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Archive: 2007 (113 Posts)

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

'National Treasure 2' Opens, Library Gets 10 Minutes of Fame

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Unless you’ve been living on Mars, you’re probably aware that “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” opened today in theaters. And even then, I suspect that the little green men have also been inundated with “NT2” ads and media hoopla beamed in their general direction. I’ve already seen it twice, and although I’ll leave the film …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

The Interactives Are Coming

Posted by: Matt Raymond

It?s been a very busy day in a very busy week for us, but I managed to squeeze in some time today to get a preview of the new high-tech computer interactives that will be featured throughout new Library of Congress exhibits, starting with ?Exploring the Early Americas? on Dec. 13. In a word: WOW. …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

December 7, a Date That Lives On

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Driving to work this morning, I noticed the flags of federal office buildings lowered to half-staff. Quite often, that means that a member of Congress or a notable government official has died, so my heart always leaps into my throat if I don?t already know the specific reason why. And then I remembered today?s date: …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

More News for the Cartographically Inclined

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Readers probably think I am just a little bit obsessed with the Library?s 1507 Waldseem?World Map, which opens Dec. 13 in the dazzling new ?Exploring the Early Americas? exhibit. Thankfully, it would seem that I am not alone. Clicking over to Reuters? main page for U.S. news, I found that their story on the map …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

America: Making a Federal Case out of It

Posted by: Matt Raymond

In advance of the Dec. 13 opening of ?Exploring the Early Americas,? Wyatt Mason of The New York Times Magazine penned a thought-provoking piece on the naming of America (with a suitably Colbert-esque headline), focusing on the new ongoing exhibit?s 1507 World Map by Martin Waldseem? As Mason writes, the seven-letter word that names our …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Get 'in Touch' With Our Early History

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Did you see the news about a fantastic, new exhibition that is opening here on Dec. 13? ?Exploring the Early Americas? will give people a glimpse of the future of not just our exhibits, but also the educational power of our collections and primary-source materials. This will be the Library?s most high-tech exhibition to date, …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Bib-Future Report Goes Live

Posted by: Matt Raymond

The full draft report of the Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control is now on the Web and the comments period is open until Dec. 15.? Electronic comments are preferred. Incidentally, the webcast of the group?s presentation on Nov. 13 has apparently been one of the most heavily viewed in the entire history …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Literacy Decline Mirrors Voluntary-Reading Rate

Posted by: Matt Raymond

The National Endowment for the Arts has released its latest study lending more support to the notion that when students read less for pleasure throughout their lives, their overall reading achievement also declines. An analysis of several studies indicates that test scores and voluntary reading tend to go hand in hand. From The New York …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

‘Gates-Crashing’ the Library of Congress

Posted by: Matt Raymond

I blogged briefly a few months ago about our experience over the course of several nights with some movie stars and a couple of hundred members of the crew who were shooting “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” I was at the movie’s official website earlier today, and what did my eyes behold after clicking “enter …