This article also appears in the March-April issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. The Thomas Jefferson Building has awed visitors ever since it opened its doors in 1897. The grand building is more than a marvel of art and architecture, though; it’s also a monument to function and safety — fire safety in particular. …
Eileen J. Manchester, manager of the Library's Lewis-Houghton Civics and Democracy Initiative, tells us about her international background -- born in Germany, English is her second language and she also speaks French. She tutored at her local library while growing up in North Carolina, then interned at the Freedom School Partners literacy program and went to South Africa to study its education system. She continued her studies of early modern women writers at the University of Oxford and came to the Library as a junior fellow in the summer of 2018.
A major new Library exhibition, “The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution,” uses original documents such as letters, diaries, maps, newspapers and political cartoons to shed light on striking likenesses between men long supposed to be polar opposites -- George Washington and King George III. The two opposed one another during the Revolutionary War, but actually shared many personal and leadership traits. The exhibit, a joint project between the Library of Congress and the Royal Archives, runs at the Library through next March. It is also online via the Library's website and in a companion book.
Jessica Fries-Gaither, an elementary school science teacher from Columbus, Ohio, is serving as an Albert Einstein distinguished educator fellow at the Library this year. We caught up with her to ask her about her work and some favorite projects.
D’Andrea Hamn started working at the library 49 years ago and currently works in the acquisitions program specialist in the U.S. Copyright Office. In this My Job interview, she talks about her work over nearly five decades.
In this edition of "My Job" at the Library, Aimee Hess talks about her work in editing and producing books that highlight the Library’s collections. She oversees the Library's Crime Classics series, has written two books in the "Women Who Dare" series and cowritten two books: one on the suffrage exhibition, “Shall Not Be Denied"; and one about the Library's photograph collections, “The Joy of Looking."
Kelsey Beeghly, a science curriculum and assessment coordinator from Orlando, Florida, was the Library’s 2023–24 Albert Einstein distinguished educator fellow. Here, she talks about some of her discoveries at the Library and suggestions for STEM teachers.
New details about early European explorations along the North American east coast have been gleaned from a 16th-century portolan chart by the Library's Preservation and Research Testing Division. Using multispectral imaging and other techniques, Library staff has discovered multiple place names on the chart that could not be seen by the naked eye.
Karen Werth is the Library's deputy chief of exhibitions. She talks about her work on popular exhibits featuring Rosa Parks, the Magna Carta and baseball in this short Q&A.
