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Category: Copyright

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Mark Twain & Copyright

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is an article written by Harry Katz in the September-October 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. Katz is a former curator in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division and author of a new Library publication, “Mark Twain’s America.”)  Samuel Clemens’ fight for the intellectual property rights to Mark Twain’s works helped protect …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Junior Fellows Show Off Summer Finds

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is an article written by Rosemary Girard, intern in the Library of Congress Office of Communications, for the Library staff newsletter, The Gazette.) After weeks of researching, curating and unearthing some of the Library of Congress’s millions of artifacts, members of the Junior Fellows Program had a chance to present their most interesting …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Rare Map on Display at Library Scored Some “Firsts”

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Engraver Abel Buell “came out of nowhere,” at least in terms of cartography, when he printed a United States map in 1784. “He’d never done a map before,” says Edward Redmond of the Library’s Geography and Map Division. Nonetheless, Buell set records. He was the first U.S. citizen to print a map of the United …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Pics of the Week: Behind the Music

Posted by: Erin Allen

Last week, the Library hosted the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Foundation for its annual “We Write the Songs” concert, featuring the songwriters performing and telling the stories behind their own music. Carly Simon, Randy Newman and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart joined others in performing some of their most popular tunes. “We used …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

214 Years Young

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress celebrates its 214th birthday today. Founded on April 24, 1800, thanks to an appropriation approved by Pres. John Adams of $5,000 for the purchase of “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress.” What started with a whopping 740 books and three maps has evolved to more than …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Copyright Deposit Sets Record Straight on Noted 20th-Century Song

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

The Library’s “Songs of America” online presentation highlights how copyright records can help to shed light on American culture and history. The exhibit draws on hundreds of thousands of pieces of sheet music and sound recordings registered for copyright since 1820 to explore the American experience through song. One copyright record has an especially interesting story. …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

A Grand Hotel on the Cycle of Creativity

Posted by: Gayle Osterberg

I have been reading with enthusiasm recent interviews with the screenwriter/director Wes Anderson about his forthcoming film “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” not only because I am a fan of Mr. Anderson’s work, but because he has been talking about the Library of Congress. Specifically, he’s been talking about how he has recently used the Library. …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

One Day, 15 Hours, 53 Minutes and Counting …

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

The Library of Congress National Book Festival is just hours away! It’s free … it’s open to the public on the National Mall … and it’s got fun and fascination for readers of all ages and tastes. No fewer than 112 stellar authors – historians, novelists, children’s and teens’ authors, poets, biographers, illustrators and graphic …