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Posted by: Kristina Grooms
Matt Martin is the Chief of the Collections Management Division at the Library of Congress. Tell us who you are and what brought you to the library. I started at the Library back in 2016. I had spent the first 12 years of my career in various logistics management roles with the US …
Posted in: Collections Management, Uncategorized
Posted by: Meg Gray
Supervisory Librarian Carrie Beyer looks back on a long career at the Library as she retires after over thirty years in the Preservation field. Congratulations, Carrie!
Posted in: Conservation
Posted by: Meghan Hill
June 16th, the day of commemoration of author James Joyce, calls for a certain shade of blue. Not just any blue, but that blue. The iconic cover of Ulysses. This Bloomsday, we follow the color rather than the character and discover it has a story of its own, a hue as intentional and exacting as Joyce himself.
Posted in: Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Rare Books and Special Collections, Uncategorized
Posted by: Meghan Hill
Fashion at the Library is IN. The Threads that Connect Us provides an excellent opportunity to showcase how Washington DC may just be the new fashion capital of the world. Enter the Preservation Directorate at the Library of Congress. The runway never looked so chic (and safe!)
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Management, Collections Storage, Conservation, Fashion at the Library, Fashion at the Library, Heritage Science, Offsite Storage, Preservation, Tools of the Trade
Posted by: Kristina Grooms
When asked about my job at the Library, one of the aspects of my work I mention is that I am part of the custodial division for the General Collections. Inevitably, the follow-up question is “What’s that?” My usual reply is something along the lines of “You know, just regular books.” I say this …
Posted in: Collections Management, Collections Storage, Uncategorized
Posted by: Meg Gray
From designing early locomotives to raising the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol Dome, Charles Frederick Thomas played a unique role in D.C. history. Harper-Inglis Fellow in Photograph Conservation, Sophie Hoone, discusses the treatment of a hand-colored photograph of a locomotive from the Charles Frederick Thomas Photographs collection in the Prints and Photographs Division.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation, Tangible Media
Posted by: Megan Zins
Ever wonder what all those intriguing looking instruments in science labs actually do? This first reimagined installment of our “Tools of the Trade” series takes an up-close look at microscopy. Learn how the Library uses this classic technique to look at a material’s structure, answer preservation questions about the collections, and capture intrigue.
Posted in: Heritage Science, Pigments, Preservation, Tangible Media, Tools of the Trade
Posted by: Bobbi Hinton
A 2026 Librarian in Residence details the history and current uses of manuscript marking ink at the Library of Congress, highlighting how many niche practices are vital to both preservation and librarianship.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Collections Management, Conservation, Internships, Pigments, Preservation, Tools of the Trade
Posted by: Meg Gray
At some point, almost every institution has to deal with mold on collection items, whether from a leaking pipe or maybe even donated material. If left untreated, mold can spread to other items and potentially cause health problems. Learn how Conservation staff assess, isolate, and treat collections affected by mold in order to return those items back to circulation.
Posted in: Care and Handling, Collections Care, Conservation, Preservation