Jefferson's Library

It Became the First Collection of A University


Thomas Jefferson's books became the original library of the University of Virginia and were housed in this reproduction of the Parthenon designed by Jefferson himself. 1914 Photo by Rufus W. Holsinger.

The Rotunda was always a wonder to me. Here in the rolling hills of Virginia sits a nice brick interpretation of the Parthenon set in a Palladian vision of the ideal village. Here is an Interesting Article about Jefferson's Library by Michael Knox Beran discussing the book: The Road to Monticello: The Life and Mind of Thomas Jefferson, by Kevin J. Hayes (Oxford, 738 pp., $34.95)

Jefferson's ideal of many such self-governing small communities is described well by Beran and his vision is worth serious study in our age.