This is a guest post by Flynn Shannon, who interned this summer in the Library’s Communications Office through the Junior Fellows Program. He is a student at Kenyon College, where he is pursuing a degree in classical mathematics with a concentration in scientific computing. The post was first published on “The Signal,” a blog covering […]
This is a guest post by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. What is a library? “A quiet place for study and reflection” is one answer that might spring to mind. If you take advantage of story times and author talks, you might say, “A social place for programs and gatherings.” Our view here at the […]
This is a guest post by Anne Holmes of the Poetry and Literature Center. It was first published on “From the Catbird Seat,” the center’s blog. This summer, we kicked off our refreshed “Poetry of America” series with a selection of new recordings. Originally launched in 2013 as a counterpart to the Library’s “Songs of […]
What? You haven’t decided whether or not you’re going to be coming to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Sept. 1 for the Library of Congress National Book Festival? Well, here’s ten things about the festival that should help you make up your mind: A Spectacular Setting. Washington, D.C. is a great city to visit, and the […]
The “Queen of Soul,” singer-songwriter Aretha Franklin died today at age 76. Her 1967 recording of the song “Respect” was among the first inductees into the Library’s National Recording Registry when it was established in 2002. This guest post by Cary O’Dell in the Library’s Motion Picture, Broadcast and Recorded Sound division first appeared as […]
This is a guest post by Sonya Lee, a Korean reference specialist in the Asian Division, and Cameron Penwell, a Japanese reference librarian. The Library’s Asian Division is home to one of the most prominent North Korean collections in the Western Hemisphere. While a growing number of scholars have been making use of this unique […]
This is a guest post by Julie Miller, a historian in the Manuscript Division. The division’s holdings of the papers of George Washington (1732–1799) constitute the largest collection of original Washington papers in the world. In 1786, English agricultural reformer Arthur Young wrote to George Washington, addressing him as a “brother farmer” and offering to […]
This is a guest post by Ted Westervelt, a section head in the Library’s U.S. Arts, Sciences and Humanities Division; Kate Murray, a digital projects coordinator in the Digital Collections Management and Services Division; and Donna Brearcliffe, an electronic resources coordinator in the Collection Development Office. Since the first edition of the Recommended Formats Statement […]
This interview with Ryan Reft, a historian in the Manuscript Division, first appeared on the “Teaching with the Library of Congress” blog. Describe what you do at the Library. One of the great things about my job is that the work changes on a daily basis. At the risk of over-simplifying: I oversee Manuscript Division […]
What we today call “silent” films were anything but in their heyday. Usually, a piano, a theater organ, a musical combo – or sometimes an entire orchestra – accompanied screenings. For more than 30 years, Ben Model has been bringing the music back to early motion pictures. A lifelong silent film enthusiast, he has created […]