When Stephen Winick of the American Folklife Center learned about Billy Bragg’s 2016 album, “Shine a Light,” he quickly contacted the album’s publicist to invite the English singer-songwriter to speak at the Library. The reason: the album, recorded with American folksinger Joe Henry, includes several songs known to the world thanks to recordings in the …
On January 31, award-winning author and literacy advocate Stephen King helped the Library launch our annual call for nominations for the Library of Congress Literacy Awards honoring organizations working to promote literacy and reading in the United States and worldwide. Throughout the winter, 18 additional authors, including Kwame Alexander, Ken Burns and Margo Jefferson added …
This is a guest post by Abby Yochelson, a reference specialist in the Main Reading Room. Career guidance takes many paths. In the 1970s, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings sang this advice from an Ed and Patsy Bruce song: Mamas’ don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys Don’t let ’em pick …
This is a guest post by Ryan Reft, a historian in the Manuscript Division. Amid war, Labor Day in 1918 took on increased importance. Mobilization had presented unprecedented opportunities, and workers achieved remarkable advances during America’s months at war. Many reached out to President Woodrow Wilson before the 1918 holiday, hoping that he might make …
This is a guest post by Julie Miller, a historian in the Manuscript Division. In spring 1848, Congress appropriated $20,000 to buy the papers of Alexander Hamilton from his family, including his widow, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton. Mrs. Hamilton, 91 years old and widowed since 1804, had moved to Washington that year to live with her …
Tens of thousands of tennis lovers will happily brave big crowds and warm temperatures this week to cheer their favorite stars in the U.S. Open. Held in New York City, the international tournament concludes the annual Grand Slam circuit. Many Grand Slam champions are household names for years, whether for their history-making achievements, athletic prowess …
This post is based on an article from the November–December 2016 issue of LCM, the Library of Congress Magazine. National parks are among the nation’s most cherished natural resources. The National Park Service, a bureau of the U.S. Department of Interior, was created by an act of Congress. On August 25, 1916—101 years ago today—President Woodrow Wilson signed …
The contents of the Asian Division’s Pre-1958 Chinese Collection, totaling more than 40,000 items, are now fully searchable through the Library’s online catalog in both Chinese characters and Romanized script. This rich and diverse collection has served researchers and general audiences for nearly 90 years; until now, however, bibliographic records for these materials were only …
This is a guest post by Rebecca Naimon, an intern with the Library’s National and International Outreach Unit. She is a senior at the University of Chicago, majoring in English and minoring in statistics. Naimon supported the Library’s Junior Fellows Program this summer and is working on the 2017 National Book Festival. Riley Thomas spent …
