The America 250 Semiquincentennial Web Archive documents how Americans are commemorating and reflecting on the nation’s 250th anniversary. In this interview, Malea Walker discusses how the collection evolved from a project focused on government websites into a broader effort to document the many ways communities across the country are marking this historic milestone.
This year, libraries and cultural institutions around the nation are celebrating America’s 250th birthday. The 225-year-old Library of Congress is almost as old as the country itself, and this year, we’ve joined forces with the Smithsonian Institution to find new stories about America’s founding in our treasure trove of records and artifacts.
The collaboration, called Revolution Crossroads, is exploring how advanced technologies can surface new connections in history. Staff are working to expand the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to surface relationships, stories, and context—using some of the nation’s founding digital treasures as a testbed.
The Library of Congress recently signed on as a founding member of an international organization devoted to exploring the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cultural heritage and research contexts “for the benefit of humankind.” The eighth meeting of the organization’s flagship annual conference, Fantastic Futures, is scheduled for September 15-17, 2026. The theme of the conference is Fantastic Futures 2026: Trust in the Loop, and the meeting will be co-hosted by the Library, the National Gallery of Art, and the Smithsonian Institution, with support from staff at these organizations and the AI4LAM D.C. Chapter.
This post was authored by Vincent Coltellino from the Library of Congress. Vincent leads the Library’s synthetic DNA data storage initiative, which investigates the feasibility of synthetic DNA as a high-density, scalable, and durable medium for storing the Library’s digital collections. During his first year at the Library, he established a contract with the University of Washington designed to critically analyze the processes required to implement DNA data storage technology on the Library’s digital collections. This partnership has yielded critical lessons that have been relayed to the greater DNA data storage community and a novel contribution to America’s Time Capsule in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The Geographic and Cartographic Professional Societies and Organizations Web Archive preserves the websites of groups shaping our understanding of the world. In this interview, Carissa Pastuch discusses how the collection was built, what it includes and why preserving born-digital content is increasingly important for documenting the field of geography and cartography.
This post by Vincent Coltellino from the Library of Congress describes the 2026 Designing Storage Architectures for Digital Collections (DSA) meeting. The event is a venue for broad discussions of digital storage advancements, challenges, and solutions. On March 9-10, 2026, the Library hosted its 20th iteration of this collaborative (and now international) meeting.
In this interview, Rachel Trent, a Senior Digital Collections Data Librarian, shares all about her role in coordinating the Library of Congress's Computational Data Services program!
In our May 2026 edition of "What’s New Online at the Library of Congress," we share updates to the Library's digital collections, volunteer transcriptions, datasets, and more. Click through for more!
Commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States through service! Join us for a webinar on Thursday, June 4, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT to learn about The American Revolution in Context, a project of the Library of Congress volunteer transcription program, By the People.
