Today’s pic of the week highlights an item from our collection that finds itself in the spotlight very often, whether as part of a display in one of the Library of Congress’s many fascinating public exhibitions, or as a quasi-sacred book in the swearing-in ceremony of public officials. It is also one of my favorite …
In a historic neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky, not far from the University of Kentucky, sits a house with a special connection to the U.S. Capitol Building. The house was designed by Benjamin Latrobe, the Second Architect of the Capitol. Latrobe was hired by Thomas Jefferson to work on the Capitol, and after it was damaged …
On a recent drive back to DC from Indiana, I made a detour through Pittsburgh. I love to stop and visit the city where I went to law school. During the visit, I snapped this picture of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law surrounded by a blanket of snow. The Barco Law Library occupies the top three floors of …
The idea of republican simplicity is a relic from the age of the American Revolutionary War. To get at its meaning, it’s easiest to meditate on its opposite. Think to yourself: How do I address a king? Am I meant to bow/curtsey? How low? What do I do with my hands while I bow? Do …
Construction of the inaugural platform continues as January 21st draws closer. This picture was taken on December 25, 2012. Here is another inauguration-related trivia question: How many times in our nation’s history has Inauguration Day fallen on a Sunday, and how has this scheduling issue been handled?
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my hometown library, the Albright Memorial Library, in Scranton, Pennsylvania and its participation in the Federal Depository Library Program. As described in the post, I have a card catalog from the library in our home. My colleague, Elizabeth Moore, stopped by my office last week to ask whether …
The Law Library of Congress houses approximately 60,000 rare items, 25,000 of which are housed in our climate controlled vault. The Law Library’s rare books collection is managed by our Rare Books Curator, Nathan Dorn. For an item to be considered rare, it typically must have been published prior to 1801. This 1788 translation of the U.S. …
This is a guest post by Janice Hyde, Program Officer for the Global Legal Information Network. My colleague, George Sadek, and I had the privilege of accompanying Law Librarian David Mao on a recent trip to Doha, Qatar, where David offered opening remarks at a ceremony inaugurating a new portal that provides access to Qatar’s legal …
We at In Custodia Legis are sensitive to the fact that some of our readers may be disappointed that the Mayan Apocalypse of 2012, predicted for today, has turned out to be a bust. In order to soothe your nerves, we thought it would be courteous to invite you to look at a couple of scenes …
We have written about many different kinds of libraries in the past, from libraries abroad to libraries on wheels, but this has to be the smallest library we have ever discussed. Situated on North Limestone Street in Lexington, Kentucky, this colorful box houses a small assortment of books, including a legal thriller by John Grisham. …