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Archive: 2014 (151 Posts)

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

Library in the News: January 2014 Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

With the new year, the Library of Congress rang in lots of news. Here is a sampling of the headlines. The Library last month announced its acquisition of the collection of jazz great Max Roach. “Admiration, invective, scrutiny — the sense you get is of a man determined enough to take it all,” wrote Ben …

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

InRetrospect: January 2014 Blogging Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress welcomed the new year with a variety of blog posts. Following are a sampling of stories. In the Muse: Performing Arts Blog Beautiful Dreamer: Remembering Stephen Foster Cait Miller commemorates the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress I’ll be damned if I don’t do …

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

American History, an-NOTE-tated

Posted by: Erin Allen

The history of America is reflected through its songs. From changes to the “Star Spangled Banner” as played by different bands in different eras, to sheet music art documenting historical themes, the tapestry of American culture and life has been woven through music. New to the many online offerings of the Library of Congress is …

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

Curious Collections

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a story written by Jon Munshaw, former intern in the Office of Communications, for the January-February 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. You can download the issue in its entirety here.) Some unusual items in the Library’s non-book collections will amaze and amuse researchers. Most people know the Library of Congress for being, well, …

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

All That Jazz

Posted by: Erin Allen

Jazz’s greatest drummer once earned D’s in music in school, once wrote an essay entitled “I Hate Jazz” and once even launched a venture to break into the soft-drink market. The Library of Congress on Monday announced the acquisition of the papers of Max Roach, the groundbreaking drummer who helped birth bebop, the adventurous musician …

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

Finding Our Place in the Cosmos with Carl Sagan

Posted by: Erin Allen

(Trevor Owens, digital archivist with the Library’s National Digital Information and Infrastructure Preservation Program and special curator for the Library of Congress science literacy initiative, contributed to this blog post.) “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself,” once said American astronomer Carl Sagan. Profoundly interested in the universe and our place in it, …

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

Remembering Pete Seeger

Posted by: Erin Allen

Folk singer, activist and friend of the Library of Congress Pete Seeger passed away Monday in Manhattan. He was 94. The Library’s American Folklife Center and the Music Division are home to multiple collections documenting Seeger and his family’s extraordinary musical accomplishments. (The following is a repost from the American Folklife Center blog, Folklife Today.) Pete …

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

Pic of the Week: Put a Stamp On It

Posted by: Erin Allen

Distinguished architectural photographer Carol M. Highsmith began donating her work to the Prints and Photographs Division at the Library of Congress in 1992. She has photographed landmark buildings and architecture in Washington, D.C. — including the Library of Congress and many monuments — and throughout the United States. Starting in 2002, Highsmith provided scans or photographs she shot …

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

Preserving the Grammys, and More

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post written by Gene DeAnna, head of the Recorded Sound Section at the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation.) With this year’s Grammy Awards event coming this weekend, it seems a good time to talk about recorded sound preservation. While you may not be on the edge …