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Posted by: Mark Hartsell
As a hospital chaplain during the Civil War, William Oland Bourne collected the names of the wounded soldiers he tended and, in doing so, noticed a terrible trend: Many soldiers used their left hands to sign his autograph book because their right arms were missing. How, Bourne wondered, could these grievously wounded men adapt – …
Posted in: Civil War, Collections, Curators, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, New Online
Posted by: Erin Allen
“America Reads,” which opened yesterday in the Southwest Gallery of the Jefferson Building, is possibly the first sequel exhibition at the Library of Congress. It follows the institution’s popular 2012 exhibition “Books That Shaped America,” which displayed 88 books by American authors “that had a profound effect on American life.” For this exhibition, the books were chosen …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Events, Exhibitions, Libraries, Manuscripts, Photos, Pic of the Week, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest blog post written by Elizabeth Gettins, Library of Congress digital library specialist.) When you think of the “Jungle Book,” what comes to mind first? For some, it is the classic 1967 Walt Disney movie; for others, the new 2016 Disney release. However, for many bibliophiles, there is no substitute for …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Curators, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Rare Book of the Month
Posted by: Erin Allen
Nominated for a record-setting 16 Tony Awards, “Hamilton” the musical swept the ceremony winning 11, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score and a handful of best actor/actresses. The show is based on the Ron Chernow biography on founding father Alexander Hamilton, which Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the musical, had picked up on a whim …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Books, Collections, Congress, Events, History, Law Library, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Music
Posted by: Erin Allen
The month of May saw the Library of Congress in a variety of headlines. In April, the Library announced that THOMAS.gov, the online legislative information system, will officially retire July 5, completing the multi-year transition to Congress.gov. David Gewirtz for ZDNet Government wrote, “You have to wonder what Thomas Jefferson would have made of the …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Collections, Congress, Curators, Exhibitions, History, Manuscripts, Music, News, Newspapers, Photos, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by William Kellum, manager in the Library’s Web Services Division.) Educational Outreach This month, we’re very happy to have a new release in the excellent series of Student Discovery Sets produced by the Library’s Education Outreach team. Designed for classroom use on Apple’s iPad platform, Student Discovery sets “bring …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Civil War, Collections, Education, Exhibitions, Folksonomies, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, New Online, Technology
Posted by: Mark Hartsell
Before he boarded the ship carrying prisoners of war across the ocean to a forced-labor camp, George Washington Pearcy divided his diary and gave the pieces to two comrades staying behind. If he didn’t survive the journey, Pearcy hoped, his story somehow would. Pearcy, a POW held by the Japanese during World War II, never …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Collections, History, Manuscripts, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a story featured in the May/June 2016 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here. The story was written by August and Clare Imholtz, who have been collecting “Alice” books for more than 30 years. Clare is also a volunteer in the Library’s …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Copyright, History, LCM, Manuscripts
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is written by Michelle Krowl, a historian in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division.) On May 10, 1867 Colonel Nathan W. Daniels celebrated his 31st birthday. He noted in his diary, “Learned to day that I had been recommended and nominated by Chief Justice Chase as Register under the Bankrupt Act for the …
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Collections, Curators, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts