Updated | Barack Obama will be sworn into office with the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used for his first inauguration in 1861.

The move further extends the parallels that Mr. Obama has drawn with Lincoln since he announced his candidacy for president in February 2007 in Springfield, Ill.

This will be the first time an incoming president has used Lincoln’s Bible, which is part of the collection at the Library of Congress. (New presidents are not required to swear in on a Bible, but most have done so, and most use their own family Bible.)

Mr. Obama has identified with Lincoln throughout his campaign and quotes him often. He also plans to follow Lincoln and take the train to Washington for his inauguration, following Lincoln’s route from Philadelphia to Washington.

The Bible that Lincoln was sworn in on was not the family Bible, which was packed away with his family’s belongings and still en route from Springfield.

So William Thomas Carroll, Clerk of the Supreme Court, bought this Bible specifically for Lincoln’s swearing-in ceremony on March 4, 1861. The 1,280-page Bible was published in 1853 by the Oxford University Press.

The Bible is bound in burgundy velvet with a gold-washed white metal rim around the three outside edges of both covers, according to the official description. All its edges are heavily gilded. In the center of the top cover is a shield of gold wash over white metal with the words “Holy Bible” chased into it.

Annotated in the back of the volume, along with the Seal of the Supreme Court, is the following: “I, William Thomas Carroll, clerk of the said court do hereby certify that the preceding copy of the Holy Bible is that upon which the Honble. R. B. Taney, Chief Justice of the said Court, administered to His Excellency, Abraham Lincoln, the oath of office as President of the United States …”

The Lincoln Bible will be on display at the Library of Congress

from Feb. 12 to May 9, as part of an exhibition titled “With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition.” The exhibit will then travel to five other American cities.

Jennifer Gavin, a spokeswoman for the Library of Congress, tells us there is an elaborate protocol for bringing out such historic treasures as the Lincoln Bible.

The Bible is stored in a secure (and undisclosed!) location in a small preservation box, made of acid-free paper, which fits around it perfectly. A ribbon or sling runs underneath it to remove it from the box.

When it is taken off-premises, it will be accompanied by multiple library officers. They are supposed to stay with it while it is “in use” and then bring it back.

The Capitol, where the swearing-in takes place, is only across the street from the library, so the journey should not be too arduous, although the area will be packed with visitors.

It is not clear exactly where the library officials will stand while Mr. Obama takes the oath. There isn’t much room on the podium.

Nor is it clear when they will retrieve the Bible to bring it back to the library.

When the Bible was brought out to be photographed today, museum officials handled it with gloves. It is unlikely that anyone will ask Mr. Obama to wear gloves when he takes the oath. And although it will be exposed to daylight, Ms. Gavin said that the exposure would not be long enough to do any damage.

If it’s raining or snowing, they have to re-think the whole exercise.

One recent case of a rare treasure being removed from the library occurred in January 2007, when Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and the first Muslim in Congress, was sworn into office. He asked to be sworn in with Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Koran.

Ms. Gavin said that three library officials took the Koran to the House of Representatives and stood “close at hand” during the swearing-in ceremony.

“We take seriously that we have some priceless items here that belong to the people of the United States,” Ms. Gavin said. “And we take the preservation of these items very seriously.”