The Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress recently acquired a set of the writings of the Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, which the author had presented to his daughter, Sophie. Today, on her birthday, we remember how Sophie and her family used to receive visits from the famous fairytale author, Hans Christian Andersen.
(This post is by Michael Neubert, Head of the European Reading Room.) In the European Reading Room college and graduate students often look for primary sources that they can use to support their research projects. Primary sources such as photographs, letters, and newspaper articles “provide an original source of information about an era or event.” …
(This post is by Hannah Benson, former intern in the European Reading Room.) Zinaida Gippius was one of the many women writers in nineteenth-century Russia who ignored the societal restrictions placed upon her. Although born into privilege as the daughter of a well-respected lawyer, she had an undeniable talent and a fearless personality all her …
The Asian Division is now accepting applications for its Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship, which supports short-term research visits to the Asian Reading Room at the Library of Congress. This year's application deadline is midnight Sunday, January 12, 2025.
This post features answers to frequently asked questions about the Southeast Asian collections at the Library of Congress provided by the Library’s Southeast Asian reference librarians. Librarians touch on types of Southeast Asian materials available, who uses the collections, how the Library acquires its holdings, and how to access them.
A personal account of the author’s time as a student in France, followed by a discussion of Arthurian romances in Old French, regional dialects in France, and medieval images in modern cinema.
The Library gathers many stunning examples of the great poetic traditions across the globe, one of them being the Urdu masnavi, "Sihr ul-Bayan," by the Indian poet, Mir Hasan.
This blog post highlights a video recording and resources related to a virtual panel event hosted by the Library of Congress Asian Division entitled "Mangyan Scripts, Literary Heritage, and Collections," which took place on September 20, 2023. The event featured presentations on Mangyan writing and literary culture, as well as Mangyan collections at the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), the Mangyan Heritage Center (Mindoro, Philippines), Newberry Library (Chicago), and Yale Peabody Museum (New Haven). Audience members interacted with speakers in a Question and Answer session following the presentations.
This is a guest post by Spanish musician Francesc de Paula Soler in commemoration of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s birthday, September 29. / Este artículo fue escrito por el músico español, Francesc de Paula Soler con el motivo del cumpleaños de Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, 29 septiembre. Se ha dicho que Cervantes, a nivel cultural, …
