How Thomas Jefferson Organized His Books

Thomas Jefferson described himself as having a “canine“ appetite for reading, and his granddaughter Ellen Wayles Randolph recalled that “books were at all times his chosen companions.“ Jefferson certainly did surround himself with books—especially at Monticello, where he once kept almost 7,000 volumes. In today’s video, Tabitha Corradi and Endrina Tay discuss how Jefferson organized his monumental collection and our recent efforts to restore book boxes and install the books on display in the Private Suite in the same order as Jefferson would have had them.