I am often asked how the Law Library acquires so much foreign material. While we have DC-based staff members who work with foreign book dealers and publishers, the Library of Congress also has six overseas offices which acquire, catalog, and preserve library materials from countries where it has been more difficult to obtain such items …
We may celebrate the 4th of July as America’s birthday but September 9th marks the anniversary of the name “United States”. While this term had been used previously, it was on this day in 1776 that the Second Continental Congress officially agreed to change the name of the new country from the United Colonies to …
It’s Labor Day, the September holiday that is seen by many as the end of summer. Many of this blog’s regular readers are probably at a cookout right now or enjoying one last visit to the beach. These seem to be two common ways to celebrate the holiday honoring American labor. If you have not …
The following is a guest post by John Hessler, Senior Reference Specialist in the Library of Congress’s Geography And Map Division. It was one of those moments that happens to a scholar perhaps once or twice in a lifetime. For the past eight years I had been working on a book that centered on Roman land …
The Reading Room and the Global Legal Resource Room are the two collection areas of the Law Library that are accessible to the public. Today’s Pic of the Week is a look inside our gazette room, a collection space that is accessible only to staff. While patrons cannot browse the shelves, they may certainly request …
The following is a guest post by Dr. Meredith Shedd-Driskel, Law Curator of our rare book collection. She recently attended the 52nd Annual Preconference of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries held prior to the American Library Association’s annual conference. Held in Baton Rouge, the theme of …
Describe your background I am a native of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, but I have strong Italian roots. My father’s parents were immigrants from Italy. My mother was born in Italy and moved to the United States at the age of 11. My parents, who recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary, met on a …
Through the generosity of Julie Chrystyn Opperman and in honor of her husband, Dwight D. Opperman, the Law Library recently acquired two volumes of an extraordinarily rare 1478 edition of the Casus breves of Johannes de Turnhout (c. 1446–1492). This new acquisition had its first public viewing yesterday at the Law Library’s 15th Wickersham Award …
In this week’s staff interview, Hope O’Keeffe tells us she signed up for the LSAT after taking a class called, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This inspired me to check the collection for books which may offer advice on becoming a lawyer. Today’s Pic of the Week is a sampling …