During the Civil War, cartographers invented new techniques to map the country and the conflict more accurately than ever before in the nation’s history. Since then, cartographic technology has evolved in ways never imagined, but many basic elements of mapmaking remain the same. The following is an article, written by Jacqueline V. Nolan and Edward …
I remember the moment I found out that jolly old St. Nick was more an idea than a physical person shimmying down a chimney to deposit presents underneath the tree. First clue, we didn’t have a fireplace. I can’t remember exactly how old I was, probably elementary school age. The night before Christmas I could …
Today marks 19 years since the passing of one of the world’s great management thinkers—W. Edwards Deming. After World War II, the U.S. did something remarkable in the history of war – it helped its friends and even its former foes get back on their feet economically. In Europe, that was accomplished through the Marshall …
(The Maya calendar has generated a lot of buzz about the impending end of the world as we know it, on Dec. 21, 2012. The following is an article written by colleague Audrey Fischer from the November-December 2012 issue of the Library’s new magazine, LCM, highlighting what’s “trending” in the news, on the web and …
The following is a guest post by Jason Steinhauer, program specialist in the Library’s John W. Kluge Center, as part of the Inquiring Minds series. The revolutionary wave of demonstrations, protests and wars known collectively as the Arab Spring has spanned Algeria to Oman, covering a distance of 3,400 miles and toppling regimes that governed …
In November, Library bloggers presented a feast of posts, sure to whet a variety of appetites. Here are a few selections. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog 1707: A Year That Will Resonate with Handel Lovers 1707 was a good year for Handel. The Signal: Digital Preservation When Data Loss is Personal Leslie Johnston talks …
This Saturday marks my return to the Kennedy Center stage singing as part of The Washington Chorus in our annual series of holiday concerts. I’ve been a part of this large ensemble for about three years now, and our December concerts are some of our most popular. There’s nothing like singing yuletide carols to get …
The collections of the Library of Congress are vast and varied. And, what better way to get to know them but through our many wonderful curators. In this edition of “Curator’s Picks,” Sara Duke, curator of popular and applied graphic art in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division, and reference librarian Megan Halsband of the …
What if Abraham Lincoln recorded his innermost thoughts as he moved toward the realization that he must end slavery? What if he lost that diary, but a recently discovered letter suggests that the diary is still out there? Such is the premise of “The Lincoln Letter” (Tor/Forge, 2012) by William Martin, his latest mystery novel …