This weekend we were thrilled to welcome very special guest Tom Hanks to the Library!

Tom decided to pay us a visit, having initially discovered the Library through reading Library member, Simon Winchester’s book ‘Knowing What We Know’.

While touring the Library, Tom was delighted to discover our fascinating history and long illustrious list of past members, including film director Stanley Kubrick and other fellow Americans, Mark Twain and Paul Robeson.

While exploring the stacks, Tom was impressed by the rich variety of our extensive open-access collections.

Tom was also very interested in our history collection, particularly our wealth of books and materials on World War 2.

In the Times Room, he perused original issues from June 1944 of the Normandy Landings – events that were famously depicted in the film Saving Private Ryan.

We were delighted to show Tom our collections and see how inspired and impressed he was by the Library. We look forward to welcoming him back in the future for another visit.

Thanks to Library member Simon Winchester for writing about the Library and inspiring Tom’s impromptu visit!