From saplings to centenarians, the fabled cherry blossom trees of Washington, D.C., entice more than 1.5 million visitors to the capital each spring. The initial 1912 gift of 3,020 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to Washington launched such treasured and enduring traditions as the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which officially began in 1927. We look at some of the marvelous festival posters that have advertised and celebrated the festival.
Recreating Thomas Jefferson's personal library, which became the DNA of the Library of Congress, has been a fascination for antiquarians since an 1851 fire burned about two thirds of his original books. But for 27 years, one of the Library’s most ardent projects has been to examine its own stacks, other libraries, rare book dealers and antiquarians from multiple countries to replace the burned and missing volumes with exact copies — the same edition, publisher and so on — to replicate the world view that led the author of the Declaration of Independence to pen such a world-changing set of ideas. That effort is now getting as close to complete as it is ever likely to get.
Mac Barnett, the bestselling author of more than 60 children's books, including “Twenty Questions,” “Sam & Dave Dig a Hole,” “A Polar Bear in the Snow” as well as the “Mac B., Kid Spy” series, will be inaugurated today as the 2025-2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
This is a guest post by Zach Klitzman, a writer-editor in the Library’s Publishing Office. “All we want are the facts, ma’am,” from “Dragnet.” “Book ’em, Danno,” from “Hawaii Five-O.” David Caruso flipping on his sunglasses before offering a pithy line in “CSI: Miami.” These and other cop-show catchphrases have their roots in Lawrence Treat’s …
Kelsey Corlett-Rivera, an international language librarian for the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, received a 2024 Librarian of Congress Award for expanding acquisition and discoverability of accessible books. Here, she discusses her background and work at the Library.
Lara Szypszak is a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division. In this Q & A, she explains her work at the Library, her international travels and good times assisting Gershwin Prize recipients and National Book Festival authors while they're at Library events.
Jennifer “JJ” Harbster, culinary specialist and head of the Library’s Science Section, offers up a selection of 18th and 19th century punch recipes to lend a vintage touch to your holiday celebrations.
Cheers to a list of favorite holiday drinks from long-ago mixology books in Library collections as curated by J.J. Harbster, head of the Science Reference Section. You can try the Baltimore Egg Nog from 1862, but we'll opt for the bourbon-based Frosted Cocktail of 1910.
This is a guest post by Barbara Bair, a historian in the Manuscript Division. She most recently wrote about Ralph Ellison’s photography work. Two important collections of Native American heritage have been digitized and placed on the Library’s website, enabling readers and researchers to dig into histories that are not widely known. The first, …
