August 21, 2025 Live! At the Library Features Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Ball in September

Step into the spotlight at the Library of Congress for a dazzling night of vintage glamour, music, dancing and movie magic. The Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Ball invites you on Sept. 18 to celebrate the iconic style and cinematic spirit of the 1920s to the late 1950s.

Guests are invited to explore special curated displays of archival treasures of women in the spotlight, highlights from the National Film Registry, and the groundbreaking preservation of film and audio collections at the Library’s National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. 

Throughout the evening, enjoy music and dancing inspired by the era, along with photo ops, themed cocktails and light fare. Visitors are encouraged to wear costumes and participate in a costume contest. Guests may also choose to settle in for a special 75^th anniversary screening of the Golden Age classic “All About Eve” (1950), widely considered one of the greatest films ever made. The film will be introduced by Library of Congress film preservation experts.

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 while visiting the Library’s exhibitions and programs.

Live! At the Library attendees are also invited to Experience the Main Reading Room during Live! at the Library. Usually reserved for researchers, visitors can now walk inside 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 September

Sept. 11: D.C.’s Different Drummers bring their Jazz Band ensemble to play iconic songs from the Hammerstein, Mancini, Arnaz, Milly May, Gershwin and Strayhorn collections. This Café Concert will be held in the Great Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. Register for tickets.

Sept. 11: The Law Library of Congress with the Supreme Court Historical Society will be hosting a film screening of a play about the life of Oliver Wendell Holmes. This screening will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium from 5 to 7 p.m. Register for tickets.

Sept. 11: Celebrate the successful conclusion of the Hebrew Manuscript Digitization Project, made possible by a generous grant from the Berg Foundation. Sharon Mintz, curator of Jewish art at the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, will highlight manuscripts from this rich and diverse collection. Join the program in Room LJ-119 from 6 to 8 p.m. Register for tickets.

Sept. 18: Join the Golden Age of Hollywood Costume Ball. Costumes are encouraged. The evening features curated Library collection items showcasing women in front of and behind the camera – and the Library’s film preservation work – in Mahogany Row from 5 to 7 p.m. Enjoy music and dancing in the Great Hall from 5 to 8:30 p.m. with themed cocktails and snacks throughout the night.  Register for tickets.

Sept. 18: Visitors are invited for a special 75^th anniversary showing of the Golden Age classic “All About Eve” (1950) in the Coolidge Auditorium from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with an introduction by Library of Congress film preservation experts. The film was added to the Library’s National Film Registry in 1990. Register for tickets.

Sept. 25: Join an evening at the Library with bestselling author Mary Roach as she discusses her new book, "Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy." This event will be held in the Coolidge Auditorium from 7 to 8 p.m. This conversation will be moderated by Christina Larson, science writer for The Associated Press. Register for tickets.

Exhibitions On View

• A new 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.

• “Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress,” the inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery, draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and a variety of formats created across time and continents. “Collecting Memories” marks the ways and the means cultures preserve memory.

• 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.

• “The Great Gatsby Turns 100”

2025 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby.” Over the years, The Great Gatsby has been adapted into films, musicals and graphic novels, and has inspired several other novels. This display features books, photographs and other items from the Library of Congress’s collections. On view Aug. 14 through Oct. 18.

• “Herblock Looks at 1975: Fifty Years Ago in Editorial Cartoons”

Herbert L. Block (1909–2001), known to the world as Herblock, was one of the most influential political commentators and editorial cartoonists in American history. This display features a selection of his work from 1975. On view through Oct. 18.

• "A National Treasure: The Library of Congress" is a small display that celebrates the history of the Thomas Jefferson Building, which opened to the public on November 1, 1897. Designed in an Italian Renaissance style, this building features the works of more than forty American sculptors and painters. It was also the first building in Washington, D.C., designed with electric lighting. The state-of-the-art facility was built to accommodate the Library of Congress’s burgeoning collections. 

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.