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By: Mike Ashenfelder
This is an excerpt from the inaugural speech by Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress.Today, through the power of technology, thousands around the country are able to watch this ceremony live. This is the opportunity to build on the contributions of the Librarians who have come before, to realize a vision of a national library …
Posted in: The Signal
By: Mike Ashenfelder
Researchers, of varying technical abilities, are increasingly applying data science tools and methods to digital collections. As a result, new ways are emerging for processing and analyzing the digital collections’ raw material — the data. For example, instead of pondering one single digital item at a time – such as a news story, photo or …
Posted in: The Signal
By: Stephen Winick
As part of its ongoing 40th Anniversary celebrations, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress will present “Collections, Collaborations & Connections,” a free public symposium here at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The panels will highlight the Center’s unparalleled collections, explore innovative approaches to cultural documentation, and focus on current best …
Posted in: Folklife Today
By: Cary O’Dell
The following is a guest post by Jenny Paxson, an Administrative Assistant at the Packard Campus. Friday, September 9 (7:30 p.m.)—SOLD OUT!!! The Malpass Brothers Live in Concert Christopher and Taylor Malpass’s smooth vocal blend and skillful musicianship layer infectiously into the deep respect they pay to legends who have paved the way. The Malpass …
Posted in: Now See Hear!
We are approaching a holiday that signifies many things to people on the calendar: Labor Day. For children and teachers, it’s back to school. For the sports fan, anticipation for Friday night high school football (and half-time shows; a shout-out to the band kids) and Sunday afternoon professional leagues. But I would like to remind …
Posted in: NLS Music Notes
By: Mike Ashenfelder
This is a guest post by Abbie Grotke, lead information technology specialist of the Library of Congress Web Archiving Team Readers of The Signal may recall prior efforts to archive United States Federal Government websites during the end of presidential terms. I last wrote about this in 2012 when we were working on preserving the …
Posted in: The Signal
By: Mike Ashenfelder
When The Signal debuted in 2011, its focus was exclusively on the challenge of digital preservation, which is why its URL was http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation. The Signal was a forum for news and information about digital preservation — unique problems and solutions, standards, collaborations and achievements. The Signal’s authors interviewed leaders in the field, profiled colleagues and …
Posted in: The Signal
By: Cary O’Dell
It is week number four for our blog of “mystery photos.” Thanks to all who reviewed and commented on our previous posts over the past few weeks. (If you want to see those again, here are the links: Who’s That Lady?; Who’s That Gent? and Name That Movie!) This time we are posting photos that we …
Posted in: Now See Hear!
By: Stephen Winick
This is a guest post by Maya Lerman, processing archivist at the American Folklife Center. She is writing occasional guest posts as she makes discoveries during the processing of the Izzy Young Collection. Her first post on the collection can be found here. The Izzy Young Collection documents the folk revival of the late 1950s …
Posted in: Folklife Today
By: Julie Stoner
The end of August reminds me of the sweltering hot days I spent as a teenager in band camp, marching back and forth across the black pavement of the high school parking lot, attempting to learn field formations while simultaneously playing only half-remembered music. Though well past my marching days, I still appreciate a well-executed …
Posted in: Picture This