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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
This year’s National Recording Registry is a sonic smörgåsbord– quite a lot to choose from, and all of it audibly appetizing. The 25 selections being preserved by the Library of Congress based on their cultural, historic or aesthetic value include two takes on “The Wizard of Oz,” in the form of Judy Garland’s version of …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Music, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Today we bring you a trio of images from this week’s display of items found in the Library’s collections by our Library of Congress Junior Fellows–36 interns from around the nation who dig through our collections during their 10-week stays and showcase their findings at summer’s end. Chosen each year through a competitive program, the …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Collections, Copyright, Education, Events, Exhibitions, Libraries, Music, Pic of the Week, Preservation, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Where were you when you first heard that? I was in the theater audience for the movie “Woodstock,” and I recall thinking even then that the section featuring Sly and the Family Stone was the high point of the film. Now, whenever I hear “I Want to Take You Higher,” which has the Boom-shaka-laka-laka bridge …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Blogging, Collections, Music, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Today we’re going to add a new term to your broad vocabulary: Fenian. It’s a noun that describes a member of an Irish or Irish-American brotherhood dedicated to freeing Ireland from British dominion. The name was taken from the “Fianna,” a group of kings’ guards led by the legendary Irish leader of yore, Finn MacCool. …
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Civil War, Education, History, Music, Newspapers
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
A few years ago – around 2001, 2002 – I had a cannon in my basement in Rockville, Maryland. You could see it through the front windows, where it was aimed. I wondered if the mailman would report us to Homeland Security. It wasn’t a real one, but it was incredibly realistic and man-o’war-size (about …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Exhibitions, Manuscripts, Music, Preservation, Washington DC
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The late 19th century gave rise to some truly imaginative, public-minded Americans. We all know about the Thomas Edisons, the Henry Fords, the Garrett Morgans. But there were others who, while not household names today, lived very interesting lives and left behind fascinating legacies. Among these we find Dayton C. Miller, born on a farm …
Posted in: Collections, Concerts, Curators, Events, Exhibitions, LC Web site, Music, Preservation
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Today marks the anniversary of the opening of the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, on Oct. 22, 1883. This is the hall, no longer in existence, where Enrico Caruso performed “Vesti La Giubba” in “Pagliacci”; where Geraldine Farrar sang “Un Bel Di,” in “Madame Butterfly.” Thanks to radio broadcasts, it was the …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, Concerts, Exhibitions, Film, Manuscripts, Music
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The Librarian of Congress and the National Recording Preservation Board have released this year’s choices for the prestigious National Recording Registry — and as always, it’s a veritable sonic smorgasbord of terrific stuff, from many genres. The selections are made to ensure the preservation for posterity of sound recordings with cultural, artistic or historical merit. …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, LC Web site, Music, Preservation, Science
Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
The World Digital Library – a website of world cultural treasures offered free of charge in seven languages to anyone on the planet with access to the Internet – has put up its 10,000th offering. It was part of a package, actually – a group of rare manuscripts from the collections of the Walters Art …
Posted in: Books, Collections, Curators, Education, Libraries, Manuscripts, Maps, Music, Photos, Preservation, Technology, Uncategorized