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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Old newspapers have acquired an iffy reputation over the years. We bemoan the trees that had to die to bring them into existence for their one day of glory; we dub them “mullet-wrappers” or note, as they do in the British Isles, that “Yesterday’s news is tomorrow’s fish-and-chip paper.” But old newspapers can be addictive! …
Posted in: Civil War, Education, History, LC Web site, Libraries, Newspapers, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival closed up shop Sunday evening – leaving more than 200,000 delighted book-lovers thrilled to have heard from and met their favorite authors, stoked up with new titles to read, and exhilarated by two days of gorgeous fall weather there on the National Mall. One couple even got …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Education, Events, History, LC Web site, Libraries, National Book Festival, Photos, Podcasts, Poetry, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
If someone set a bowl of cheese curls in front of you and declared it “breakfast,” would you be able to discern it from cereal? Even if you’re the type who likes cold pizza at 7 a.m., odds are you would not be too quick to pour on the milk and dive in with a …
Posted in: Collections, Copyright, Curators, Education, Exhibitions, History, Law Library, LC Web site, Libraries, Maps, Music, Poetry, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
In conjunction with the Monday launch of an exhibition at the Library of Congress titled “Books That Shaped America” as part of its overarching Celebration of the Book, the Library of Congress is making public a list of 88 books by Americans that, it can be argued, shaped the nation over its lifetime. It’s not …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Education, Events, Exhibitions, History, LC Web site, Libraries, Photos, Poetry
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
When it comes to priceless art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has quite a bit, including a trove of Raphaels. But the Library of Congress (on its National Book Festival site, now live at www.loc.gov/bookfest) has a new Rafael López National Book Festival poster for 2012 that’s priceless, too – because you …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Education, Events, LC Web site, National Book Festival, News, Social Media, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Two hundred years ago today, President James Madison set pen to paper to write a message to Congress. His intent was to talk them into making the nation’s first formal declaration of war – on Great Britain, which was squashing U.S. exports as a side effect of a British naval blockade against Napoleon’s France. But …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Congress, Exhibitions, History, Law Library, LC Web site, Libraries
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Here’s what you book fiends have been waiting for – the author lineup for the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival, Sept. 22 and 23 on the National Mall. Authors will include towering American novelist Philip Roth and Nobel Prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa; the irrepressible T.C. Boyle (some of you know him as T. …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Education, Events, LC Web site, National Book Festival, Podcasts, Poetry, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Heads up, all you fans of the Library of Congress National Book Festival – it’s going to be two days again this year, with more than 100 authors, following last year’s successful launch of the full-weekend approach. The festival will be held on the National Mall between 9th and 14th Streets on Saturday, Sept. 22, …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Concerts, Education, Events, LC Web site, Music, National Book Festival, Podcasts, Veterans History Project, Washington DC