Top of page

Category: Preservation

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

See You In The Funny Papers

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

There are many avenues of research at the Library of Congress. Some are a laugh riot! Take, for example, the vast collections of cartoons and caricature in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division. For more than a century, the Library has collected pictorial humor  – collections that range from a lifetime’s worth of cartoons by …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Library, Preservation Share ‘Spotlight’ with Glitterati

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Tim Daly gingerly wound his way up a narrow spiral staircase to a low-ceilinged, vaulted alcove overlooking the ornate Ceremonial Office of the Librarian of Congress.  Surveying the VIPs on the crowded floor below–members of Congress, Hollywood A-listers, Library leadership–he pulled out a digital camera to capture the celebratory moment.  Then he paused. “I wonder …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

The Library and Twitter: An FAQ

Posted by: Matt Raymond

(UPDATE: Here’s a December 2017 status report on our work with the Twitter archives.) (UPDATE: Here’s a January 2013 status report on our work with the Twitter archives.) Twitter’s gift (link is PDF) to the Library of Congress of its entire archive of public tweets, announced two weeks ago today, sure has stoked the public’s interest.  …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

But You Don’t Look a Day Over 209 …

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

Audrey Fischer of the Library’s Public Affairs Office offers this guest blog item for Saturday: April 24 marks the Library’s 210th anniversary. Let it be said that the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution keeps getting better with age. In 2000, the Library of Congress celebrated its bicentennial. That same year it embarked on a mission …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Preserving ‘Herblock’ a Rewarding Job for Conservators

Posted by: Matt Raymond

Ever wonder what goes on before an exhibition is mounted and displayed?  My colleague Donna Urschel takes an in-depth look at the preservation steps that were required for the Library’s “Herblock!” exhibition, on display through May 1: Preserving ‘Herblock’ a Rewarding Job for Conservators by Donna Urschel Shortly after the famous Washing­ton Post political cartoonist …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

New Optical Lab Brings LOC into 21st Century

Posted by: Matt Raymond

(The following is a guest article about new preservation capabilities at the LOC by my colleague Donna Urschel, which was recently published in the the Library’s staff newsletter, the Gazette.) For many decades, details of the 1791 Pierre L’Enfant Plan of Washington, D.C.—one of the many treasures at the Library of Congress—had been obscured. A …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Library’s Flickr Site Celebrates the Taggable Twos

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

(Guest post by Michelle Springer, Library of Congress Office of Strategic Initiatives) Jan. 16 is the two-year anniversary of the launch of the Library’s account on Flickr, the photosharing website. We started with approximately 3,100 photos in our account; today 30 additional archives, libraries, and museums from the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, the …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

‘Twas the Night Before the Night Before Christmas …

Posted by: Jennifer Gavin

… And despite all good cheer, It sized up as “boringest night of the year.” Still 36 hours until Christmas dawning, And reruns of reruns were leaving ‘em yawning. The tree decorating had happened last week The lineup of movies appeared rather bleak. The cookies were eaten; the sprinkles were scattered No Christmas ‘till Christmas! …