Mobile Library of Congress Exhibit Visits Mercer County

“Gateway to Knowledge,” a traveling exhibit from the Library of Congress, will be open to the public today (Tuesday, Aug. 16) and tomorrow (Aug. 17) at the West Windsor branch of the Mercer County Library.

U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Township) of New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District will be joined by state and local officials and staff from the library to cut the ribbon on exhibit.

Housed in a custom 18-wheel tractor trailer, the exhibit is staffed and driven by two professional guides from the Library of Congress.  The truck expands to twice its road width, and visitors enter from a central staircase to find several areas of museum-style exhibits.

Included are facsimiles of the 1507 Waldseemüller Map (the first document to use the word “America”); the 1455 Gutenberg Bible; the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence; the original 1962 drawings for the comic book that introduced Spiderman to the world; the handwritten manuscript to “Frog-i-More Rag” by jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton; and Walt Whitman’s poem “Leaves of Grass.”

Further information about the exhibit can be found online at http://www.loc.gov/gateway/. 

After the ribbon-cutting, the exhibit will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days. The library is located at 333 North Post Rd. in West Windsor Township.