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Posted by: Erin Allen
Letters About Literature, a national reading and writing program that asks young people in grades 4 through 12 to write to an author (living or deceased) about how his or her book affected their lives, announced its 2014 winners last month. More than 50,000 young readers from across the country participated in this year’s initiative, …
Posted by: Erin Allen
On June 28, 1836, President James Madison passed away at age 85 – the last of the nation’s Founding Fathers. His public service had a symmetry to it. He had served in several positions, each for eight years: first as a member of Congress, followed by the same span as Secretary of State, then finally …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Today in History, Video, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
The story of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” for many decades, seemed as murky as the smoky haze over Fort McHenry on the morning two centuries ago when Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics that still inspire a nation. No one knew for sure who wrote the music. No one fully understood the circumstances of the tune’s creation (but, no, it wasn’t a …
Posted in: Collections, Concerts, Events, History, Manuscripts, Music, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Pianist Alex Hassan’s passion is music, but not just any music – he lives to recreate the Tin Pan Alley melodies of the 1920 and 1930s. The classically trained musician, who says he is a pupil of pupil of a pupil of Franz Lizst, has, in his own words, “tunnel vision” for the popular musical …
Posted in: Collections, Manuscripts, Music, Researcher Stories, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Today the Library of Congress launched its own Pinterest account, continuing efforts to make educational, historical and cultural resources available to web users across many platforms. With Pinterest, the Library can share visual content with a wide audience, allowing them to also curate their own collections featuring the same content by creating and managing “boards” …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Blogging, Collections, Congress Blogs, Education, LC Web site, Social Media, Technology
Posted by: Erin Allen
Schools were from at-risk communities, and Spencer shared her own personal story growing up with dyslexia in a very small town in Alabama. The actress won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Minny in the 2011 film “The Help.” “Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective: The Case of the Time-Capsule Bandit” is …
Posted in: Education, Events, Photos, Pic of the Week
Posted by: Erin Allen
Several years ago I took a whirlwind tour of Ireland, which included a few days in Dublin. One of my most memorable experiences was taking a literary pub crawl through the city. Throughout the evening, the actor tour guides led us in the footsteps of James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde, among others. While …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Concerts, Events, LC Web site, Music, Video
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Engraver Abel Buell “came out of nowhere,” at least in terms of cartography, when he printed a United States map in 1784. “He’d never done a map before,” says Edward Redmond of the Library’s Geography and Map Division. Nonetheless, Buell set records. He was the first U.S. citizen to print a map of the United …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Collections, Copyright, Exhibitions, History, LC Web site, Maps, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
David Allen Sibley – yes, the author of the recently updated “Sibley Guide to Birds,” that indispensable handbook on all things feathered – will appear at this year’s National Book Festival, Saturday, August 30 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In addition to this most highly respected ornithologist, we will also welcome Sally Satel, …
Posted in: Books, Education, Events, Film, National Book Festival, Poetry, Science, Washington DC