April 16, 2009 Public Events at the Library of Congress, May - August 2009

Friday
May 1
PANEL DISCUSSION
In celebration of Law Day, the Law Library of Congress brings together a panel of speakers to examine the ambiguities and effects of the Emancipation Proclamation and the man behind it at 1 p.m. in the Members Room. Contact: 707-9866.

Friday
May 1
CONCERT
Fortepianist Ludwig Sémerjian performs works by Beethoven, Schubert and Haydn at 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. Although the supply of tickets may become exhausted, there are often empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to try for standby seats at the will-call desk in the Jefferson Building by 6:30 p.m. on concert evenings. Contact: 707-5502.

Saturday
May 2
SYMPOSIUM
The Library’s Asian Division sponsors “Journey to Freedom: The Boat People Retrospective.” Scholars, community leaders and former refugees discuss the topic in four sessions: “Historical Background,” “Exodus,” “Rescue and Hospitality” and “Remembering Who We Are and Where We Have Been.” Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) delivers the opening keynote address, and Rep. Joseph Q. Cao (R- La.) is the luncheon keynote speaker. The symposium is from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. in LJ 119. Preregistration is required. Contact: 707-6096.

Tuesday
May 5
JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Producer and director Aviva Kempner will discuss and show clips from her forthcoming documentary “Yoo-Hoo Mrs. Goldberg” in a program co-sponsored by the African and Middle Eastern Division and the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-3779.

Wednesday
May 6
GALLERY TALK
Betsy Haude and Dana Hemmenway discuss “Preserving Lincoln Materials” at noon in the “With Malice Toward None” exhibition, South Gallery of the Jefferson Building. Contact: 707-9203.

Wednesday
May 6
KLUGE LECTURE
Andreas Daum, professor of history at the University at Buffalo, presents a lecture titled “Mourning, Celebrating, Revisiting: Alexander von Humboldt in the United States, 1859-2009” in a program co-sponsored by the European Division, the Embassy of Germany and the German Historical Institute at 3 p.m. in LJ 119. Contact: 707-2692.

Wednesday – Thursday
May 6 – 7
SYMPOSIUM
The Music Division of the Library of Congress will host a free, two-day public symposium on Broadway orchestrations. Panel discussions examine the craft and the orchestrations and careers of such Broadway legends as Robert Russell Bennett, Robert "Red" Ginzler, Don Walker, Philip J. Lang and Ralph Burns. Also, music directors discuss reconstructing and conducting classic Broadway shows for revivals or concerts today, and a pit musicians’ panel looks at the view of working with orchestrators and their scores. The symposium begins at 10 a.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. Contact: 707-3685.

Thursday
May 7
KLUGE LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Srividya Swaminathan discusses her research project “In Service of Commerce: British Arguments for Slavery in the Era Before Abolition, 1660-1790” at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
May 7
POETRY EVENT
Poet Laureate Kay Ryan closes the literary season with a reading in a program sponsored by the Poetry and Literature Center at 6:45 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. Contact: 707-5394.

Thursday
May 7
FILM
“North By Northwest” (MGM, 1959) and “The Shrine of Democracy at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota: A Memorial to Gutzon Borglum.” 6:30 p.m., Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-5677.

Friday
May 8
CONCERT
The Ethos Percussion Group, with Bernard Woma on Ghanaian xylophone and M’bembe Bangoura on Guinean drum, present chamber works for percussion by Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis and Robert Levin along with traditional and new African pieces at 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. See May 1 entry for contact and ticket information.

Saturday
May 9
INSIGHTS: EXPLORING THE COLLECTIONS
Playing on the Library’s instruments, British violinist Peter Sheppard-Skaerved illustrates how Marie Antoinette’s violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti influenced his contemporaries at 2 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. Contact: 707-5502.

Sunday
May 10
EXHIBITION CLOSING
"With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition" closes today on the second floor of the Jefferson Building. Hours are 11:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Contact: 707-4604.

Monday
May 11
LECTURE
Yohannes Zeleke, historian and former curator of the National Museum of Ethiopia, discusses “Ethiopian Jewry: History, Dream and Aliyah” in a program cosponsored by the Embassy of Israel at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-9897.

Tuesday
May 12
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
James Miho, Bauhaus illustrator, and Yuko Ota, Japanese comic illustrator and creator of Johnny Wander, present “Japanese Illustrators Then and Now” at noon in Dining Room C. Contact: 707-0698.

Tuesday
May 12
KLUGE LECTURE
Romila Thapar, recipient of the 2008 John W. Kluge Prize, delivers a lecture titled “Early Indian Perspectives on Recording the Historical Past” at 4 p.m. in LJ 119. Contact: 707-2692.

Wednesday
May 13
CEREMONY
Poet Robert Hass hosts the River of Words Awards for winners of the 2008-2009 environmental reading and writing contest for young people sponsored by the Center for the Book at 10 a.m. in LJ 119. Contact: 707-5221.

Wednesday
May 13
GALLERY TALK
Barbara Tenenbaum, curator of the “Exploring the Early Americas” exhibition, discusses “Mesoamerican Ballgames: The Sport of Life or Death” at noon in the Northwest Gallery of the Jefferson Building. Contact: 707-9203.

Wednesday
May 13
BENJAMIN BOTKIN LECTURE SERIES
Anne K. Rasmussen, associate professor of music and ethnomusicology at the College of William and Mary, presents “The Sound of Islamic Music: Women’s Voices and the Indonesian Religious Soundscape” in a program sponsored by the American Folklife Center at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-5510.

Wednesday
May 13
JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Gershon Greenberg of American University discusses “Breaking the Holocaust Silence: A Hidden Hasidic Text of 1947 – and Elie Wiesel” in the 10th annual Myron M. Weinstein Memorial Lecture on the Hebraic Book at 6:30 p.m. in the Whittall Pavilion. The program is being sponsored by the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division. Contact: 707-3779.

Thursday
May 14
SYMPOSIUM
An international symposium, “Exploring Waldseemuller’s World,” examines Martin Waldseemuller’s cartographic vision and address the complex historical and philosophical questions raised by the publication of the 1507 map. Today’s sessions are “Scholars and Scientists 1450-1550” and “Exploring the Known and Unknown.” The program is from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. Reservations are required. Contact: 707-7223.

Thursday
May 14
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Marcia Dinius discusses her research project “The Role of the Daguerreotype in the Literature, Rhetoric and Visual Culture of American Abolition, 1833-1860” at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
May 14
BOOKS AND BEYOND
Scholars John Hessler, Christine Johnson and Nicolas Wey Gomez discuss their books, in conjunction with the symposium “Exploring Waldseemüller’s World,” in a program co-sponsored by the Geography and Map Division and the Center for the Book at 6:30 p.m. in the Mumford Room. Contact: 707-5221.

Friday
May 15
SYMPOSIUM
An international symposium, “Exploring Waldseemuller’s World,” examines Martin Waldseemuller’s cartographic vision and address the complex historical and philosophical questions raised by the publication of the 1507 map. Sessions are “Sources and Texts,” “Changes and Revolutions” and “What is or Was Waldseemuller’s World?” The program is from 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. Reservations are required. Contact: 707-7223.

Friday
May 15
LECTURE
Oscar P. Fitzgerald discusses and signs his new book “Studio Furniture of the Renwick Gallery” in a program sponsored by the Humanities and Social Sciences Division at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-0945.

Monday
May 18
LECTURE
Gabriel Weimann, professor of communications at Haifa University in Israel, presents a lecture in English on “Nazi Propaganda: The Machinery of Evil” in a program sponsored by the European Division at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-9897.

Tuesday
May 19
BOOKS AND BEYOND
Ralph Eubanks discusses and signs his book “The House at the End of the Road: A Story of Race, Identity and Memory” in a program sponsored by the Center for the Book at noon in the Mumford Room. Contact: 707-5221.

Tuesday
May 19
JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Laura Cohen Apelbaum and Wendy Turman, both of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, will speak on the society’s new exhibit “Jewish Life in Mr. Lincoln’s City” at noon in the African and Middle Eastern Division Reading Room. Contact: 707-3779.

Wednesday
May 20
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
The short film “I Wanna Babysit Lola,” about a 12-year-old latchkey kid’s relationship with a 90-year-old woman whom he watches over, will be screened at 1 p.m. in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-0698.

Thursday
May 21
CONCERT
Trio Apollon perform pieces by Schumann, Matthus, Bruch and Françaix at 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. See May 1 entry for contact and ticket information.

Saturday
May 23
INSIGHTS: EXPLORING THE COLLECTIONS
Violinist and Borromeo Quartet founder Nicholas Kitchen discusses and performs excerpts from J.S. Bach’s sonatas and partitas, with projections of the manuscripts and demonstrations on instruments from the Library’s Cremonese collection, at 2 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. Contact: 707-5502.

Tuesday
May 26
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
Hui O Ka Pua `Ilima performs traditional and contemporary Hawaiian dances at noon in the Montpelier Room. Contact: 707-0698.

Thursday
May 28
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Monica Dominguez-Torres discusses her research project "Armorials of the Anahuac: The Production, Regulation and Consumption of Indigenous Heraldry in 16th Century Mexico” at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Friday
May 28
HOMEGROWN CONCERT
Brendan Carey Block and friends kick off the American Folklife Center’s 2009 Homegrown Concert Series with a performance of Cape Breton fiddle music from New Hampshire at noon in the Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. Contact: 707-5510.

Friday
May 29
CONCERT
Soprano Carole Farley and pianist John Constable semi-stage Francis Poulenc’s “La Voix Humaine” at 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium. See May 1 entry for contact and ticket information.

**** End May 2009 ***

JUNE 2009

Tuesday
June 2
LECTURE
Daniel Glavin, astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, speaks on “Astrobiology: Life in Space” in a program sponsored by the Science, Technology and Business Division at 11:30 a.m. in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-5664.

Tuesday
June 2
BOOKS AND BEYOND
Baltimore Sun film critic Michael Sragow discusses and signs his book “Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master” in a program co-sponsored by the Center for the Book and the Motion, Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division at noon in Dining Room A. Contact: 707-5221.

Wednesday
June 3
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Fulbright Fellow Dimitry Lyubin gives a lecture on artist colonies and other associations in the United States in the late half of the 20th century, at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Wednesday
June 3
LECTURE
David O. Stewart discusses his book “Impeached: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy” in a program cosponsored by the Humanities and Social Sciences Division and the Manuscript Division at noon in Dining Room A. Contact: 707-5771.

Thursday
June 4
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Johanna Bockman delivers a lecture on her research project “The Socialist Origins of Neoliberalism” at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
June 4
POETRY READING
Aaron Taub reads from his new book of poetry, “What Stillness Illuminated,” at noon in the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room. Contact: 707-3779.

Monday
June 8
LECTURE
Author David W. Jourdan presents a lecture titled “Never Forgotten: The Search For and Discovery of Israel’s Lost Submarine ‘Dakar,’” in a program cosponsored by the Embassy of Israel at noon in the Mary Pickford Theater. Contact: 707-9897.

Wednesday
June 10
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Fulbright Fellow Sergiu Kot gives a lecture on his research project “The U.S. Policy of Restitution of Cultural Values after WWII and Ukraine” at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
June 11
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Zachary Schrag delivers a lecture on his research project "History of Riot Control from the 1870s to the Present in America" at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Wednesday
June 17
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kelly Pemberton, David B. Larson Fellow in Health and Spirituality, delivers a lecture at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
June 18
HOMEGROWN CONCERT
Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac performs Aztec dance from Pennsylvania, another in the 2009 Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center, at noon in the Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. Contact: 707-5510.

Wednesday
June 24
LECTURE
Nomi Stone reads from “Stranger’s Notebook,” her new book of poetry about the Jews on Jarbah Island, Tunisia, where she lived for a year, at noon in the African and Middle Eastern Division Reading Room. Contact: 707-3779.

Thursday
June 25
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Christine Johnson discusses her research project “The German Nation of the Holy Roman Empire, 1440-1556” at noon in the Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
June 25
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, Kluge Chair in Modern Culture, delivers a lecture on her research project “The Role of Symbolism and Folk Aesthetic in Japanese Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective” at 4 p.m. in LJ 119. Contact: 707-2692.

**** End June 2009 ****

JULY 2009

Thursday
July 9
KLUGE CENTER LECTURE
Kluge Fellow Petr Eltsov discusses his research project “Rejecting the State: A Study of the Harappan Society from the Point of View of Archaeological Data and Ancient Indian Sociopolitical Theory” at noon in Whittall Pavilion. Contact: 707-2692.

Thursday
July 16
HOMEGROWN CONCERT
Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers present an afternoon of gospel music, another in the 2009 Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center, at noon in the Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. Contact: 707-5510.

Friday
July 31
EXHIBITION CLOSING
The display of “Obamabilia,” Obama-related memorabilia from Africa, goes off view in the African and Middle Eastern Division. Hours are 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Contact: 707-4188.

**** End July 2009 ****

AUGUST 2009

Thursday
August 20
HOMEGROWN CONCERT
Sreevidhya Chandramouli and friends perform Northern Indian Vina music from Oregon, another in the 2009 Homegrown Concert Series sponsored by the American Folklife Center, at noon in the Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. Contact: 707-5510.

**** End August 2009 ****

The Library of Congress occupies three buildings on Capitol Hill. The Thomas Jefferson Building is the original Library of Congress building; it is located at 10 First St. S.E., across from the U.S. Capitol. The John Adams Building is directly behind the Jefferson Building to the east on Second St. S.E. The James Madison Memorial Building, at 101 Independence Ave. S.E., is just south of the Jefferson Building.

Room locations:

JEFFERSON BUILDING: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor; Whittall Pavilion, ground floor; LJ 119, first floor; Great Hall, first floor; Southwest Gallery, second floor; South Gallery, second floor; Northwest Gallery, second floor.

MADISON BUILDING: Madison Hall, first floor; LM 139, first floor; Pickford Theater, third floor; Mumford Room, sixth floor; Montpelier Room, sixth floor; West Dining Room, sixth floor; Dining Room A, sixth floor.

When attending events at the Library, allow extra time to pass through Library security.

CONCERTS: Tickets are required for all Library of Congress Music Division concerts. They are available five weeks ahead of the event for a nominal charge of $2.75 per ticket (maximum of two tickets per person), with additional charges for phone orders and handling, from Ticketmaster by calling (301) 808-6900, (410) 752-1200, (800) 551-7328, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets for popular events are claimed quickly, but there are often empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to request standby seats by appearing at the will-call desk by 6:30 p.m. on concert evenings. All concerts are held in the Coolidge Auditorium, located on the ground floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., at 8 p.m., unless otherwise noted.