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Posted by: Jennifer Gavin
Ray Bradbury, the towering writer of science fiction, died today at age 91. Talk about an author who will be missed … In the United States, our lives have been steeped in science fiction, from the days of “Buck Rogers” and the cheesy B-movies of the 1950s to the phenomena of “Star Trek,” “The Matrix” …
Posted in: Books, Libraries, Poetry, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
May was a musical month with the Library of Congress recognizing song and sounds in a major way. The Library honored Burt Bacharach and Hal David with the 2012 Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. You can read more about it here. The two were celebrated with concerts at both the Library and the White House. …
Posted in: Capitol Hill, Concerts, Events, Kluge Center, Music, News, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
It’s probably one of the most iconic photographs of our time – a nurse seen swept into the arms of a sailor as the two get lost in a kiss. Sigh. The photo was taken on Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day) at the end of World War II. But the identity of the subjects …
Posted in: Collections, History, Photos, Uncategorized, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Erin Allen
Something about his fan mail disturbs Walter Dean Myers. Myers, the author of critically acclaimed books for young people such as “Monster,” “Fallen Angel” and “Lockdown,” appreciates the gesture. But in too many of the letters, evidence of a serious decline in the reading and writing skills among the youth of America is painfully obvious. …
Posted in: Books, Capitol Hill, Education, Events, Thomas Jefferson Building, Uncategorized, Washington DC
Posted by: Erin Allen
April seemed to be a picture-perfect month for the Library of Congress in the headlines. Its release of a rare collection of images by Frances Benjamin Johnston, one of the first female professional photographers, made it into several high-profile media outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times and the Associated Press. “On one …
Posted in: Audiovisual, Collections, News, Photos, Preservation, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Tonight at 8 p.m. EDT, NBC airs another episode of its popular “Who Do You Think You Are” series … this time starring actor Rob Lowe and the Library of Congress. You can catch a quick preview here. Lowe ventures into his past and discovers an ancestor who battled against George Washington during the American …
Posted in: Collections, Manuscripts, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Last Thursday, the Library of Congress opened its newest exhibition, “To Know Wisdom and Instruction: The Armenian Literary Tradition at the Library of Congress,” and I had a chance to take a tour with its curator, Levon Avdoyan, the Library’s Armenian and Georgian area specialist in the Near East Section of the African and Middle …
Posted in: Collections, Exhibitions, LC Web site, Manuscripts, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
On Wednesday, the Library of Congress rung in William Shakespeare’s birthday with a celebration worthy of a standing ovation at the Globe Theater. Actors from the Shakespeare Theater Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University presented scenes from “Macbeth,” “Cymbeline,” “The Tempest,” Richard III” and “Julius Caesar.” (My own 10th grade recitation …
Posted in: Events, Photos, Pic of the Week, Uncategorized
Posted by: Erin Allen
Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 and citizens are called upon to do their part in protecting the environment, to promote and participate in “green living” and to celebrate our natural resources. Conducted in affiliation with the Library of Congress Center for the Book and the Center for Environmental Literacy at Saint …
Posted in: Events, Today in History, Uncategorized