Sky and air are the background for the painting within the circle in the dome's eye. A woman representing "Human Understanding" lifts her veil and looks upward from finite intellectual achievement, as typified in the figures in the collar, to the future and intellectual progress. Cherubs attend her, one holding the book of wisdom and knowledge, the other, by his gesture, encouraging those beneath to persist in their struggle toward perfection. The winged figures of the collar represent the twelve countries or epochs, which have contributed the most to the development of present-day civilization.

The theme of the Bicentennial, "Libraries, Creativity, Liberty," captured the link between libraries and creativity and Jefferson's belief that the power of a knowledgeable citizenry could shape a free and democratic society.

The goal of the Bicentennial was "to inspire creativity in the century ahead by stimulating greater use of the Library of Congress and libraries everywhere." The Bicentennial highlighted the Library of Congress as "America's Library" and the importance of all libraries to the communities they serve.