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Posted by: Neely Tucker
Nobel Laureate and Booker Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, making a headlining appearance at this year’s National Book Festival, was asked why so many of his central characters work in service-oriented jobs. A metaphor, he said, for the lives most of us lead
Posted in: National Book Festival, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
During Hispanic Heritage Month, we pause to appreciate the impact of Selena, the superstar Tejano singer. Her breakthrough 1990 album, “Ven Conmigo,” was added to the Library's National Recording Registry in 2019.
Posted in: Hispanic American History, Hispanic and Latino, Music, National Recording Registry
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library's collection of medieval manuscripts, many of them illustrated, show how the books were meant to be read and interacted with by readers of past centuries.
Posted in: LCM, Manuscripts, Rare Book and Special Collections
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Aeronautical Chart and Information Center of the U.S. Air Force created this photo-mosaic map of the moon in 1962, as part of the nation's drive to put astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade.
Posted in: Geography and Maps Division, Maps, Science
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Venture Smith dictated his life story in 1798, making it the first slave narrative in the United States. The Library's original copy is extremely rare. Smith's story is also one of the very few narratives by enslaved people who could recount their early life in Africa.
Posted in: African American History, Rare Book and Special Collections, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The 2021 National Book Festival will run online from Sept. 17-26, featuring more than 100 novelists, poets, non-fiction authors, chefs and lifestyle gurus.
Posted in: Books, Events, National Book Festival, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
In 1154, Arab Muslim geographer al-Idrisi, working at the behest of King Roger of Sicily, created a huge map of the known world. The map was more than 9 feet long and composed of 70 separate section maps. The Library preserves a 1928 recreation of this map.
Posted in: Geography and Maps Division, LCM, Maps
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Abraham Lincoln, with little formal education, studied a popular textbook, "English Grammar in Familiar Lectures" on his own while in his 20s. Through it, he gained a mastery of the language that would give the nation some of its most enduring speeches.
Posted in: Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, U.S. Presidents, Writers
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The Library's collection of art from the "golden age of travel posters" are copyright-free and can be downloaded and used for any purpose you like.
Posted in: Farm Security Administration Photographs, Free to Use and Reuse