A Library of Congress Visit
So in the middle of this whole stay at home order, I was looking through some old photos and found a picture of my book, The Artists Guide to Success in the Music Business from the Library of Congress.
(One, I think I was not even supposed to take.)
It reminded me of that day at the LC and the psychology and perceptions of a brand misread having to do with what I thought I would see.
Library of (not what I was expecting) Congress
So I had this idea that the building or buildings were going to look like that scene in National Treasure with Nicolas Cage. It ended up turning in to much more humbling experience.
When I was doing a book signing in Washington DC, I was hoping my expectation and perceptions were correct.
You might have Googled yourself?
I Library of Congress-ed myself.
After the book signing, I found the information for my book, The Artists Guide to Success in the Music Business (Greenleaf Book Group) that was inside the book and registered with the LC mainly held all the usual boring numbers and information that didn’t mean anything to me.
This is the blah blah blah stuff…
Table of Contents Section: Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data (Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.) Weisman, Loren. The artist’s guide to success in the music business : the “who, what, when, where, why & how” of the steps that musicians & bands have to take to succeed in music / Loren Weisman.—2nd ed., 1st Greenleaf Books ed. p. ; cm. Issued also as an ebook. ISBN: 978-1-60832-578-8 1608325784 1. Music trade—Vocational guidance. 2. Sound recording industry — Vocational guidance. 3. Musicians. I. Title. II. Title: TAG LC Control Number 2013936454 LC Classification ML3795 .W45 2013 Other system no. (OCoLC)840438396 Dewey Class Number 780/.23 eBook ISBN: 9781608325795 Where to Request in LC: Performing Arts Reading Room (Madison, LM113)
But at the bottom of all; the blah blah blah…
it read… Where to Request in Library of Congress: Performing Arts Reading Room (Madison, LM113)
Hope got lifted.
I imagined walking in asking for the book and watching some one retrieve it from one of the beautiful shelves in one of the cavernous areas… just like the movie.
Reality…Not so much like that.
Walking across the street from the larger and much more beautiful building that is the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington DC…
I went to the James Madison Memorial Building.
Where I had to get an ID made and explain to three different people I wanted to see a book.
After getting the ID, I walked down the hall toward the Performing Arts Reading Room (Madison, LM113).
Two doors were there. One with this modern glass that was shaded…
(Still hopeful at this point)
Then a second door that lead me in to basically a 70’s looking high school classroom.
I was asked to fill out the authors name and the book title for two women at a desk.
One was very nice and saw that my ID matched the request. She kindly exclaimed with some excitement…
“Your book!”
Which felt nice.
The second one who went to retrieve it, said,
“This copy belongs to the government, you cant have it.”
She might have been a little low on coffee… and well, kindness that day.
It was delivered 15 minutes later.
And they wouldn’t hand it to me. I had to sit down at a high school style table and the woman took it out of this plastic envelop. She went on to explain the book is two floors down and stored in a basement. I snuck a picture of it… as it is the only nicely leather bound edition, scrolled through it and then had to report that I was done viewing it so it could be returned and I could leave.A strange experience and a little disappointing that it was not in that beautiful building, but still cool that the book is there.
I was told the Music Business for Dummies Book that I wrote is also in the Library now.
I am taking their word for it and will not be heading back any time soon to see that one.
Side note; The Artist’s Guide to Success in the Music Business Audio book is available again for a free test drive on Amazon here: The Artists Guide to Success in the Music Business on Amazon
I reiterate this quote as the close. It is not a knock on me or my book. But as you look to me, my book or for that matter any author and any book, take the time to dig a little deeper to see if the depth, the experience, the intelligence and the authority is there that makes it worth the read and the time for you.
“Publishing a book does not make you and authority or an expert. Authorship does not equal authority.”
Loren Weisman is a Brand Communications and Optics Strategist who specializes in illuminating authoritative intelligence and amplifying authentic experts.
Weisman is the host of the brand communications and optics podcast Wait What Really OK.
© 2011 to 2026 Loren Weisman. All Rights Reserved ® ℗
Library of Congress. The psychology and perceptions of a brand misread
