Public Events at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress offers these events to the public at its Washington, D.C. location free of charge, except where otherwise noted. Schedules are subject to change. Check back to this site for the latest information.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Tour — Public Tours of the Jefferson Building

10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.
Location: Ground Floor Visitors' Theater.
Contact: (202) 707-8000

Lecture — Rabbi 'Alphabet' Browne

Noon - 1 p.m.
Janice Rothschild Blumberg discusses her new book "Prophet in a Time of Priests: Rabbi 'Alphabet' Browne, 1845-1929."
Location: African/Middle Eastern Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3779

Gallery Talk — LeRoy Gresham Diary

Noon - 1 p.m.
Michelle Krowl of the Manuscript Division introduces the diary of LeRoy Wiley Gresham, highlighting a young Confederate's view of the Civil War.
Location: Southwest Gallery, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-9203

Lecture — Cyrillic Union Catalog

Noon - 1 p.m.
Reference specialist Angela Cannon discusses her research on the Cyrillic Union Catalog.
Location: European Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-4371

Panel Discussion — Law Day

1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Carrie Johnson, justice correspondent with National Public Radio, moderates a panel discussion on the movement in America for civil and human rights in honor of Law Day.
Location: Mumford, Sixth floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-4642

Event — Poetry Reading

4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
To commemorate Natasha Trethewey's year as Poet Laureate, poets Marilyn Chin, Brenda Shaughnessy, Patricia Smith, Brian Turner and Kevin Young read from their work. Following, Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey closes the literary season with a lecture titled "Necessary Utterance: Poetry as Cultural Force" at 7 p.m.
Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

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All Public Events for May 2013

Concert

Orchestra 2001

May 3, 2013, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Orchestra 2001, featuring soprano Ann Crumb and baritone Patrick Mason, present works by George Crumb and the world premiere of "Slow Summer Stay II: Lakes," by Chaya Czernowin.
Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5502

Quebe Sisters Band

May 10, 2013, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
The Quebe Sisters Band performs a special blend of western swing, vintage country, bluegrass, jazz and swing standards, and Texas-style fiddling.
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, VA, Packard Campus Building
Contact: (202) 707-9994

Attacca Quartet

May 22, 2013, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
The Attacca Quartet plays pieces by Janacek, Beethoven, Adams and a world premiere by Timothy Andres.
Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5502

Violinist Jennifer Koh

May 23, 2013, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Violinist Jennifer Koh and pianist Reiko Uchida present works by Janacek, Salonen, Schubert and Adams.
Location: Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE Washington, DC
Contact: (202) 707-5502

U.S. Army Blues

May 25, 2013, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
The U.S. Army Blues traces John Adams' musical lineage back to the era of swing bands and his grandfather's New Hampshire dance hall.
Location: Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street NE Washington, DC
Contact: (202) 707-5502

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Event

Poetry Reading

May 1, 2013, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m.
To commemorate Natasha Trethewey's year as Poet Laureate, poets Marilyn Chin, Brenda Shaughnessy, Patricia Smith, Brian Turner and Kevin Young read from their work. Following, Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey closes the literary season with a lecture titled "Necessary Utterance: Poetry as Cultural Force" at 7 p.m.
Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

CANCELED--Work of Katherine Porter

May 15, 2013, Noon - 1:30 p.m.
CANCELED Novelists Mary Gaitskill and Janet Peery read from the work of Katherine Anne Porter.
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

Walt Whitman Reading

May 31, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Poets Mark Doty and Sally Keith read from the work of Walt Whitman.
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

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Film

"Memphis Belle"

May 11, 2013, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
"Memphis Belle" (Warner Bros., 1990).
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, VA, Packard Campus Building
Contact: (202) 707-9994

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May 14, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
"Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority."
Location: Dining Room A, Sixth floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-0979

"The Bitter Tea of General Yen"

May 16, 2013, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
"The Bitter Tea of General Yen" (Columbia, 1933).
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, VA, Packard Campus Building
Contact: (202) 707-9994

"Shoulder Arms"

May 17, 2013, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
"Shoulder Arms" (First National, 1918).
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, VA, Packard Campus Building
Contact: (202) 707-9994

"Francis Joins the WACs"

May 18, 2013, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
"Francis Joins the WACs" (Universal, 1954).
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, VA, Packard Campus Building
Contact: (202) 707-9994

"Flags of Our Fathers"

May 23, 2013, 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
"Flags of Our Fathers" (Paramount, 2006, R-Rated*).(
Location: Packard Campus Theater, Culpeper, VA, Packard Campus Building
Contact: (202) 707-9994

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Holiday

Memorial Day

May 27, 2013, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The Jefferson Building's Great Hall and exhibitions will be open to the public. All other reading rooms and other Library buildings will be closed in observance of the Memorial Day federal holiday.
Location: All buildings
Contact: (202) 707-8000

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Lecture

Cyrillic Union Catalog

May 1, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Reference specialist Angela Cannon discusses her research on the Cyrillic Union Catalog.
Location: European Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-4371

Rabbi 'Alphabet' Browne

May 1, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Janice Rothschild Blumberg discusses her new book "Prophet in a Time of Priests: Rabbi 'Alphabet' Browne, 1845-1929."
Location: African/Middle Eastern Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3779

Kluge Scholar Seminar

May 2, 2013, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Will I. Hitchcock, Kissinger Chair at the John W. Kluge Center, discusses "The Ike Age: Eisenhower, America and the World of the 1950s."
Location: Kluge Center Meeting Room, First floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3302

George Crumb and Chaya Czernowin

May 3, 2013, 6:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.
George Crumb and Chaya Czernowin discuss their music.
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5502

Ian MacKaye

May 7, 2013, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Ian MacKaye of bands The Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Embrace, Fugazi, and The Evens discusses his music and work as co-founder and co-owner of Dischord Records, which has been documenting music coming out of the Washington D.C. underground for the past 30 years.
Location: Mumford, Sixth floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-2603

Kluge Center Seminar

May 8, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Kluge Fellow Victor Goldgel presents a talk on "The Quest for 'New' in Spanish-American Culture: Fashion and Newspapers in the 19th Century."
Location: Whittall Pavilion, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3302

Contemporary African Lit

May 8, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Nigerian writer A. Igoni Barrett reads from his work and discussed the state of contemporary African literature.
Location: African/Middle Eastern Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-5394

20th Century Ukraine

May 9, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Liudmyla Hrynevych discusses her book "The Collectivization and Holodomor Chronicle Project: The Unknown Famine of 1928-1929," and Vladyslav Hrynevych discusses his new monograph titled "Unbridled Dissonance: The Second World War and Socio-political Attitudes in Ukraine, 1939-1941."
Location: European Reading Room, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-4371

Hank Greenberg

May 13, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Filmmaker Aviva Kempner talks about and shows clips from her film "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg."
Location: Pickford Theater, Third floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-3779

Kluge Scholar Seminar

May 16, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Black Mountain Fellow Oksana Marafioti presents "Magic Realism in the Soviet Union."
Location: LJ Room A-113, First floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3302

Managing Satellites

May 22, 2013, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
NASA scientist Steve Covington presents "How to Manage a Satellite Going 17 Thousand Miles Per Hour."
Location: Pickford Theater, Third floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-1209

Kluge Scholar Seminar

May 22, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Tobie Meyer-Fong, Kluge Fellow in 2006, discusses his book "What Remains: Coming to Terms with Civil War in 19th Century China."
Location: LJ Room A-113, First floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3302

Buddhist works in Dunhuang

May 24, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Chinese aestheticist, artist, poet and philosopher Ertai Gao discusses Chinese literature and the popularization of ancient Buddhist works found in Dunhuang.
Location: Kluge Center Meeting Room, First floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3683

Illustrated Books

May 30, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Kluge Fellow Ilaria Andreoli presents a talk titled "Illustrated Books of the 15th and 16th Centuries."
Location: LJ Room A-113, First floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-3302

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Open House

Redrawing Ptolemy

May 18, 2013, 9 a.m. - Noon
Rare materials from the collections of the Geography and Map Division will be on display. Staff will offer tours of the "Exploring the Early Americas" exhibition in the Jefferson Building to view the works of Waldseemuller.
Location: LM B01 Geography and Map Reading Room, Basement floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-7223

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Panel Discussion

Law Day

May 1, 2013, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Carrie Johnson, justice correspondent with National Public Radio, moderates a panel discussion on the movement in America for civil and human rights in honor of Law Day.
Location: Mumford, Sixth floor, James Madison Building
Contact: (202) 707-4642

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Symposium

Naguib Mahfouz

May 14, 2013, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Six scholars will discuss various aspects of the work of Egyptian author and screen playwright Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006).
Location: Kluge Center Meeting Room, First floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-7311

Redrawing Ptolemy

May 17, 2013, 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Scholars will discuss the 1516 Carta Marina Map, the 1513 edition of Ptolemy's "Geographia," the 1507 Globe Gores, and the mysterious John Carter Brown-Henry Stevens World Map engraved with the name "America,"
Location: Coolidge Auditorium, Ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-7223

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Gallery Talk

LeRoy Gresham Diary

May 1, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Michelle Krowl of the Manuscript Division introduces the diary of LeRoy Wiley Gresham, highlighting a young Confederate's view of the Civil War.
Location: Southwest Gallery, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-9203

Civil War Technology

May 8, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Jennifer Harbster of the Science, Technology, and Business Division talks about the role of technology in the Civil War.
Location: Southwest Gallery, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-9203

Port Royal band books

May 15, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Loras Schissel of the Music Division discusses the Port Royal band books.
Location: Southwest Gallery, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-9203

Abraham Lincoln

May 22, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Mark Dimunation of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division explores the contents of Lincoln's pockets on the night he was assassinated.
Location: Southwest Gallery, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-9203

Frederick Douglass

May 29, 2013, Noon - 1 p.m.
Adrienne Cannon of the Manuscript Division talks about Frederick Douglass and the Civil War.
Location: Southwest Pavilion, Second floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: (202) 707-9203

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Tour

Public Tours of the Jefferson Building

Monday to Saturday: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. (no 3:30 p.m. tour on Saturdays)
Location: Ground Floor Visitors' Theater.
Contact: (202) 707-8000

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