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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Ray Bradbury, the towering writer of science fiction, died today at age 91. Talk about an author who will be missed … In the United States, our lives have been steeped in science fiction, from the days of “Buck Rogers” and the cheesy B-movies of the 1950s to the phenomena of “Star Trek,” “The Matrix” …
Posted in: Books, Libraries, Poetry, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized
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: Blogging, Books, Capitol Hill, Collections, Congress, Exhibitions, History, Law Library, LC Web site, Libraries
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Take 550 grade- and middle-school kids; put ‘em in a room with an amazing author they know and love; add a barrage of questions about the creative process and a dash of humor. One hour later, open the doors and stand back as a large flock of reading would-be writers burst out upon the world! …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Education, Events, Libraries, National Book Festival, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The following is a guest post by Maria A. Pallante, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office. See the new U.S. Copyright Office blog at http://blogs.loc.gov/copyrightdigitization/ Help Wanted: Have you ever attempted to build an electronic index and searchable database of a complex and diverse collection of 70 million imaged historical records? …
Posted in: Blogging, Cataloging, Copyright, LC Web site, Libraries, News, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Today the Librarian of Congress named the 25 films that will comprise the National Film Registry’s entries for the year 2010. These are films that have cultural, historical or aesthetic significance that warrants their preservation for posterity. All in all, there are 550 films in the registry. Although there is great variety in this year’s …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Audiovisual, Books, Collections, Education, Film, History, LC Web site, Libraries, Poetry, Science, Uncategorized, Veterans History Project, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Book-lovers attending the 10th Annual National Book Festival on the National Mall Sept. 25 will have a chance to receive, free of charge, the official festival bookmark, reflecting the winning design in a contest for kids in grades K-8 sponsored by festival bookseller Borders. It’s a very special bookmark, far more than a mere placeholder …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Events, LC Web site, Libraries, National Book Festival, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Thursday, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington had an announcement sure to thrill hundreds of thousands of people who’ve loved the National Book Festival during its storied run, “a decade of words and wonder.” He announced that David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of the private equity firm The Carlyle Group, is donating $5 million …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Education, LC Web site, Libraries, National Book Festival, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Audrey Fischer of the Library’s Public Affairs Office offers this guest blog item for Saturday: April 24 marks the Library’s 210th anniversary. Let it be said that the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution keeps getting better with age. In 2000, the Library of Congress celebrated its bicentennial. That same year it embarked on a mission …
Posted in: Collections, Education, History, LC Web site, Libraries, Preservation, Social Media, Technology
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
… And despite all good cheer, It sized up as “boringest night of the year.” Still 36 hours until Christmas dawning, And reruns of reruns were leaving ‘em yawning. The tree decorating had happened last week The lineup of movies appeared rather bleak. The cookies were eaten; the sprinkles were scattered No Christmas ‘till Christmas! …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Education, Libraries, Preservation, Uncategorized