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Category: Recorded Sound

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See and Hear: Presidents on Record

Posted by: Amanda Jenkins

Happy Presidents’ Day from the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division! Moving image and recorded sound materials offer exciting possibilities for engaging with the lives and political careers of past presidents. To launch your exploration, we’ve pulled together some online resources from the Division that illuminate the lives of past presidential figures.   Moving …

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Copyright Breakdown: The Music Modernization Act

Posted by: Amanda Jenkins

Reference librarians in the Recorded Sound and Moving Image Research Centers get hundreds of questions each year about materials in the public domain. For films, which follow the current 95-year restrictions along with many other types of publications, the answer is fairly straightforward: if it was published before January 1, 1924 (as of January 1, …

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Remembering the Holocaust: The David P. Boder Collection

Posted by: Amanda Jenkins

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day—to honor the millions of victims of the Holocaust and Nazism, to promote educational programs and events, and to prevent further genocide. The resolution, passed in 2005 by the United Nations General Assembly, condemns religious persecution and intolerance, rejects all forms of Holocaust denial, and encourages UN member states …

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There’s Always Hope!

Posted by: Karen Fishman

The following is a guest post by David Jackson, Manuscript Archivist, Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. The finding aid for the papers in the Bob Hope Collection is now available to researchers, providing access to 770 linear feet of textual materials, and 91 feet of photographic materials. The finding aid is accessible online via …

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Your Holiday Soundtrack from the National Jukebox

Posted by: Amanda Jenkins

Let the National Jukebox provide your soundtrack to the holiday season this year! The National Jukebox makes historical sound recordings available for streaming online, and contains classical, popular, ethnic, and spoken word recordings. This playlist features popular and classical holiday music from the likes of vaudeville singer and actress Elsie Baker, soprano Olive Kline, opera …

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Rarities! Mystery! The Marty Alexander Collection

Posted by: Karen Fishman

Today’s post is by David Sager, Research Assistant in the Recorded Sound Research Center. Marty Alexander, a chemist, collected rare 17th Century French furniture and art and also amassed one of the world’s most comprehensive and exotic collections of pre-WWII 78 rpm jazz recordings. After his death in 2009, the Library of Congress acquired the …

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How to Sell War – and Peace

Posted by: Karen Fishman

This blog post is by David Sager, Research Assistant in the Recorded Sound Research Center. This post celebrates the Centennial of the signing of the Armistice and makes use of recordings in the Library of Congress’s National Jukebox and images found in the Library’s Recorded Sound Research Center. These mementos are a stirring reminder of the …

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“I’m an American”: From Radio Program to Citizenship Day

Posted by: Amanda Jenkins

What do a commemorative day in September and a radio program from the early 1940s have in common? A lot, as it turns out! September 17th marks the joint celebration of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. These designations commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17th, 1787, and recognize individuals who have completed the …

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Adventures in Research: A Radio Drama of Discovery

Posted by: Amanda Jenkins

“Adventures in Research! This is Paul Shannon bringing you another transcribed story of science, produced as a public service, in cooperation with the Westinghouse Research Laboratories, and today telling you the story of…” So begins Adventures in Research, a radio show broadcast from 1942 to the mid-1950s that brought listeners into the world of researchers …