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Posted by: Erin Allen
The holidays are full of many traditions – gift giving, sending cards, singing and cooking. Also kissing. If ever there was a time to pucker up, it’s in December, underneath the mistletoe. Washington Irving wrote in the 1800s, “young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under [mistletoe], plucking each time a berry from …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Books, Collections, Folksonomies, History, LC Web site, Music
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
This year’s entries to the Library of Congress National Film Registry, 25 in all (bringing the grand total of films of cultural, historic or aesthetic value to be preserved for posterity to 700), will fulfill many of our reasons for going to the pictures: “I go to the movies to be terrified.” – Well, we’re …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Film
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following post was written by Mike Mashon of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division and originally appeared on the Now See Hear! blog.) During the centenary observance of World War I, we’ve been prioritizing the preservation of films in our collection pertaining to the conflict. Foremost among these is a film called “On …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Blogging, Collections, Curators, Film, History, Video
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post written by Stephanie Hall of the American Folklife Center.) In 1934, folklorist John Lomax and his 19-year-old son Alan went to southern Louisiana to collect folksongs and music in many styles from several ethnic groups in English and French. Among the songs in the resulting collection is “Trench Blues,” a …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Collections, Curators, History, Music
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Those who appreciate high-quality broadcast news were saddened today to learn of the passing of longtime PBS NewsHour co-host and Washington Week moderator Gwen Ifill. The former New York Times, Washington Post and NBC News political, congressional and White House reporter, 61, had been under treatment for cancer. She and her NewsHour co-host Judy Woodruff …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Books, Collections, History, Law Library, National Book Festival, News, Newspapers, Women's History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by William Kellum, manager in the Library’s Web Services Division.) Website Updates The Library’s new home page was released released last week, and you can read all about it in this excellent Library of Congress blog post. The Library’s Web Services team took advantage of the home page project …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Education, History, LC Web site, New Online, Technology
Posted by: Erin Allen
The month of October continued to see the arrival of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in the news. Featured on the cover of Library Journal, Hayden sat down with the magazine to outline her vision for the Library. Her underlying agenda, noted reporter Meredith Schwartz, is to “make LC the library of the American people, …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Capitol Hill, Collections, Events, News, Newspapers, Thomas Jefferson Building, Video, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
New York Times bestselling children’s author Jeff Kinney stopped by the Library of Congress on Tuesday to launch his world tour and debut his new book, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down.” The Library’s Coolidge Auditorium was filled with young fans from area schools eager to ask questions. This wasn’t the first time Kinney has …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Books, Education, Events, National Book Festival, Photos, Pic of the Week, Thomas Jefferson Building, Video, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following was written by Audrey Fischer for the July/August 2016 Library of Congress Magazine, LCM.) The story is legendary in the annals of broadcasting history. On the evening of Sunday, Oct. 30, 1938, a young Orson Welles directed and narrated a radio adaption of H.G. Wells’ novel, “The War of the Worlds” for his …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, History, LCM, News, Newspapers