In 1978, Native American library professionals from across the country gathered for the first time to hash out their visions for tribal libraries. The papers of Osage literacy advocate Virginia H. Mathews document the significance of that meeting in the history of Native librarianship.
Historian Matthew Dallek discusses the history of the John Birch Society, the many manuscript collections he examined, and his approach to research in this interview with Manuscript Division staff.
Forty years ago, Allen Neuharth and Gannett launched USA Today, but a year before its publication, the newspaper sent out prototypes to media figures, politicians, and selected readers whose collective responses provide a window into the status of the print media of 1981 and its future over the next four decades.
Forty years ago, Patricia Roberts Harris went down in defeat to Marion Barry in the 1982 mayoral election in the District of Columbia, yet, her campaign correspondence with legal scholar, feminist, civil rights activist, and unofficial political advisor Pauli Murray reveals the impact of gender on the outcome, the role of intersectionality in the lives of Black women, and the way defeats can lead to future victories.
Archivists describe the initial steps taken to add another million items to the largest collection held by the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Records.
Historian Emily Dufton discusses the history of drug addiction policy, the Jerome Jaffe Papers, and her approach to research in this interview with Manuscript Division staff.
Fifty-one years after his death in August 1971, E. Barrett Prettyman’s papers continue to provide researchers with an inside look into how the late chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit advocated for both federal judicial reform and the rights of city residents.
With the opening of the Leonard Downie Jr. Papers in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, researchers will have an inside view into the internal dynamics at one of nation’s most august newspapers, The Washington Post.
