This post tells the story behind the notebook of Imperial Japanese Navy Lieutenant Sakuma Tsutomu (1879-1910). Following a submarine accident, Sakuma dutifully recorded his and his crew’s heroic, but doomed, efforts to save themselves.
An English version of this blog post is available here. Esta postagem é de Henry Granville Widener, Bibliotecário de Referência de Língua Portuguesa, da Sala de Leitura Hispânica da Divisão Latino-Americana, Caribenha e Européia. No dia 3 de abril de 2022, encerrou-se uma monumental carreira nas letras brasileiras com o falecimento da escritora Lygia Fagundes […]
Uma versão em português deste post do blog está disponível aqui. The following is a post by Henry Granville Widener, Portuguese Language Reference Librarian in the Hispanic Reading Room of the Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division. April 3, 2022 saw an extensive career in Brazilian letters come to a close with the passing of […]
The Library of Congress Cairo Office celebrates its 60th anniversary. This blogpost discusses its role in collection development for the Library as well as other academic libraries in the U.S.
This blogpost uses the Library of Congress’ resources to introduce Empress Taytu Betul, spouse of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia, who occupies an important page in the history of Ethiopia. She is remembered for her towering contributions in time of war, such as in the Battle of Adwa, and in the process of modernizing the country. Empress Taytu follows the example of her titanic women ancestors such as the Candaces, the Queen of Sheba, Queen Yodit [Judith], to name a few, who provided a legacy of excellence to the womenfolk of today’s Ethiopia.
The Library recently digitized three rare thangkas from the Tibetan collection. They are not only beautiful works of art but illustrate and disseminate key cultural teachings. This blog features the Srid pa ho, which wards off harm from all directions, illustrating basic Tibetan astrology concepts.
This blog post, written by LACE Librarian in Residence, Taylor Healey Brooks, explores the way she applied her expertise in supporting Africana scholarship at the Library of Congress.
More than 400 newly catalogued Manchu books from the Asian Division’s Chinese Rare Book Collection offer researchers new sources for study of the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty in China.
The Library of Congress’ Hebraic Section recently acquired a Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract), handwritten in 1722 in Ancona, Italy. Because the Ketubah is displayed during the ceremony, the tradition evolved to decorate the Ketubah. This Italian Ketubah from 1722 shows how the decoration adds beauty and meaning to a dry legal document.
January 1804 marks Haitian independence from French colonial rule. Self-liberated enslaved people on the island led and carried out the only successful insurrection by enslaved peoples in the Western Hemisphere. The Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division (LACE) has released a research guide, “Freedom in the Black Diaspora: A Resource Guide for Ayiti Re-imagined.”