This Commemorative arch by Olin L. Warner (1844–1896) leading to the Main Reading Room commemorates the erection of the Library of Congress. Its sculpture The Students represents the pursuit of knowledge. On the left a young man seeks knowledge through reading. On the right an older man with flowing beard is shown absorbed in meditation, no longer concerned so much with a source of learning because he observes life and engages in original reflection and thought.

In the frieze above them the words “Library of Congress,” are inscribed in tall gilt letters.