Top of page

Category: Books

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

A Book Festival for the Bird(er)s

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, …

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

Library in the News: May 2014 Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

As May came to an end, so did the second and final term of Natasha Trethewey as U.S. Poet Laureate. She gave her final lecture at the Library of Congress on May 14. “At the Library of Congress on Wednesday night, Trethewey began, as she often does, with her personal history and then moved into …

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

Stay Up With a Good Book, Too —

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

The author lineup for the 2014 Library of Congress National Book Festival is growing all the time, building excitement for the free event being held Saturday, August 30 from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Yes, that’s right, a 12-hour day in a new venue, with all the features …

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

Inquiring Minds: Commemorating the Federal Writers’ Project

Posted by: Erin Allen

David A. Taylor is the author of “Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America” and writer and co-producer of the Smithsonian documentary, “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story.” On Thursday, he joins others at the Library for an event marking the 75th anniversary of “These Are Our Lives,” a collection …

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

Adiós, Gabo

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

One of the most popular features in the Library of Congress Pavilion at the Library’s National Book Festival is a whiteboard on which you can write the name of a book.  Some years we ask for your favorite book.  Some years we ask what book shaped the world.  People stand a few feet back, ponder, …

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

E.L. Doctorow Awarded American Fiction Prize

Posted by: Erin Allen

E. L. Doctorow, author of such critically acclaimed novels as “Ragtime,” “World’s Fair,” “Billy Bathgate,” “The March” and his current novel, “Andrew’s Brain,” is the second recipient of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. He will receive the award during this year’s National Book Festival, scheduled for Aug. 30 at the Walter E. Washington …

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

Experts’ Corner: Image Researching

Posted by: Erin Allen

The following is an article featured in the March-April 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM, now available for download here. You can also view the archives of the Library’s former publication from 1993 to 2011. Athena Angelos, image researcher for many Library of Congress publications, discusses the process of visual reference work. How …

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

Stay Up With A Good Book

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

The Library of Congress National Book Festival, as you’ve no doubt heard, is going to a new place in 2014 — the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. — on Saturday, Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. As always, it will be free and open to the public, courtesy of the …