"I cannot live without books."

Books were one of Thomas Jefferson’s greatest passions. Throughout his life, books were vital to Thomas Jefferson’s education and well-being. Books provided Jefferson with a broader knowledge of contemporary and ancient times. Jefferson's book collection was used as the basis for the beginning of the Library of Congress Book collection. By 1814 when the British burned the nation’s Capital and the Library of Congress, Jefferson had acquired the largest personal collection of books in the United States. Jefferson offered to sell his library to Congress as a replacement for the collection destroyed.

The Library of Congress has replicated Jefferson's collection and the manner in which he displayed it. Jefferson arranged his bookshelves in a way so that a person could walk into the middle and be surrounded by books.

I think it is great how the Library of Congress has tried to recreate Jefferson's collection and allow society to rediscover his ideas and themes.

OI