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By: Jennifer Gavin
The Library of Congress’ Flickr page has just put up 100 photocrom images of Italy (chiefly the charming northern lake regions), popular tourism destinations back in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and still popular today. Soon, 400 images of Italy will be on the site. Take a mental stroll around the beautiful Lake Como; be …
Posted in: Timeless
As summer approaches and the days heat up, we get an influx of “Why is it hot in the summer?” questions in our reference queue. In the Northern Hemisphere, our summer months (June-September) are usually hot because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis. It is popular belief that it is hot in the summer because the …
Posted in: Inside Adams
By: Jennifer Gavin
Saturday, Sept. 25 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Library of Congress National Book Festival – “A Decade of Words and Wonder.” If you’re among the hundreds of thousands of people who have attended the event in its first nine glorious years, or just want to know more about this celebration of books, the …
Posted in: Timeless
By: Jennifer Gavin
One of the complaints heard from non-fans of classical music is that so much of it reaches back centuries. As one wag, who preferred jazz, put it: “Mozart hasn’t written anything decent in 200 years!” And yet classical, as a genre, continues to unfold even in our lifetimes. Which means there may be among us the …
Posted in: Timeless
By: Jennifer Gavin
On Tuesday, April 20 at noon, 16 actors will appear at the Library of Congress’ Whittall Pavilion to deliver more world-famous iambic pentameter than you can shake a spear at. It’s the annual Shakespeare’s Birthday reading, a chapter in the “Poetry at Noon” series presented by the Library’s Poetry and Literature Center. (It’s Shakespeare’s 446th.) …
Posted in: Timeless
By: Matt Raymond
Top o’ the Morning to you! Even though I’m only one-quarter Irish, millions of folks, even those without a drop of Irish blood, are celebrating the wearing o’ the green today. Our Prints and Photographs Division decided to mark the day by putting out a call to picture-lovers to post “now” images of locations in …
Posted in: Timeless
By: Pat Padua
The following is a guest post by Elizabeth Fulford Miller, Library Services, with an h/t to Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center. Scotland’s national “bard” was born on January 25, 1759, and all around the world “Burns suppers” – complete with bagpipes, a special Scottish dish called “haggis,” poetry and song – will be …
Posted in: In The Muse
By: Jennifer Gavin
Today Katherine Paterson, the author of “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Jacob Have I Loved,” “The Day of the Pelican” and more than 30 other children’s books, was named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. She summarized her platform for the reading-promotion post in four words: “Read for your life.” …
Posted in: Timeless
By: Jennifer Gavin
… And despite all good cheer, It sized up as “boringest night of the year.” Still 36 hours until Christmas dawning, And reruns of reruns were leaving ‘em yawning. The tree decorating had happened last week The lineup of movies appeared rather bleak. The cookies were eaten; the sprinkles were scattered No Christmas ‘till Christmas! …
Posted in: Timeless
By: Jennifer Gavin
December 18 is a special day in the yearly calendar of the Library of Congress – it’s the day when several of the rare stringed instruments in the Library’s collection are taken from their display cases and handed to the members of a talented string quartet. The collection was assembled with the intention that it …
Posted in: Timeless