America’s Time Capsule … for 2276

As part of America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, the Library is making a trailblazing contribution to America’s Time Capsule in Philadelphia in July: a tiny metal cylinder holding synthetic DNA encoded with digital copies of items from the Library’s collections, to be opened 250 years from now. Some of the digital copies include: Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence; “The Star-Spangled Banner” lyrics written in Francis Scott Key’s hand; the 1791 L’Enfant plan for Washington, D.C.; digitized 1890 Native American audio recordings in Passamaquoddy; the canvas draw