Resources for Educators

This July, the Library of Congress is hosting “Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Onsite Workshops,” a free three-day professional development workshop. At these workshops, educators learn and practice strategies for using primary sources with K-12 students.

The National Audio-Visual Conservation Center is excited to be participating in the Workshop’s first on-site open house since 2019. While we are sharing our free and publicly available online resources at this on-site workshop, we also wanted to share them more broadly for educators anywhere!

Below are free and publicly available online resources which include audio, video, and other documentation from the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center.

American Archive of Public Broadcasting
The American Archive of Public Broadcasting, a collaboration between the Library of Congress and GBH, is a collection of thousands of hours of radio and television broadcasting. The website includes curated exhibits on a variety of topics.

National Screening Room
“The National Screening Room showcases the riches of the Library’s vast moving image collection, designed to make otherwise unavailable movies, both copyrighted and in the public domain, accessible to the viewers worldwide. The majority of titles in the National Screening Room are freely available as both 5 mb MP4 and ProRes 422 MOV/Quicktime downloads.” The site also includes articles and essays.

National Jukebox
The National Jukebox includes thousands of recordings from 1900-1925. Many are available for download. The website also includes articles and essays.

National Film Registry
“The National Film Registry selects 25 films each year showcasing the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation.” The website includes the entire list of films in the registry; brief descriptions and expanded essays; and lists of registry selections entitled “Women Directors” and “Selections Directed by Persons of Color.” All are welcome to submit nominations for the registry.

National Recording Registry
The “National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress chooses 25 recordings showcasing the range and diversity of American recorded sound heritage in order to increase preservation awareness.” The website includes the entire list of recordings in the registry and brief descriptions and expanded essays. All are welcome to submit nominations for the registry.

Lastly, the Moving Image Research Center and the Recorded Sound Research Center are happy to assist you with questions about these and other resources. Don’t hesitate to contact Ask a Librarian about these resources or any other resources provided by the Library.