The great war is coming-soon.

• Position: What's New? - Centennial of The Great War

The Library of Congress--which holds the largest multi-format collection of materials on the American experience in World War I--will present a major exhibition later this year to commemorate the centennial of the The Great War.

The U.S.'s involvement in the "war to end all wars" began April 6,1917, when Congress formally declared war on the German Empire, and concluded Nov. 11, 1918, with the Armistice agreement. The exhibition, "Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I," will examine the upheaval of world war, as Americans experienced it--domestically and overseas. In the Library's Thomas Jefferson Building, the exhibition will open April 4 and close in January 2019. Initially, it will feature 200 items but, during its run, numerous other artifacts will be rotated into the display.

World War I, at the time, was the greatest conflict the world ever had known. It created seismic changes in American society and re-shaped the global community in profound ways. In the U.S., a national army was conscripted for the first time; more than 1,000,000 women entered the workforce, contributing to the war effort in countless ways; and African-Americans challenged racial inequality. The first widespread use of airplanes, tanks, and poisonous gas revolutionized warfare and technologies; the wristwatch was popularized by the demands of modern battle; and jazz spread around the world with the American soldiers going abroad.

The exhibition will feature correspondence, music, film, recorded sound, diaries, posters, photographs, scrapbooks, medals, maps, and various other artifacts from the war. The collections of the Veterans History Project will be interwoven throughout the exhibition to give voice to the wartime experiences of those who served.

The exhibit will be...