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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
It’s the day after Christmas, ho-ho-ho-hum. The presents are already open, your elbows are getting rubbed a little raw with all these relatives around, and you’re sick of holiday cookies and candy and fruitcake. It’s all too tempting to jump on the old cellphone and see what snarky things are being said on social media, …
Posted in: Collections, Education, History, News, Newspapers, Preservation
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post from Francisco Macias of the Law Library of Congress.) Each winter we see poinsettias adorning houses, shopping centers and offices throughout the country. But a little known fact is that the poinsettia is an endemic flora of Mexico. In Spanish it is often called “flor de nochebuena” or simply …
Posted in: Collections, Education, History, Manuscripts
Posted by: Erin Allen
In 2014, December 16 marked the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV. Also referred to as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah recalls the event. According to the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, at the re-dedication …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Education, Events, Exhibitions, History, Jewish American History, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a feature story written by Nathan Dorn, curator of rare books in the Law Library of Congress, for the November/December 2014 issue of the LCM. The issue can be read in its entirety here.) After 800 years, the granting of Magna Carta remains a milestone of human history. But why does a feudal …
Posted in: Education, Exhibitions, History, Law Library, Manuscripts
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post from Lisa A. Taylor, liaison specialist with the Veterans History Project.) Millions of Americans across the country observe Veterans Day every Nov. 11. Armistice Day, now Veterans Day in the United States, is a commemoration dedicated to all veterans – a way to remember and thank them for their …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Preservation, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
Just as the Washington Nationals were closing out a winning baseball season, the Library of Congress discovered rare footage of the Washington Senators’ 1924 World Series victory over the New York Giants. “Finding footage that has probably not been seen since its last theatrical run 90 years ago is usually a moment for celebration for …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Education, Exhibitions, Film, Folksonomies, History, News, Newspapers, Photos, Video
Posted by: Erin Allen
November is Native American Heritage Month and a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. When looking through the Library’s collections to find blog post ideas, I came across this picture of a carved statue of Cherokee leader Sequoyah taken by photographer Carol …
Posted in: Blogging, Collections, Congress Blogs, Education, LC Web site, Music, Photos
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a repost from the Insights: Scholarly Work at the John W. Kluge Center blog. Jason Steinhauer spoke with Steven Dick, Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, who concludes his tenure at the Kluge Center this month.) How the Discovery of Life Will Transform Our Thinking October 27, 2014 by Jason Steinhauer Astrobiology Chair …
Posted in: Education, Kluge Center, Science
Posted by: Erin Allen
On Oct. 16, 1758, Noah Webster, the “Father of American Scholarship and Education” was born. Lexicographers everywhere celebrate his contributions on his birthday, also known as “Dictionary Day.” As a young, rural Connecticut teacher, he used his own money to publish his first speller in 1783. Reissued throughout the 19th century, the 1829 “Blue Back …
Posted in: Collections, Copyright, Education, History, Manuscripts, Today in History