Story Time for Grown-ups during Live! At The Library during February
Award-winning author-illustrators Cece Bell, Raúl the Third and 2008-2009 National Ambassador for Young People Literature Jon Scieszka will come to the Library of Congress on Feb. 6 for a story time themed event during Live! At the Library in February. Learn about the surprising mechanics and artistry of picture books, enjoy stimulating read-alouds during this cozy night all while sipping hot chocolate under a blanket. The 2025-2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, who will be announced on Feb. 3, will make a special guest appearance.
During Live! At the Library on Thursday evenings, the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building and all exhibitions are open for extended hours from 5 to 8 p.m. Visitors are invited to enjoy happy hour drinks and snacks available for purchase in the beautiful Great Hall overlooking the Capitol while visiting the Library’s exhibitions and programs.
Visitors are also invited to Experience the Main Reading Room during Live! at the Library. Usually reserved for researchers, visitors can now walk inside and see one of Washington’s most beautiful spaces.
Ticketing
For events during Live! At The Library, please use the event registration ticketing link found next to the event below or at loc.gov/live. This ticket grants access to the program as well as the Library’s exhibitions and the happy hour portion of the evening.
Programming Highlights for February
Feb. 6: Join award-winning author-illustrators Cece Bell and Raúl the Third, and 2008-2009 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jon Scieszka for story time for grown ups, along with the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, who will be announced in February. Blankets and hot chocolate will be provided. Register for this event.
Feb 20: Douglas Kearney will talk with Washington Post Book Critic Ron Charles about his groundbreaking new collection of visual poems, "I Imagine I Been Science Fiction Always." Register for this event.
Feb. 27: Put on your dancing shoes and join the Library in the Great Hall for a night of an evening of R&B and Soul Line Dancing with "Queen Nur." This workshop will feature basic steps – such as the cha-cha, salsa, and derivatives of swing like Chicago stepping and the Philly Bop. Register for this event.
Exhibitions On View
- “Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress,” the inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery, draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and a variety of formats created across time and continents. “Collecting Memories” marks the ways and the means cultures preserve memory.
- Take a trip through a re-created version of Thomas Jefferson’s Library, which assembles 6,487 volumes that founded the Library of Congress, and learn how one of America’s greatest thinkers was inspired through the world of books.
- American writer, poet, illustrator, and set designer Edward Gorey is best known for his macabre illustrations. This display celebrates the one-hundredth anniversary of his birth with selections from the Library’s two major Edward Gorey collections: the Glen Emil Gorey Collection and the Edward Bradford Gorey Collection. This agile display will be on view until March 12.
- The Black History Month theme for 2025 is “African Americans and Labor.” This display highlights different facets of Black labor in the United States from the colonial period through the 1960s. This agile display will be on view until March 12.
Live! At The Library is part of a broader effort to reimagine the visitor experience at the Library of Congress that invites visitors to enjoy the Library and its collections in new ways during extended evening hours from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday nights. The series regularly features special conversations, music, performances, films and workshops that showcase the broad range of holdings at the national library.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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Media Contact: Elaina Finkelstein, efinkelstein@loc.gov
PR 25-007
1/23/2024
ISSN 0731-3527