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Category: Cataloging

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My Job at the Library: Cataloging Children’s Literature

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

This interview with Ann Sullivan was first published in the September–October issue of LCM, the Library of Congress magazine. The issue is available in its entirety online. After reading the interview, make sure to take the quiz that follows! How would you describe your work? I catalog children’s books at the Library of Congress. This …

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My Job at the Library: A Folklife Cataloger Reflects on Her Career

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Margaret “Maggie” Kruesi is the first and, so far, the only cataloger to work at the Library’s American Folklife Center (AFC). Before starting in 2004, she earned a Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania and acquired considerable experience cataloging and otherwise processing archival collections at Penn’s Van Pelt Library. She will retire from …

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Inquiring Minds: The Unheralded Story of the Card Catalog

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

The library card catalog was one of the most versatile and durable technologies in history—a veritable road map for navigating a “wilderness of books”—says Peter Devereaux of the Library’s Publishing Office. His new book on the subject, “The Card Catalog: Books, Cards and Literary Treasures,” explores the history of this once-revolutionary system and celebrates literary …

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

Headlines from America’s Earliest Days

Posted by: Erin Allen

Want to read how an 18th-century newspaper covered the inauguration of George Washington? How about learning what issues divided Congress in the early 1800s? Going back into early American history is now possible due to new digital content that has been added to Chronicling America, the open access database of historic U.S. newspapers that is …

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

Pic of the Week: Final Projects

Posted by: Erin Allen

On Wednesday, the Library of Congress Junior Fellows Summer Interns presented more than 100 rare and unique items from 17 Library divisions. The display provided the opportunity for fellows to discuss the historic significance of the collection items they have researched and processed during their 10-week internships. Some highlights included: an Olmec ceramic figurine (900-1200 …

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

New Online: Website Updates, Presidential Papers, Federal Resources

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by William Kellum, manager in the Library’s Web Services Division.)  Website Resources New in July is a new, responsive design for the Library’s Online Catalog, one of the most heavily used features of our website. Like other websites, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of users accessing …

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

Access to Knowledge

Posted by: John Sayers

(The following story by Jennifer Gavin is featured in the January/February 2016 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) From MARC to metadata, the Library’s catalog records and expert staff provide access to a treasure trove of knowledge. In the beginning—that is, in 1800—the Library …