Explore Homer to Hollywood during Live! At the Library in July

Explore Homer to Hollywood during Live! At the Library in July Lineup Features Summer Movies on the Lawn, Homeric Poetry Night, Fashion of First Ladies and More Throughout July, visitors can enjoy the Library’s annual Summer Movies on the Lawn series while watching the sun set on Capitol Hill during Live! At the Library. Guests are encouraged to bring their own snacks while enjoying classic films on the Southeast lawn of the Thomas Jefferson Building. Movies that will be featured this month are “Clueless,” “Rocky,” “Back to the Future” and “A League of Their Own.” Starting on July 3, the Library’s newest exhibition, "The Declaration's Promise" opens in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery, exploring the foundational principles of the Declaration of Independence and their impact on American history. Featured treasures on display include Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, among other items. Live! At the Library also will celebrate one of literature's most enduring works with a special evening exploring "The Odyssey" and Homeric poetry on July 16. There will be a special display that will focus on translations and interpretations of “The Odyssey” from the early modern period through today. Items on display will be pulled from the Library’s General Collections and International Collections. During the evening, visitors can explore the Library’s extensive collections from ancient texts to modern interpretations in the Whitall Pavilion starting at 5 p.m. There will be live readings from Homer’s poem in ancient Greek by scholar Claire Catenaccio. 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. Live! At the Library attendees are also invited to Experience the Main Reading Room. Usually reserved for researchers, visitors can now walk inside the reading room 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 July July 2: Join a discussion with historian Jim Rasenberger, author of “A Perfect Coincidence” at 7 p.m. in Room LJ-119. Rasenberger explores the complex relationship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who both died on the same day exactly 50 years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Rasenberger will be in conversation with Colleen Shogan, who served as the 11th Archivist of the United States and is currently the CEO of In Pursuit, a history-based civics project of More Perfect. This event is hosted in celebration of 250 years since the founding of America. Book signing to follow. July 9: Watch a special screening of the film “Clueless” (1995), which was recently inducted into the National Film Registry, as part of the Library’s Summer Movies on the Lawn series. Guests are invited to bring their own food, drinks and friends for a perfect summer evening under the stars. This event will begin at 8 p.m. on the Southeast Lawn. No tickets are required for this free event. July 16: Watch a special screening of “Rocky” (1976) as part of the Library’s Summer Movies on the Lawn series. Guests are invited to bring their own food and drinks to the Southeast Lawn at 8 p.m. No tickets are required for this free event. July 16: Live! At the Library will bring the world of “The Odyssey” and Homeric poetry to life during a special evening celebrating one of literature’s most enduring works. Visitors can explore the Library’s extensive collections from ancient texts to modern interpretations in the Whitall Pavilion starting at 5 p.m. The evening will also feature live readings from Homer’s poem in ancient Greek by Claire Catenaccio and selections from notable translations and presentations by the Library’s international collections reference staff. Register here. July 16: Visitors are invited to learn about Armenian American history through manuscripts, rare books, maps, photographs and other materials preserved at the Library of Congress. The conversation will begin at 6 p.m. in Room LJ-119 by Khatchig Mouradian, Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist at the Library of Congress. There will be a curated display of selected items from the collections on view in Room LJ-113. Register here. July 23: Watch Marty McFly time travel during a special screening of “Back to the Future (1985)”. Guests are invited to bring their own food and drinks to the Southeast Lawn at 8 p.m. This event is part of the Library’s Summer Movies on the Lawn series. No tickets are required for this free event. July 23: Listen to a panel of fashion and history experts discuss how America’s first ladies used style to showcase their values, influence public perception and shape national identity. Drawing on the Library’s vast collections, the conversation will explore the role of fashion in presidential history from Dolley Madison to Jacqueline Kennedy. Panelists include Clinton Kelly, television host, style expert and author; Kate Andersen Brower, author and presidential historian; Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of political history at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History; and Anita McBride, former chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush. This event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. Register here. July 30: Watch “A League of Their Own” (1992) under the stars during the Library’s Summer Movies on the Lawn series. Guests are invited to bring their own food and drinks to the Southeast Lawn at 8 p.m. No tickets are required for this free event. July 30: The Library of Congress and the National Museum of Women in the Arts will host a discussion on women artists in the Mid-Atlantic region. The program will feature a panel on regional artists nominated for the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ 2027 exhibition, “Women to Watch: A Book Arts Revolution,” followed by a conversation with artists whose work is featured in the Library’s collections. This event will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Room LJ-119. A reception will follow. Register here. Exhibitions On View The Library’s exhibition, “The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution,” explores the lives and legacies of George Washington and King George III of Britain, adversaries during America’s war for independence. The Library of Congress brings their papers together for the first time to reveal the real men behind the myths. The exhibition closes after July 4. 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 great thinkers was inspired through the world of books. "Fashion at the Library of Congress: The Threads That Connect Us" explores how fashion has served as a powerful symbol of American identity and culture throughout the nation's history. This small display will be on view in the Great Hall mezzanine from June 8 through July 20. "Our History in the Headlines: American Independence in Newspapers" examines the role newspapers played as a source of information and inspiration before and during the American Revolution and in commemorating American independence ever since. This small display features historic newspapers from the Revolutionary era and milestone Fourth of July observances throughout history. It will be on view in the Great Hall mezzanine from June 23 through July 11. “The Declaration’s Promise,” opening July 3 in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery, will explore the foundational principles of the Declaration of Independence and their impact on American history. Featured treasures will include Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, among other items. The new exhibition begins with the Revolutionary moment and then uses language of the Declaration’s most famous phrases to organize the presentation of treasures from American history. Multimedia experiences will draw on the Library’s vast audiovisual collections and connect visitors with the Library’s content experts. 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.