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Posted by: Wendi Maloney
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.
Posted in: Blogging, Education, Gazette, Library Work and Employees, Preservation and Conservation, Researcher Stories, Science
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Gregory Lukow, chief of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, led the Library's efforts to construct the Center, teaming with the Packard Humanities Institute to make it one of the world's best film preservation facilities. He recently brought his 24-year career to a close. Here, he reflects on some major highlights.
Posted in: Audiovisual, Film, Gazette, Library Work and Employees, My Job, Preservation, Preservation and Conservation
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
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.
Posted in: Gazette, Geography and Maps Division, Library Work and Employees, Maps, Preservation, Preservation and Conservation, Science, Technology
Posted by: Neely Tucker
The folklorist Sidney Robertson was one of the trailblazing American women of the 1930s and 1940s, the kind of life you’d associate with Martha Gellhorn, Dorothea Lange or Zora Neale Hurston. Her work directing the California Folk Music Project from 1938-40 is the subject "California Gold," a new book from the Library and the University of California Press.
Posted in: American Folklife Center, Collections, Library Work and Employees, Lomax Collection, Music, Performing Arts, Preservation and Conservation, Women's History, Writers
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
The Library's custom-designed multitracking studio at National Audio-Visual Conservation Center was built to house and preserve the collections of guitarist and audio-engineering innovator Les Paul. But it's also used to convert, preserve and save recordings made on formats that may not last. It's one of several labs that use cutting-edge technology to save the nation's recorded sound history.
Posted in: Gazette, LCM, Library Work and Employees, Music, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Performing Arts, Preservation, Preservation and Conservation, Technology
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Alan Haley, a preservation specialist in the Conservation Division, has worked on everything from an ancient Chinese scroll to the transcript of the Amistad trial in the Library's collections, but has also traveled the globe assisting other libraries with important items or artifacts that are threatened.
Posted in: African American History, Arab/Arab American, Asian Division, Hispanic and Latino, LCM, Library Work and Employees, My Job, Preservation and Conservation, Technology
Posted by: Neely Tucker
Blondie, Green Day and the Mexican star Juan Gabriel headline the National Recording Registry Class of 2024, revealed today by Librarian Carla Hayden. The 25 recordings added to registry each year are recognized for their aesthetic, cultural or historical"signficance to the American story, and includes everything from wax cylinder recordings to podcasts. This year's class featured songs and recordings spanning nearly a century, including work by comic actress Lily Tomlin, from hip-hop pioneer Doug E. Fresh (and Slick Rick) and the polished New Wave sound of The Cars.
Posted in: Hispanic and Latino, Music, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, National Recording Registry, Performing Arts, Preservation and Conservation
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Alan Gevinson will retire this spring as special assistant to the chief of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. Here, he shares some of his best memories at the Library, including moments with Rep. John Lewis, Bill Moyers ... and his future wife.
Posted in: Audiovisual, Cataloging, Civil Rights, Gazette, Library Work and Employees, My Job, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Preservation and Conservation, Video
Posted by: Wendi Maloney
Since a disastrous 1966 flood in Florence, Italy, Library conservation specialists have advised disaster victims around the world about how to salvage their damaged books and artifacts. One of the most recent emergencies was a 2023 flood in Vermont. A Library team spent just over two weeks in the region.
Posted in: Education, Gazette, Library Work and Employees, My Job, Preservation, Preservation and Conservation