Leading the news headlines in July was the conveyance of the $1 million John W. Kluge Prize for the lifetime achievement in the study of humanity to Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil. He was honored in an awards ceremony for his study of the social structures of Brazilian government, economy and race relations and its transformation from a military dictatorship to a democracy.
Cardoso spoke with Washington Post reporter Eva Rodriquez.
Young people have dreams. My dream was to learn how to devote my time and my energy in creating a better Brazilian society,” he said.
When I remember as a child in Rio, on Copacabana Beach, in Rio, it was also a very backward country,” Cardoso told Jeffrey Brown of PBS Newshour. “And now I can see a much more dynamic society in Brazil. And now we have democracy. Now we have people asking for more. Now we have protests. Now we have the free press. Now we have universities. Now we have contacts across the globe. My God, it was an enormous progress.”
Other outlets featuring stories included the Associated Press (AP), WTOP, América Latina and other international outlets.
The Washington Post also did a feature story on a special, private display for members of Congress on the history of U.S. presidential elections, culled from the several collections in the Library. Reporter Michael Ruane called the items “attention getting.”
CNN ran a video piece as part of its State of the Union with Candy Crowley program.
In appy news, the Library has added to its Apple offerings with new applications for the Congressional Record and its new digital collection of Aesop’s Fables (also available online). Running announcements were the Washington Post, WTOP and Education Week.
Several of the Library of Congress’ previously announced initiatives continued to make news in July, including its list of “books that shaped America.”
An interesting take on the book list was featured by the Chicago Tribune, which looked at the cookbooks included in the influential tomes.
“It’s [the list] meant to start a conversation,” said reporters Judy Hevrdejs and Bill Daley. “And it did when we came upon the cookbooks on the list, each a reflection of their times.”
The two highlighted “American Cookery” (1796), by Amelia Simmons, “The American Woman’s Home” (1869), by Harriet Beecher Stowe and Catharine E. Beecher and “Joy of Cooking” (1931) by Irma Rombauer.
Also still in the headlines was the Library’s initiative marking the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act.
Brett Zongker’s article for the Associated Press highlighted the history of the law that would establish a network of land-grant universities. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington ranked the movement as one of the great milestones in American history.
The Denver Post, Boston Globe and the Southeast Missourian were among the outlets carrying the story.
The Library conducted week-long Teacher Institutes in July to promote the use of primary sources in the classroom. Community newspapers far and wide ran stories of local teachers who participated in the program. Teachers came from California, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Virginia and Alaska, to name a few.