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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

Poem Dedicated to Library Published as Children’s Book

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Guy Lamolinara, communications officer in the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress.) Former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins (2001-2003), creator of the Library’s Poetry 180 website, has just published his first illustrated children’s book with artist Karen Romagna. The book features Collins’ poem “Voyage,” which …

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

Share Your Photos of Halloween

Posted by: Erin Allen

The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is inviting Americans participating in holidays at the end of October and early November – Halloween, All Souls Day, All Saints Day, Dia de los Muertos – to photograph hayrides, haunted houses, parades, trick-or-treating and other celebratory and commemorative activities to contribute to a new …

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

Mark Twain & Copyright

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is an article written by Harry Katz in the September-October 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. Katz is a former curator in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division and author of a new Library publication, “Mark Twain’s America.”)  Samuel Clemens’ fight for the intellectual property rights to Mark Twain’s works helped protect …

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

Anatomy of the Flute

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a feature on “Technology at the Library” from the September-October 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.)  The Library of Congress holds the largest collection of flutes in the world, due in great measure to the generosity of Ohio physicist and amateur flutist Dayton …

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

Remembering the Real Fifties

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Tom Wiener of the Library’s Publishing Office and editor of “The Forgotten Fifties: America’s Decade from the Archives of Look Magazine.) Look Magazine was a large format, glossy-paged publication that emphasized photography as much as words. Published between 1937 and 1971, it is recalled now as the poor …

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

We the People

Posted by: Erin Allen

Today we celebrate the 227th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia, Penn., which was ratified at the Constitutional Convention on Sept. 17, 1787. The Library recently released a series of interactive eBooks for tablets, including a set on the Constitution, which can be downloaded for free on iBooks. The new Library …

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

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: Feliz Cumpleaños, Hispanic Division

Posted by: Erin Allen

(Today is the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually Sept. 15-Oct. 15. This year, the Library’s Hispanic Division marks its 75th anniversary. The following is an article from the July-August 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine .) Dating back to the middle ages, the Library’s Hispanic world collections are the largest in …

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

Conservation Corner: A Persian Manuscript

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post written by Yasmeen Khan, senior book conservator in the Conservation Division.) Conservation staff recently treated I recently examined a rare Persian manuscript in preparation for display in the Library of Congress exhibition, “A Thousand Years of the Persian Book.” The bound 103-leaf manuscript, dated 1583 and attributed to Central Asia, …