Library planned young visitors' research gallery

The Library of Congress announced on May 5, 2026, that its research gallery for children and teens would launch May 9. Called The Source, the space was designed for ages 8 to 15 on the ground floor of Washington's Thomas Jefferson Building. ^[1]

The gallery would use reproductions from Library collections, with separate areas for text, images, sound and film. Visitors could examine sources through activities rather than simply read labels. Video kiosks introduced librarians, while research boxes followed investigations into subjects including basketball, cartooning and the World War II Ghost Army. ^[1]

The text area included manuscripts and historic newspaper pages. Image activities used maps, portraits and posters, while the sound section offered 50 listening samples and a replica phonograph. The film area included 59 examples and a replica projector, introducing moving-image storytelling through editing, framing and sequencing. ^[1]

The release also described open-captioned videos, large-print guides and sensory kits for visitors with different access needs. It listed Tuesday–Friday public afternoons, Saturday hours and school-year mornings reserved for educational groups, while noting that operating hours could change. A Share Wall invited visitors' questions and research ideas. ^[1]

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