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Category: Libraries

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

Congas, Sambas and Falling Plaster

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

I was 15 years old, sitting cross-legged next to my friend Mascha on a cork-tile floor at Mammoth Gardens, a roller-skating rink built in 1910. Plaster, occasionally, was falling from the ceiling – because the band on the stage that night was the drum-heavy Santana, which had just released its 1970 album “Abraxas.” That’s the …

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

Pic of the Week: Read Across America

Posted by: Erin Allen

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.” ~ Dr. Seuss On Wednesday, children gathered at the Library’s Young Readers Center for “Read Across America” day, which also coincides with the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The National Education Association’s signature program is now in its …

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 …

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

A New Ambassador for Reading

Posted by: Mark Hartsell

There’s something special, author Gene Luen Yang says, about the first time a reader encounters a literary character that shares the same cultural background. In his case, the character was Jubilation Lee, an X-Men comic-book figure who, like Yang, was a Chinese-American with immigrant parents but who, unlike Yang, could release explosive plasmoids and detonate …

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

A Legacy of Librarians

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following story, written by Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole, is featured in the November/December 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) Thirteen Librarians of Congress helped shape a legislative, national and international library. Today the Library of Congress is truly a …

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

LC in the News: October 2015 Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

In October, the Library of Congress celebrated a major milestone – Chronicling America, a free, online searchable database of historic U.S. newspapers, posted its 10 millionth page. To mark the milestone, the Library published a series of lists on its social media featuring interesting and off-beat content from the online archive. Several outlets picked up …

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

The Importance of the Write Stuff

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following post is written by Guy Lamolinara, co-director of the Library of Congress National Book Festival.) The ability to read and write is taken for granted by those who can read and write. But for the millions of people worldwide for whom the written word strikes fear and apprehension in their hearts, these skills …

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

And the Word Was Made Beautiful

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Pope Francis has moved among us, here in Washington, D.C., for a time—and one lasting result of his visit can be viewed, starting Saturday, at the Library of Congress: a breathtakingly beautiful Apostles Edition of The Saint John’s Bible, the first Bible entirely hand-made and illuminated in more than 500 years. The rare Bible was …

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

The Joy of Reading

Posted by: Erin Allen

The following is an article, written by Jennifer Gavin of the Library’s Office of Communications, for the September/October 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) The Library of Congress promotes the pleasure and power of reading. Thomas Jefferson famously stated, “I cannot live without …