Lincoln, NE – Congressman Jeff Fortenberry's office announced today that the Library of Congress will come to Fremont in mid-January with a special exhibit of America's unique treasures. The exhibition, called "Gateway to Knowledge," will be at Midland University on Friday and Saturday, January 14 and 15 from 10 am to 6 pm.

"I am very pleased that the Library of Congress is bringing this exhibition to Fremont," Fortenberry said. "The community's strong educational focus provides an appropriate setting for such an event. Through its extensive resources, the Library of Congress offers many useful tools for educators, students, and scholars of all ages. The 'Gateway to Knowledge' is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in seeing and learning more about the Library of Congress' unique national treasures."

The "Gateway to Knowledge," which plans visits in up to 60 sites in the Midwest and South over the next year, will feature facsimiles of the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, in Thomas Jefferson's hand with edits by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams; the 1455 Gutenberg Bible; the 1507 Waldseemüller Map (the first document to use the word "America"); the original 1962 drawings for the comic book that introduced Spiderman to the world; the handwritten manuscript to jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton's "Frog-i-More Rag"; and Walt Whitman's poem "Leaves of Grass."

Free and open to the public, the "Gateway to Knowledge" includes programming especially for teachers and students and provides relevant and engaging learning experiences for lifelong learners.

What: The Library of Congress "Gateway to Knowledge" Traveling Exhibition
When: Friday, January 14 and Saturday, January 15, 2011: 10 am to 6 pm
Where: Midland University Campus
900 North Clarkson, Fremont, NE
A Free Event Open to the Public

Our nation's oldest cultural institution, the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world and serves as the research arm of Congress. Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its collections, programs and exhibitions.

Fortenberry is a member of the Library of Congress Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. For more information on the "Gateway to Knowledge," please visit http://www.loc.gov/gateway/.

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Congressman Fortenberry and Dr. James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, discuss Thomas Jefferson’s personal library, on display at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.  A facsimile of Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence will be on hand as the Library of Congress visits Fremont January 14 and 15.