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Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest post by Levon Avdoyan, Armenian and Georgian area specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division.) When I began working at the Library of Congress in 1992 as the Armenian and Georgian Area Specialist to the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division, it was as if …
Posted in: Collections, Curators, Exhibitions, History, Manuscripts
Posted by: Erin Allen
A camel walked into Mount Vernon … sounds like the beginning of a rather offbeat joke. However, such is not the case. On Dec. 29, 1787, our nation’s soon-to-be first president, at home on his estate in Alexandria, Virginia, played host to a rather exotic animal for the holidays. I first heard this story from …
Posted in: Collections, Curators, Events, History, Manuscripts
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is an article written by Audrey Fischer, managing editor of the Library of Congress Magazine, and featured in the November/December 2015 issue. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) The Library’s food collections include once-edible artifacts. On Feb. 10, 1863, an event occurred that caused a media sensation and distracted the …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Collections, LCM, Manuscripts, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following post is by Jeanne Theoharis, distinguished professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and the author of the award-winning “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.” A revised edition of the book has just been published with a new introduction drawn from the recently opened papers …
Posted in: Collections, History, Manuscripts, Photos, Today in History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following is a guest blog post written by Elizabeth Gettins, Library of Congress digital library specialist.) It’s the time of year when one’s thoughts turn to hearth and home in preparation for Thanksgiving. In honor of this quintessential American holiday, “In the Kitchen,” by Elizabeth Smith Miller, is the Rare Book of the Month. …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Curators, History, Manuscripts, Pinterest, Rare Book of the Month, Women's History
Posted by: Erin Allen
(The following story, written by Library culinary specialist Alison Kelly, is featured in the November/December 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) The Nation’s Library offers a veritable feat of food-related collections. Whether you’re researching what was served at the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving or …
Posted in: Books, Collections, History, LCM, Manuscripts, Veterans History Project, Women's History
Posted by: Erin Allen
In September, the Library of Congress had some big headlines – from the announcements of new collections to celebrating the 15th annual National Book Festival and the inaugural reading of the new poet laureate. The Library received a very special visitor and a very special book to add to its collections last month. During his …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Curators, Events, Exhibitions, Manuscripts, National Book Festival, News, Newspapers, Poetry, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
The Library’s announcement of Willie Nelson as the next recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Music dominated the headlines in July, with more than 1,000 news stories running nationally and internationally. “His voice, seemingly worn by time and burdened by experience even in his earliest recordings, attracted new audiences to country,” reported David Morgan for …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Education, Exhibitions, Film, Manuscripts, Music, News, Newspapers
Posted by: Erin Allen
James McGrath Morris is an author, columnist and radio show host. He writes primarily biographies and works of narrative nonfiction. He discusses his newest book, “Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press,” tomorrow, July 21, at the Library. Read more about it here. Tell us about your new book ”Eye …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Events, Exhibitions, History, Manuscripts, Researcher Stories