News from the Library of Congress

August 2020

July 2020

  • July 24, 2020  (20-048)
    Library of Congress National Book Festival Announces Full Author Lineup The 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival will connect with audiences across the country for an interactive, online celebration of “American Ingenuity” for the festival’s 20th year, featuring new books by more than 120 of the nation’s most-renowned writers, poets and artists. The festival will also showcase the many ways our national library embraces all subjects in its unparalleled collection.During the weekend of...
    • Date: 2020-07-24
  • July 13, 2020  (20-046)
    2020 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction to be Awarded to Colson Whitehead Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novels “The Nickel Boys” and “The Underground Railroad,” will receive the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction during the 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival on Sept. 25-27.Whitehead, 50, is the youngest person to receive the Library’s fiction award for his lifetime of work.“Colson Whitehead’s work is...
    • Date: 2020-07-13
  • July 9, 2020  (20-047)
    Historic Public Affairs Series "Black Journal" Now Available Online at the American Archive of Public Broadcasting A collection of episodes from “Black Journal,” the first nationally televised public affairs program produced for, about, and by Black Americans has been released by The American Archive of Public Broadcasting (AAPB), a collaboration between WGBH and the Library of Congress.Largely unseen since they aired between 1968 and 1977, the 59 episodes have been digitized from archival tape in the Library’s collection and are...
    • Date: 2020-07-09

June 2020

  • June 24, 2020  (20-044)
    Library of Congress FEDLINK Awards Recognize Federal Library Community The Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) has announced the winners of its national awards for federal librarianship, which recognize the many innovative ways that federal libraries, librarians and library technicians fulfill the information demands of the government, business, and scholarly communities and the American public.Federal libraries and staff throughout the United States and abroad competed for the awards. The Fiscal Year 2019 winners...
    • Date: 2020-06-24
  • June 24, 2020  (20-045)
    Library of Congress Announces 2020 Homegrown Concert Series: Homegrown at Home The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress will present traditional music and dance from a variety of folk cultures thriving in the United States and around the world in a new online concert series each Wednesday through September.This year’s Homegrown summer concert series, “Homegrown at Home,” is being presented in a new online format, consistent with social distancing and safety practices in...
    • Date: 2020-06-24
  • June 22, 2020  (20-043)
    Library of Congress to Award Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity to Danielle Allen Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that Danielle Allen, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, will receive the 2020 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity.Allen will collaborate with the Library on an initiative she has designed, titled “Our Common Purpose—A Campaign for Civic Strength at...
    • Date: 2020-06-22
  • June 17, 2020  (20-042)
    Library & Copyright Office Host Forum on Copyright Modernization On Thursday, July 16, at 10 am ET, the Library of Congress Office of the Chief Information Officer and the U.S. Copyright Office will host a virtual public forum on Copyright Office IT modernization. The purpose of Copyright Office IT modernization is to ensure that the creative community and other copyright users have a nimble, state-of-the-art, and efficient IT system at their service. This...
    • Date: 2020-06-17
  • June 11, 2020  (20-041)
    Librarian Appoints Joe Cappello to Serve as Chief Human Capital Officer Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that Joe Cappello has been selected to serve as the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) for the Library of Congress, effective immediately. Cappello has been the acting CHCO since January.“The Library’s employees are our greatest strength, so I am delighted that Joe Cappello will lead our Human Capital Directorate, because I know he is as committed to...
    • Date: 2020-06-11
  • June 10, 2020  (20-040)
    Library of Congress Cancels Public Events Until September 1 The Library of Congress announced today that it will cancel all scheduled public events at the Library until Sept. 1 as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Whenever possible, the Library will reschedule the public programs that have been canceled. We will also provide regular public updates on the operating status of Library facilities.Library of Congress buildings...
    • Date: 2020-06-10

May 2020

  • May 29, 2020  (20-038)
    Library of Congress Commissions 10 New Works of Music in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic The Library of Congress will premiere a series of 10 commissions of new music from composers across America in The Boccaccio Project, inspired by a similar literary effort in the mid-14th century by Giovanni Boccaccio.The new commissions will premiere on the Library’s website and social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on weekdays from June 15 to June 26, and the commission manuscripts...
    • Date: 2020-05-29
  • May 28, 2020  (20-036)
    Library of Congress Welcomes Junior Fellows to 2020 Summer Intern Program The Library of Congress today announced the appointment of 40 undergraduate and graduate students to its highly competitive Junior Fellows summer intern program. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this program will be conducted virtually.This year’s Junior Fellows program, which runs from May 26 to July 31, includes 27 special projects across divisions of the Library of Congress. The program will expose the Junior...
    • Date: 2020-05-28
  • May 28, 2020  (20-039)
    Library of Congress Celebrates 'American Ingenuity' and Takes 2020 National Book Festival Online for Readers Everywhere The 20th Library of Congress National Book Festival will celebrate “American Ingenuity” in 2020, featuring the creativity and inspiration of some of the nation’s most gifted authors in a reimagined virtual festival the weekend of Sept. 25-27. The festival is part of the Library’s 220th anniversary year, and more details will be announced at a later date.In a time of social distancing during the...
    • Date: 2020-05-28
  • May 21, 2020  (20-037)
    Library of Congress and Portland Ovations to Present the International Contemporary Ensemble with World Premieres Live on YouTube The Library of Congress and Portland Ovations will present the International Contemporary Ensemble in the Library’s first interactive digital concert – “Aural Explorations: Farrin, Fure and Messiaen” – on Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m. Eastern time.The concert will feature the world premiere of the Library co-commissioned composition by Suzanne Farrin titled “Nacht,” capping a season-long celebration of women composers and performers honoring the...
    • Date: 2020-05-21
  • May 5, 2020  (20-035)
    Veterans History Project Launches New Feature Commemorating 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II The Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP) today launched, “End of World War II: 75th Anniversary,” a new online feature of the “Experiencing War” website that highlights firsthand accounts of the war’s end.Seventy five years ago, on May 8, 1945, Americans on the home front and the front lines celebrated the Allied victory in Europe — known as V-E Day — and began...
    • Date: 2020-05-05

April 2020

  • April 30, 2020  (20-034)
    U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo Appointed for a Second Term Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden has appointed Joy Harjo to serve a second term as the nation’s 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2020-2021. During her second term, Harjo will launch a new Library of Congress collection and online map featuring Native poets and poetry.“Joy Harjo is such an inspiring and engaging poet laureate,” Hayden said. “I’m thrilled she said yes to a...
    • Date: 2020-04-30
  • April 27, 2020  (20-033)
    Papers of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Chester Arthur and William McKinley Now Online The papers of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Chester Alan Arthur and William McKinley have been digitized and are now available online for the first time from the Library of Congress. These papers can be accessed both at the loc.gov website and on the new LOC Collections mobile app.The three presidencies represented in these collections all began or ended with the trauma of a presidential assassination....
    • Date: 2020-04-27
  • April 24, 2020  (20-031)
    Library of Congress Needs a Few Citizen DJs The Library of Congress is celebrating its 220th birthday today with a present for music-makers and music-lovers everywhere: a chance to play with Citizen DJ, a groundbreaking project that inspires hip-hop music-making from home and opens new doors into the Library’s extensive audio collections.Citizen DJ is an open-source web-browser application created by Library of Congress 2020 Innovator in Residence Brian Foo in partnership with...
    • Date: 2020-04-24
  • April 22, 2020  (20-032)
    Celebrate the Library's 220th Birthday with the LOC Collections App To celebrate the 220th anniversary of its founding, the Library of Congress today announced the release of the LOC Collections app, the premiere mobile app that puts the national library’s digital collections in the hands of users everywhere.In addition to providing an easy, accessible way to search and explore the Library’s growing digital collections, LOC Collections allows users to curate personal galleries of items...
    • Date: 2020-04-22
  • April 14, 2020  (20-030)
    Library of Congress Cancels Public Events Until July 1 The Library of Congress announced today that it will cancel all scheduled public events at the Library until July 1 as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Whenever possible, the Library will reschedule the public programs that have been canceled. We will also provide regular public updates on the operating status of Library facilities.Library of Congress buildings...
    • Date: 2020-04-14
  • April 10, 2020  (20-029)
    Washington Post and Library Spotlight Poets Laureate in New Video Series During National Poetry Month During a time when many Americans are sheltering in place, four U.S. poets laureate will share poems and reflect on the subject of “home” and its meaning during our current moment in a new online video series from The Washington Post and the Library of Congress titled ‘The Poetry of Home.’In conversation via Zoom with Post Book Critic Ron Charles, the series will open...
    • Date: 2020-04-10
  • April 9, 2020  (20-028)
    Jason Reynolds Connects with Young People at Home through New Video Series and Newsletter In his new role as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds will connect directly with young people online during the coronavirus pandemic, in collaboration with the Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader.On April 14, Reynolds will debut his first initiative in support of his platform GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story—including a monthly newsletter for parents...
    • Date: 2020-04-09
  • April 7, 2020  (20-027)
    Library of Congress Crime Classics Series Debuts Simultaneously in Print and Braille Poisoned Pen Press, the mystery imprint of leading independent publisher Sourcebooks, worked closely with the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Print Disabled at the Library of Congress to ensure a simultaneous print and braille release of “That Affair Next Door” by Anna Katharine Green, the debut title in the new Library of Congress Crime Classics series.“The collaboration between Poisoned Pen Press,...
    • Date: 2020-04-07

March 2020

  • March 30, 2020  (20-026)
    Dav Pilkey Collaborates with the Library to Serve Families at Home Dav Pilkey, the children’s author and illustrator behind award-winning and worldwide bestselling book series including Dog Man and Captain Underpants, is collaborating with the Library of Congress to serve children and families online during the coronavirus pandemic.Dav Pilkey at Home will feature new video content created by Pilkey himself on Friday mornings at 8 a.m. ET on social media channels and the websites of...
    • Date: 2020-03-30
  • March 26, 2020  (20-025)
    Library Extends Public Facility Access Closures Until Further Notice Out of an abundance of caution, all Library of Congress buildings and facilities will be closed to the public, including researchers and others with reader identification cards, until further notice to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. The Library has reduced the number of people in Library buildings to a very small number of necessary individuals.As previously announced, all Library-sponsored public programs and...
    • Date: 2020-03-26
  • March 25, 2020  (20-023)
    National Recording Registry Class Produces Ultimate 'Stay at Home' Playlist The gentle sounds of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood”; Russ Hodges’ thrilling play-by-play of the National League tiebreaker between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951; the Village People’s international dance anthem, “Y.M.C.A.”; “Cheap Trick at Budokan”; and the original 1964 Broadway cast recording of “Fiddler on the Roof” are among the newest recordings inducted into the National Recording Registry of the Library...
    • Date: 2020-03-25
  • March 17, 2020  (20-024)
    Library of Congress Cancels Public Events Until May 11 The Library of Congress announced today that all public events at the Library are canceled until May 11 to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Whenever possible, the Library will reschedule the public programs that have been canceled. We will also provide regular public updates on the operating status of Library facilities.Library of Congress buildings and facilities remain closed to the public until...
    • Date: 2020-03-17
  • March 12, 2020  (20-022)
    Library of Congress Announces Limited Access to Facilities Until April 1 Out of an abundance of caution, the Library of Congress announced today that all Library of Congress buildings and facilities will be closed to the public, including researchers and others with reader identification cards, starting at 5 p.m. today until Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 8 a.m. to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Library employees, contractors, invited and escorted visitors, and other...
    • Date: 2020-03-12
  • March 10, 2020  (20-021)
    By the People Launches First Wholly Non-English Crowdsourced Transcription Project The Library’s crowdsourcing initiative By the People has launched its newest campaign to enlist the public’s help to make digital collection items more searchable and accessible online. Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents includes thousands of pages of historical documents in Spanish, Latin and Catalan. As the first entirely non-English crowdsourced transcription project by the Library, this campaign will open the legal, religious and...
    • Date: 2020-03-10
  • March 9, 2020  (20-018)
    Library Enhances Reading Room Access for Researchers Beginning Monday, April 6, the Library of Congress will modify the evening public service hours and associated reference services within three reading rooms. The new service hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday hours in these reading room will remain 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hours in the Library’s other reading rooms are not affected. The following...
    • Date: 2020-03-09
  • March 6, 2020  (20-020)
    2020 Earth and Space Science Talks NOTE: The Library will be closed to the public, including researchers and others with reader identification cards, until Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at 8 a.m. to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. During the closure, all Library-sponsored public programs (including “Understanding 99 Percent of the Universe," scheduled for March 25) are postponed or cancelled.This month, the Library of Congress will kick off the...
    • Date: 2020-03-06
  • March 3, 2020  (20-016)
    Kluge Center Announces Public Events for Spring The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce a packed schedule of public events happening this spring. All events will be held in room LJ 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building located at 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. The events are free and open to the public. However, tickets are suggested and available via Eventbrite.March 10, 4...
    • Date: 2020-03-03
  • March 2, 2020  (20-017)
    Librarian of Congress Seeks Input on Register of Copyrights The public will have the opportunity to provide input to the Library of Congress on expertise needed by the next Register of Copyrights, the Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, announced today. Beginning today, March 2, a form to solicit this feedback is online and open to the public. The form will be posted through Friday, March 20. Public input form: https://www.loc.gov/about/librarian-of-congress-seeks-input-on-register-of-copyrights/ Deadline for submitting...
    • Date: 2020-03-02

February 2020

  • February 27, 2020  (20-015)
    New Initiative "Live! At the Library" on Thursday Evenings Postponed Until Later in 2020 The Library of Congress will delay plans to extend its public hours on Thursday evenings and feature regular live programming for visitors as part of a new initiative, Live! At the Library, due to the Library’s temporary closure to the public to reduce the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 coronavirus. Public events at the Library have been canceled until May 11.A new launch date...
    • Date: 2020-02-27
  • February 19, 2020  (20-014)
    Archive of Shawn Walker and Collection of Harlem Photography Workshop Acquired by Library The Library of Congress has acquired the archive of photographer Shawn Walker and his collection of photos, ephemera and audio recordings representing the influential Kamoinge Workshop based in Harlem, the Library announced today.Founded in New York City in 1963, the Kamoinge Workshop is a collective of leading African American photographers, such as Anthony Barboza, Louis Draper, Adger Cowans, Albert Fenner, Ray Francis, Toni Parks,...
    • Date: 2020-02-19
  • February 13, 2020  (20-012)
    Major Gift to Support Reimagining Visitor Experience at Library of Congress A major gift by philanthropist David Rubenstein will help fund a project to reimagine and enhance the visitor experience for the nearly 2 million people who visit the Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building each year. The goal is to better connect visitors with history and provide better access to the unparalleled collections held by the national library.Rubenstein, the chairman of the Library’s James...
    • Date: 2020-02-13
  • February 11, 2020  (20-009)
    'Cherry Blossoms' Book Explores Rich History of Springtime Celebration Vibrant springtime traditions of cherry blossom viewing in Japan and Washington, D.C., are explored in the new book “Cherry Blossoms: Sakura Collections from the Library of Congress,” published today by Smithsonian Books, in association with the Library of Congress.Visual art, including prints, drawings and photographs from the Library’s collections, provide a fresh look at the tradition of cherry blossom celebrations that originated more than...
    • Date: 2020-02-11
  • February 10, 2020  (20-011)
    Library of Congress Opens Applications for Teacher-in-Residence The Library of Congress is seeking applications from current teachers of journalism or economics for a Teacher-in-Residence position within its Learning and Innovation Office during the 2020-21 school year.The program description and application details for the position can be found at loc.gov/teachers/teacher-in-residence/. Applications are due on Friday, March 27, 2020.The Learning and Innovation team develops and delivers teaching materials and programs to make the...
    • Date: 2020-02-10
  • February 7, 2020  (20-006)
    Kluge Center Welcomes New 2020 Scholars The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce several new scholars who have arrived or will arrive in residence in 2020.Hal Brands will hold the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations beginning in July and will continue through December.Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International...
    • Date: 2020-02-07
  • February 6, 2020  (20-001)
    Library Announces Annual Cherry Blossom Festival Events The Library of Congress announces two cultural events during the 2020 National Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual commemoration of Japan’s 1912 gift to the U.S. of 3,020 cherry trees. An artwork display and book launch for “Cherry Blossoms: Sakura Collections from the Library of Congress” will kick off the Library’s celebration on Thursday, April 9. The gift book visualizes the fascinating history of cherry...
    • Date: 2020-02-06
  • February 4, 2020  (20-008)
    Crowdsourcing Project Launches Campaign to Transcribe Rosa Parks' Papers and Reveal the Woman Behind the Legend By the People, the Library of Congress’ crowdsourced transcription project powered by volunteers across the country is launching a campaign to transcribe Rosa Parks’ personal papers to make them more searchable and accessible online, including many items featured in the exhibition, “Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words,” starting today, the 107th anniversary of her birth.Through By the People, anyone can explore, transcribe and tag...
    • Date: 2020-02-04

January 2020

  • January 31, 2020  (20-005)
    Library of Congress to Hold Semiannual Main Reading Room Open House Highlighting African American History Month Twice each year, the Library of Congress opens its magnificent Main Reading Room to share information about how the public can access the Library’s resources year-round. The Main Reading Room will be open to the public on the federal Washington’s Birthday holiday, Monday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Main Reading Room is located on the first floor of the Library’s...
    • Date: 2020-01-31
  • January 29, 2020  (20-007)
    Historical Newspapers Edited by Frederick Douglass Now Online Newspapers edited by Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery in 1838 and became a voice for abolitionists as a journalist, orator, and author, have been digitized and are now available online from the Library of Congress.The collection is comprised of 568 issues of three weekly newspaper titles dating between 1847 and 1874: The North Star in Rochester, New York, Frederick Douglass’ Paper in Rochester, New...
    • Date: 2020-01-29
  • January 22, 2020  (20-004)
    National Book Festival Presents Winter and Spring Events as Series Continues The Library will be closed to the public, including researchers and others with reader identification cards, until Wednesday, April 1, 2020, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. During the closure, all Library-sponsored public programs, including some events in the series National Book Festival Presents, are postponed or cancelled.National Book Festival Presents, the new series from the Library of Congress showcasing authors, their...
    • Date: 2020-01-22
  • January 13, 2020  (20-002)
    Jason Reynolds Named New National Ambassador for Young People's Literature The Library of Congress, the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader today announced the appointment of Jason Reynolds as the seventh National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2020-2021. The Newbery Honor recipient succeeds Jacqueline Woodson, who served as National Ambassador in 2018-2019.Reynolds is the author of 13 books for young people including his most recent, “Look Both Ways: A Tale Told...
    • Date: 2020-01-13
  • January 13, 2020  (20-003)
    Library of Congress Accepting Applications for 2020 Literacy Awards Until March 6 Applications are being accepted for the 2020 Library of Congress Literacy Awards from Jan. 13 to March 6. The awards are made possible through the generosity of philanthropist David M. Rubenstein.The Literacy Awards, which were created by the Library of Congress and Rubenstein, were first conferred in 2013 to honor and support organizations working to promote literacy both in the United States and abroad....
    • Date: 2020-01-13

December 2019

  • December 19, 2019  (19-A05)
    Holiday Schedule Dec. 2019-Jan. 2020 The following is the holiday operation schedule, including building closures, for the Library of Congress for December 2019 and early January 2020:Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve)All Library buildings and services, including reading rooms and exhibitions, will be CLOSED to the public.Wednesday, December 25 (Christmas Day)All Library buildings and services, including reading rooms and exhibitions, will be CLOSED to the public.Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s...
    • Date: 2019-12-19
  • December 18, 2019  (19-120)
    New Endowment to Support National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled The Library of Congress today announced a major endowment in support of the work of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). Established by Susan D. Diskin in honor of her late mother, the Tiby Diskin Memorial Fund will provide resources for the Library to expand its services to individuals with visual impairments and other print disabilities.The first initiative made...
    • Date: 2019-12-18
  • December 18, 2019  (19-121)
    Librarian of Congress Appoints Maria Strong as Acting Register of Copyrights Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that she has appointed Maria Strong as Acting Register of Copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office, effective January 5, 2020. She succeeds Register of Copyrights Karyn A. Temple, who announced last week that she will be leaving the Copyright Office to accept a new position in the private sector.“I am pleased to announce that Maria...
    • Date: 2019-12-18