-century Taoist by Zhao Boju, to a Mesopotamian Incantation Bowl. Beginnings closes with a section that includes examples of early writing, printing, and sound recording.