The Library of Congress, Washington. Photochrom print by Detroit Publishing Company, c1900. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a31954 On November 1, 1897, the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress opened to the world. Today we mark its 125th birthday. This magnificent building was the Library of Congress’ first home away from the U.S. Capitol, where it had first been established in 1800. This was a pivotal moment in the history of the Library as we moved to expand our mission. In addition to serving the U. S. Congress, we would establish ourselves as the national library of the United States. In 1870, U.S. Copyright law began to require that those claiming copyright on books, maps, visual materials such as engravings or photographs, dramatic…