Top of page

Category: Uncategorized

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

Ambassador for Young People's Literature Offers Pointers

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Most of us know intuitively, if not empirically, about the importance of reading for pleasure, lifelong literacy, or whatever term you choose. Studies have shown connections between a person’s love of reading and other qualities such as civic engagement and philanthropy. But what can we actually do to help stoke young people’s interest in reading …

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

Meanwhile, About Those Abraham Lincoln Inauguration Photos

Posted by: Matt Raymond

It was an entirely happy coincidence this week that we announced both the Flickr pilot project and an amazing photographic discovery on exactly the same day. A trio of images, previously thought to have been picturing different events, have been confirmed to be photographs from Abraham Linclon’s second inauguration as president on March 4, 1865. …

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

Flickr Followup

Posted by: Matt Raymond

I need to start out this post with a single word: thanks. If it?s true that a picture is worth a thousand words, then thank goodness for those 3,100 pictures, because words are failing me right now. The response to the Library?s pilot project with Flickr has been nothing short of astounding. You always hope …

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

My Friend Flickr: A Match Made in Photo Heaven

Posted by: Matt Raymond

If you’re reading this, then chances are you already know about Web 2.0. Even if you don’t know the term itself, you’re one of millions worldwide who are actively creating, sharing or benefiting from user-generated content that characterizes Web 2.0 phenomena. As a communicator, I want to expand the reach of the Library and access …

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

'National Treasure 2' Opens, Library Gets 10 Minutes of Fame

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Unless you’ve been living on Mars, you’re probably aware that “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” opened today in theaters. And even then, I suspect that the little green men have also been inundated with “NT2” ads and media hoopla beamed in their general direction. I’ve already seen it twice, and although I’ll leave the film …

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

The Interactives Are Coming

Posted by: Matt Raymond

It?s been a very busy day in a very busy week for us, but I managed to squeeze in some time today to get a preview of the new high-tech computer interactives that will be featured throughout new Library of Congress exhibits, starting with ?Exploring the Early Americas? on Dec. 13. In a word: WOW. …

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

December 7, a Date That Lives On

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Driving to work this morning, I noticed the flags of federal office buildings lowered to half-staff. Quite often, that means that a member of Congress or a notable government official has died, so my heart always leaps into my throat if I don?t already know the specific reason why. And then I remembered today?s date: …

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

More News for the Cartographically Inclined

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Readers probably think I am just a little bit obsessed with the Library?s 1507 Waldseem?World Map, which opens Dec. 13 in the dazzling new ?Exploring the Early Americas? exhibit. Thankfully, it would seem that I am not alone. Clicking over to Reuters? main page for U.S. news, I found that their story on the map …

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

America: Making a Federal Case out of It

Posted by: Matt Raymond

In advance of the Dec. 13 opening of ?Exploring the Early Americas,? Wyatt Mason of The New York Times Magazine penned a thought-provoking piece on the naming of America (with a suitably Colbert-esque headline), focusing on the new ongoing exhibit?s 1507 World Map by Martin Waldseem? As Mason writes, the seven-letter word that names our …