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Archive: April 2015 (10 Posts)

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

Happy 215th Anniversary Library of Congress!

Posted by: Erin Allen

A Message from the Librarian Today, on the Library of Congress’s 215th anniversary, I want especially to congratulate the Library’s extraordinary staff for their work in building this amazing, one-of-a-kind institution. I am, and always will be, deeply grateful for all they do. The heart and soul of this great library always has been its …

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

We’ve Got Style

Posted by: Erin Allen

Every year, top fashion designers, style bloggers and journalists, celebrities and other movers and shakers gather in chic cities across the globe to showcase and check out the latest styles in clothing, accessories, hair and even makeup. Fashion shows for Autumn/Winter womenswear is usually held in February, with the Spring/Summer looks being exhibited in September. …

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

A Day of Mourning

Posted by: Erin Allen

This month marks the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The 16th president was shot by John Wilkes Booth the evening of April 14 and died nine hours later on April 15. Several days later, Lincoln’s body would begin its long train-trek home to Springfield, Ill., where he would be buried on …

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

Young Gun

Posted by: Erin Allen

In 1882, Sheriff Pat Garrett published his account of the apprehension and death of Billy the Kid, whom he shot and killed on July 14, 1881. “‘The Kid’ had a lurking devil in him; it was a good-humored, jovial imp, or a cruel and blood-thirsty fiend, as circumstances prompted. Circumstances favored the worser angel, and …

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

The Power of a Poem

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is an article from the March/April 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. Editor Audrey Fischer wrote the story. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) Billie Holiday’s iconic song about racial inequality was penned by a poet whose works are preserved at the Library of Congress. Recorded in …

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

Library in the News: March 2015 Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

Headlining Library of Congress news for March was the announcement of new selections to the National Recording Registry. Time called this year’s selections the “most American playlist ever.” “If the Smithsonian is America’s attic, the National Recording Registry is the dusty box of records that America’s parents left up there,” wrote reporter Ryan Teague Beckwith. …

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

That All May Read

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Karen Keninger, director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.) There are times when a “best-kept secret” is exactly what you want. But not when it comes to one of the most highly valued services provided through the Library of Congress – namely the …

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

National Poets

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a story written by Peter Armenti, literature specialist for the Digital Reference Section, found in the March/April 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) The nation’s most acclaimed poets have helped the Library of Congress promote poetry for nearly 80 years. The …

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

Pics of the Week: Honoring Rosa Parks

Posted by: Erin Allen

The Library of Congress presented a special program on Tuesday to honor the Howard G. Buffett Foundation for loaning the Rosa Parks Collection to the Library. A special guest was U.S. Rep. John Conyers, who employed Rosa Parks in his Detroit congressional office for 22 years. Conyers described Rosa Parks as a quiet, humble person …