July 28, 2021 Speculative Annotation Invites Public to Interact with Digitized Collections at the Library of Congress

Students, educators and learners of all ages are invited to interact with select items in the Library’s collections with the launch of Speculative Annotation, the latest experiment from LC Labs.

Created by artist and 2021 Innovator in Residence Courtney McClellan, Speculative Annotation is an open-source dynamic web application and public art project. The app presents a unique mini collection of free-to-use items from the Library for students, teachers and learners to annotate through captions, drawings and other types of mark-making. As a special feature for Speculative Annotation users, the app includes a collection of informative, engaging annotations from Library experts and resources on the Library’s website.

“Annotation is a way to spark a conversation with history and one another,” said McClellan. “The tool offers unique features like a special mini collection, hand cut stamps and contextual aids like staff annotations. We want students to create their own annotations and join history’s record.”

Designed with students and educators in mind, the application is available to anyone with a web browser at annotation.labs.loc.gov. Users can select an item, respond to and interpret what they encounter, and research it further using example annotations from Library staff and linked resources. Users can also pose a question based on their interactions and research using the Ask a Librarian web service.

McClellan hopes educators will participate in national conversations about these items and their relevancy today by sharing what they create on social media with #annotateLOC.

Featured items from the Library’s collections include a film still from a 1955 Department of Health special announcement about polio, the first known selfie taken in 1839 and a poster from Shirley Chisholm’s 1972 “Unbought and Unbossed” campaign for president of the United States.

“We pursue these experiments with technology to investigate ways to draw more people to explore Library collections,” said Kate Zwaard, director of digital strategy at the Library. “Speculative Annotation engages the imagination, a personal connection to history, and artistic creativity, and we’re excited to see people’s social media posts to learn how they use it.”

The public is invited to a panel webinar with McClellan and several contemporary art and annotation experts on Thursday, Aug. 26 at 12 pm ET. Event information can be found at labs.loc.gov/events.

Like previous Innovator-in-Residence experiments such as Citizen DJ, Newspaper Navigator, and Library of Colors, Speculative Annotation is the result of collaboration between outside innovators, Library curators, subject matter experts and in-house IT professionals to deliver new ways for the public to interact with the Library’s vast digital collections.

To explore the wide range of digital experiments from LC Labs, visit labs.loc.gov.

About LC Labs
Through experimentation, research, collaboration, and reflection, LC Labs works to realize the Library’s vision that “all Americans are connected to the Library of Congress” by enabling the Library’s Digital Strategy. LC Labs is home to the Library of Congress Innovator in Residence Program; has nurtured experiments in machine learning and the use of collections as data; and incubated the Library’s popular crowdsourced transcription program By the People. Learn more and subscribe to our monthly newsletter at labs.loc.gov.

About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.