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Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
I find the relationship between words and pictures endlessly intriguing. Sometimes I type a single word into the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog simply to see what variety it turns up. It’s a little like the best parts of opening a gift: full of surprises and meaning. The other day, I was meditating on the …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
The semester is well underway in many U.S. schools and, by now, one would expect their classrooms to have acquired what my family referred to as the “lived-in look.” One of my favorite photo detail explorations is to peer closely at classrooms—particularly what appears at students’ seats, on the chalkboards and adorning the walls—and to …
Posted in: Photographs, Visual literacy
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Along with my picture-loving colleagues, I’d like to nominate one of our favorite depictions of Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom, as an appropriate symbol with which to mark the arrival of the new Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden. This mosaic of a studious Minerva greets visitors, researchers and staff in an area overlooking the …
Posted in: Architecture, Drawings, Photographs
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
The following is a guest post by photographer Camilo José Vergara and Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints & Photographs Division. Skyscrapers at the World Trade Center site have dominated the New York City skyline since the 1970s. Except for the gaping hole left by the September 11th terrorist attack in 2001, which destroyed the twin towers, …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
I can’t resist poring over pictures of public markets. The hubbub, the variety of objects that demand a closer look, and the regular presence of stacks of food (albeit not always mouth-watering to contemplate) draw me in. So when I recently set off on one of my favorite kinds of tours through the Prints & …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
As summer gets into full swing, I’m recalling how much I enjoyed my public library’s summer reading club challenges when my children were younger (shout-out to all the public libraries that run summer reading clubs for children and adults!). One thing I loved about the challenge was the “randomizer” techniques library staff designed to inspire …
Posted in: Drawings, Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
The following is a guest post by Arden Alexander, Cataloging Specialist in the Prints & Photographs Division. The U.S. Congress has always been a popular research topic for Prints and Photographs Division patrons. The recently processed Roll Call Collection offers a wealth of photographs that pick up where our other collections leave off, covering the …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
The Great Hall in the Library of Congress Jefferson Building echoes with the hubbub of enthusiastic visitors absorbing the ornate details of its salute to knowledge and creativity. Much as I relish those sights and sounds, on a recent afternoon, I enjoyed dipping into a room just off the Great Hall to contemplate a small, …
Posted in: Architecture, News & Events, Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Barbara Orbach Natanson
Among the hardest questions we receive is “Where in the world are the architectural drawings for [fill in the site]?” or “Where are the drawings by architect [fill in the name]?” Although we can establish whether we hold the needed drawings in our collections, discerning the location of drawings not in our holdings has always …
Posted in: Architecture