Re-Created Library Speaks Volumes About Jefferson

"They wanted to play, they wanted to participate," De Simone said of the dealers. "The Library of Congress is such an important institution in the rare book world . . . [and] Jefferson's is one of those iconic collections."

One collector in France was so captivated by the project that he spent hours looking through his collection for anything that might match a book on the list.

"There was a bookseller and he saw the list, and he was determined to find a book, and he said he spent hours and found a little pamphlet," De Simone said. "He was so pleased."

The library has replicated not only Jefferson's collection but also the manner in which he displayed it. He arranged his bookshelves in a conch shell pattern, so that a person could walk into the middle and be surrounded by books.

Even Jefferson's system of organizing the books reflected an enlightened thought process, Dimunation said. Every book fell into one of three categories: memory, reason or imagination. An updated version of that system is used by the Library of Congress.

Some of the books are unique. Jefferson sometimes fashioned his own books, taking pages of the same works written in different languages and having them bound. They were not destroyed in the 1851 fire and are included in the exhibit.

The precious books are displayed behind glass for their protection, but visitors can use touch-screen technology to move digitally from page to page.

Despite the massive effort, the collection is incomplete. About 300 volumes may never be found. In some cases, no identical copies exist, and there is insufficient information to determine every book he owned. Some titles aren't on the market for any price.

Still, Dimunation is satisfied.

"You are seeing the library pretty much how Thomas Jefferson would have seen it," Dimunation said.