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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

North Korea and Dear Leader: A Peek Inside

Posted by: Matt Raymond

The John W. Kluge Center is one of the Library of Congress’s more recently added gems. Since its founding in 2000 via a generous gift from the Center’s namesake, it has brought many of the world’s top intellects to the Library and offered them access to our unparalleled collections in order to do their work …

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

Librarians To Converge on DC, LOC

Posted by: Matt Raymond

  The Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress, from the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog Members of the American Library Association ? at least 20,000 strong (from what I?m told) ? will be descending on Washington, D.C., starting later this week for their Annual Conference and Exhibition. While the bulk of the activities …

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

Good Night, IRENE: Technology of Dreams

Posted by: Matt Raymond

IRENE does ?her? thing Everyone knows that ?a picture is worth a thousand words.? But did you know that it can also yield, oh, at least an hour or so of pleasant music? The Library of Congress?s Preservation Directorate and a number of partners are essentially ?inventing? a new preservation technology that could revolutionize efforts …

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

View From the Top

Posted by: Matt Raymond

A rare opportunity surfaced the other day to go on a tour of the dome of the Thomas Jefferson Building, so ? as you might imagine ? I leapt on it in a heartbeat. Not only did it offer a unique vantage on Washington, D.C., (especially the Capitol across First Street, along with the Capitol …

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

A Grand Old Flag

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Among the family of patriotic holidays, Independence Day’s “younger sibling”—Flag Day—arrives on the calendar roughly three weeks before we celebrate our nation’s birth. The June edition of the Library of Congress’s “Wise Guide” launched today, just in time to salute the Stars and Stripes—figuratively, if not literally. From the text: Did you know that the …

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

Rep. Roskam Has Our Number

Posted by: Matt Raymond

The “Swamp” blog of the Chicago Tribune’s Washington, D.C., bureau reports on the favored tourist destinations of Rep. Peter Roskam: In keeping with Roskam’s fiscally conservative credentials (and, to be fair, the general spirit of tourist attractions in Washington), everything on the list is free to enter. Among the highlights, with Roskam’s commentary: No. 3, …

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

'Democracy' Comes to the Library

Posted by: Matt Raymond

John Haynes of the Library of Congress?s Manuscript Division addresses guests in the Library?s Madison Hall as NED President Carl Gershman, right, listens. The blonde woman in the audience with her back to the camera is actress/activist Mia Farrow. (Photo by me.) Even in the midst of partisan squabbling for which Washington, D.C., has always …

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

The Great Hall in June

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Speaking of “great halls,” I was just over in our very own Great Hall and thought that I would post a quick pic that I took. Such a gorgeous building — even a novice shutterbug like me can’t mess it up. You wouldn’t necessarily know it from this shot, but the place is teeming with …

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

Library in the News, 6/6/07

Posted by: Matt Raymond

John McArdle of Roll Call today writes the first story I have seen on the appropriations bill that is taking shape in the Legislative Branch subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.? (The link is here, but is subscription-only.) According to the article, the bill ?is expected to increase overall legislative branch spending by $251 million …