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Category: Copyright

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

Celebrating Film: ‘Dunkirk’ Director Advocates Film Preservation

Posted by: Mark Hartsell

This is a post in advance of the announcement this week of this year’s selection of motion pictures to be added to the National Film Registry. Director Christopher Nolan, the subject of this post, is a member of the National Film Preservation Board, which advises the Librarian of Congress regarding selections to the registry. Even in the …

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

This Day in History: Painstaking Assassination Investigation Uncovers Strange Side-Story

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas 54 years ago today. Last month, to much anticipation, historians and the public awaited release by the National Archives of the government’s final records on the investigation into his murder—a law passed in 1992 set October 26, 2017, as the deadline for public disclosure of all assassination-related …

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

Native American Heritage Month: Celebrating Sarah Winnemucca

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

November is National Native American Heritage Month. This annual recognition of the contributions of Native Americans to our national culture began in 1986, when President Ronald Reagan proclaimed November 23–30 of that year “American Indian Week.” In 1990, President George H. W. Bush extended the observance to an entire month. Every year since then, U.S. …

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

Inquiring Minds: Copyright Records Hint at Early America’s Preoccupations

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Copyright records are a valuable primary source for scholars seeking to understand the development of almost any aspect of American life. So wrote John Y. Cole, Library of Congress historian, in introducing a volume the Library published 30 years ago documenting the nation’s earliest copyright records—those dating from 1790 to 1800. They include copyright registrations …

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

Free to Use and Reuse: Travel Posters

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

Faraway states, natural wonders and beautiful beaches—these are the settings that often come to mind as we start to plan our summer vacations. They also form the backdrop of hundreds of travel posters in the Library’s collections, including an assortment featured this month on the Library’s home page. The featured posters are U.S. government works, …

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

Russian Revolution: The Last Days of the Romanovs

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

A daughter of the Romanov family transports sod in one photo, aided by a soldier; in another, her father, the deposed Russian czar, paces in front of a house in Siberia where the imperial family was held after the revolution in 1917 that toppled its dynasty. The grainy black-and-white images underscore how far the Romanovs …

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

Pic of the Week: Saint Patrick’s Day

Posted by: Wendi Maloney

What do parades, shamrocks, and green beer bring to mind? Saint Patrick’s Day, of course. The first Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States took place in the 18th century in Boston and New York, and festivities expanded in the 19th century as more and more Irish immigrated to the country. Today, Saint Patrick’s …