Public Affairs Office
101 Independence Ave. SE
Washington DC 20540-1610
tel (202) 707-2905
fax (202) 707-9199
March 11, 1999
Contact: Audrey Fischer (202)-707-0022
Digital Library Visitors' Center To Close March 19 for Renovation
The Digital Library Visitors' Center (DLVC) will close for renovation for a two-month period, beginning on March 19, 1999. The center is located in the James Madison Building of the Library of Congress.
During the renovation, demonstrations associated with the Library's National Digital Library Program, including the daily 1 p.m. public tour, will continue in room LJ119 on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building. The DLVC staff will be relocated temporarily in the Jefferson Building. The center's phone numbers (202-707-4157, 4158) will remain the same.
Plans for the renovation include an upgraded theater area and a 16-seat classroom to train teachers, librarians, and Library staff about digital technology and use of the Library's on-line collections.
The Digital Library Visitors' Center opened its doors on October 13, 1994, to demonstrate new technologies being used by the Library to provide faster, more productive, convenient, and effective service to Congress and the nation. The center provides space for Library staff to conduct technical briefings for Congress and other interested groups. Some 8,000 people visited the center last year.
The center also provides the Library with an opportunity to feature the widely acclaimed content of its National Digital Library. With 3 million hits per working day, the Library's Web site at www.loc.gov is the second most visited in the federal government. In addition to the legislative information system known as THOMAS and the Library's on-line public catalog, the site includes more than 40 American historical collections on the American Memory home page, on- line exhibitions, copyright information and forms, and upcoming events such as plans for the Library's Bicentennial celebration in the year 2000.
# # #
PR 99-035
3/11/99
ISSN 0731-3527