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Category: Washington DC

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

Library in the News: November 2013 Edition

Posted by: Erin Allen

Making a splash in the news headlines was the public opening of The Seth MacFarlane Collection of the Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan Archive. The Library of Congress hosted MacFarlane, Druyan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye “The Science Guy” and a host of other scientists and educators during a special event in Nov. 12. Full …

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

A Celebration of Mexico: Honoring a “Living Legend”

Posted by: Erin Allen

Mexican anthropologist and historian Miguel León-Portilla is the newest recipient of the Library of Congress Living Legend Award for his work in studying the Náhuatl language and literature — the ancient, still-spoken tongue of the Aztecs. The award will be conferred upon León-Portill at the Library’s “Celebration of Mexico”on Dec. 12. The Living Legend Award honors those who have …

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

Recite the Gettysburg Address

Posted by: Erin Allen

On Nov. 19, 1862 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the cemetery at the Civil War battlefield. One of the most famous speeches in American history, the speech is recognized as a literary masterpiece. In three short paragraphs—some 270 words—Lincoln proclaimed the principles upon which the nation was founded, honored …

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

A Rare Opportunity to Explore (and Take a Few Photographs)

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post from Michelle Springer in the Office of Strategic Initiatives.) On Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, you’re invited to a special public event. Twice each year, the Library of Congress opens its magnificent Main Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C., …

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

Honoring Achievements in Literacy

Posted by: Erin Allen

This year marks the debut of three awards administered by the Library of Congress and sponsored by philanthropist David M. Rubenstein to recognize and support achievements in the field of literacy, both in the United States and abroad. Recipients of the first annual awards, announced in September at the Library’s National Book Festival, are Reach Out …

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

Back to School

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is the cover story written by Stephen Wesson, educational resource specialist in the Educational Outreach Division of the Office of Strategic Initiatives, for the September-October 2013 edition of the Library of Congress Magazine. You can download the issue in its entirety here.)  Teachers and students are discovering new ways of learning with resources from …

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

Inside the March on Washington: Speaking Truth to Power

Posted by: Erin Allen

(The following is a guest post by Guha Shankar, folklife specialist in the American Folklife Center and the Library’s Project Director of the Civil Rights History Project, a Congressionally mandated documentation initiative that is being carried out in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.) Dr. Martin Luther King’s …