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Category: Favorites From the Fifth Floor

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One Hundred Years Ago Today

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

Advertisements.  We think of them as a way to find out about products and services, but they can also be useful for learning about companies themselves. I frequently use advertisements to answer historical questions on companies where information is harder to come by.  For example, companies looking for capital will try to lure would-be investors …

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It’s Over for Another Year

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

Tax season has just ended, and I felt it would be an appropriate time to feature data that the IRS gathers from our annual tax returns (none of it attributed to individual companies, individuals, or non-profits!). There are two particular publications I wanted to mention that both use the data gathered from the forms:  the …

She Works Hard for the Money

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

The Women’s Bureau was organized in 1920 as an agency within the Department of Labor to represent the needs of working women.  As part of its mission, it published many books and pamphlets about women’s issues and the working conditions of women.  Since March is Women’s History Month, I thought this would be a good …

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The Economy: In One Volume

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

For my first post of February 2011, I wanted to give a heads up for a publication that I find very useful.  Coming out this month from the Council of Economic Advisers is the Economic Report of the President.   This publication, published annually since 1947,  gives an overview of the nation’s economic progress along with …

cover says Travelers Official Railway Guide

Planes, Trains but not Automobiles

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

In the 1987 movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Steve Martin’s character is desperately trying to get home for Thanksgiving. While working at the Library of Congress, I have answered many questions which might have interested Steve Martin’s character, from how people traveled, to how much a trip cost, to how long a certain trip was …

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World War II ‘Scientific Manpower’

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

K-rations, better night vision binoculars, and synthetic rubber are just a few examples of innovations resulted from scientific research during World War II.  The story of science during World War II is one of partnerships and prolific research. On June 28, 1941, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8807which established the Office of Scientific Research and …