Wow, in business barely three days, and I already have to apologize for “light blogging.” What a day it has already been! In addition to dealing with a parking glitch that has had me spending far too much time trying to keep from being towed by the good people of the District of Columbia, I …
The New York Times reports on the makeshift shrines that have been erected to the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting rampage, and the role the Library of Congress will play in helping ensure their preservation. From the article (registration required): University officials are consulting with experts from the Library of Congress, which compiled materials …
The AP covers congressional consideration of a measure to officially recognize the 1507 Waldseemueller Map, which is owned by the Library of Congress and which celebrates its 500th anniversary tomorrow. (This is quite a week for Library of Congress birthdays!) It is the first document of any kind to refer to the Western Hemisphere as …
I just noted the passing of famed writer and historian David Halberstam. Halberstam spoke at the Library’s 2002 National Book Festival. You can see a portion of his remarks in a webcast here.
Those were the first words ever transmitted electronically, in 1844, by Samuel Morse. That message and Morse’s invention of the telegraph marked what was undeniably, at the time, the most significant communications revolution since the advent of movable type. If you are reading this, then chances are you have some sense of how the …