Top of page
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
The following guest post is by Amber Paranick, a librarian in the Newspaper & Current Periodical Reading Room. Amber collaborated with us before showcasing early U.S. articles related to ice hockey from the Chronicling America database in the post “King of Winter Sports.” The history of the Thanksgiving holiday can be traced back to 1621, …
Posted in: Guest Blog Posts, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Spiders have been spinning their webs across the planet for hundreds of millions of years. Without a doubt, we have forged a special relationship with these eight-legged wonders. One can find pictographs of spiders on the walls of the ancient site of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, as well as references to spiders in mythology, creation …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Zoology
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
The following is a guest post authored by Elizabeth Gettins, a Digital Conversion Specialist for the Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections (RBSC). She has worked on multiple RBSC digital collections through the years such as the Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake, the Miller NAWSA Suffrage Scrapbooks and the Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana …
Posted in: Guest Blog Posts, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Rare Books and Special Collections
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
The following is a guest blog post by science reference librarian and eggs-pert Margaret Clifton who has been collecting egg art since she was nine years old. Margaret has written for Inside Adams before on the topics of astronomy, Carl Sagan, time and Antarctica. How do we know when Spring is here? Officially, which is …
Posted in: Astronomy/Mathematics, Guest Blog Posts, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Zoology
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
In celebration of Women’s History Month the American Library Association’s Feminist Task Force invited submissions to highlight valued women in libraries. Library of Congress Science Reference Section Head Constance Carter has contributed this article about her mentor and inspiration Ruth S. Freitag. Ruth S. Freitag is a librarian who should be celebrated during Women’s History Month. Admired by grateful …
Posted in: Astronomy/Mathematics, Biography, Guest Blog Posts, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Women's History
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Being the self-proclaimed LC weather gal, I felt compelled, and it was thoughtfully suggested to me, to write about the weather on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. I love researching historical weather; the temperature, precipitation, humidity, cloud coverage, wind, etc., all aid in setting the stage or painting the picture of a …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Weather
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Many of us associate July 4th, Independence Day, with barbecues, picnics and fireworks. But it is also the day when we proudly display the National Flag of the United States. We honor this day by flying Old Glory’s stars and stripes, draping our buildings with American Flag bunting, and outfitting our celebrations in red, white …
Posted in: Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Technical Reports and Standards
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
Last week I had the fantastic opportunity to give a gallery talk in the Library’s Civil War in America Exhibit Hall about the role of technology during the U.S. Civil War. There were many technologies or tools in use or being developed at this time, such as the telegraph, ironclad steamships (e.g. Merrimack and Monitor), railroads, …
Posted in: Aeronautics/Astronautics, Biography, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History, Inventions, Military science
Posted by: Jennifer Harbster
March 19 will mark the 5 year anniversary of the death of Sir Arthur C. Clarke. I would not be writing this blog post if it were not for the curiosity of one of our volunteers, Richard Halada, a local high school physics teacher. Richard was retrieving a book for us in the Adams’ Building …
Posted in: Aeronautics/Astronautics, Astronomy/Mathematics, Heritage Months, Holidays, and Today in History