News from the Library of Congress

July 1999

  • July 29, 1999  (99-088)
    Library of Congress Publishes Annual Report for 1998 The Annual Report of the Librarian of Congress for 1998 has just been released for public acquisition. It was submitted to Congress earlier by Librarian James H. Billington and accepted by the legislative body. The report, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, describes the Library's activities in Washington, D.C., and in national and international outreach programs.Of particular note in the Librarian's report...
    • Date: 1999-07-29
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056)
    Library of Congress Announces Bicentennial Projects Next April, the Library of Congress, the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, will be 200 years old. Since its founding on April 24, 1800, the Library has grown into the world's largest library, a treasure house of America's and the world's creativity. What started with fewer than a thousand books has now grown into a collection featuring more than 115 million items in all...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056a)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration "Gifts to the Nation" Project On April 14, 1999, the Library of Congress launched its Bicentennial celebration and "Gifts to the Nation" project with the announcement that $1 million had been donated for the re-creation of Thomas Jefferson's personal library."The Gifts to the Nation project is one way we are celebrating 200 years of existence as the world's largest library," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "The re-creation...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056b)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Local Legacies Americans throughout the nation, together with their congressional representatives and local and state libraries, will have an opportunity to join the Library's celebration of its Bicentennial by participating in special projects such as Local Legacies. The project is designed to involve citizens nationwide -- working through their congressional representatives -- in documenting events and activities that have particular cultural importance for local communities. Participants'...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056c)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Digital Gifts In October 1994, the Library announced that it would offer digitized versions of 5 million items, in cooperation with other research institutions, on the Internet at www.loc.gov. Through the American Memory project of the National Digital Library Program, important and rare materials from the American history collections of the Library and other major repositories are being seen not only by those who can travel...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056d)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Poetry for the Nation Robert Pinsky's Favorite Poem project was launched in 1997, during his first term as Poet Laureate, when President and Mrs. Clinton read their favorite poems at the White House. Readings for the project have also been held in many other cities, and continue to be held nationwide.Mr. Pinsky was recently appointed to an unprecedented third one-year term as Poet Laureate.The goal of the project...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056e)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Symposia for the Nation The life of the mind was explored in the symposium "Frontiers of the Mind in the Twenty- First Century," June 14-17, 1999. Distinguished scholars from 24 fields of knowledge discussed significant developments in the past century and the challenges ahead.In March 2000, "Accountable Democracy and the Rule of Law" will examine the relationship between democracy and the law in many parts of the world.On...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056f)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Exhibitions The theme of "Libraries, Creativity, Liberty" will be reflected in the Library of Congress Bicentennial exhibitions. The first, "The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention," opened in the Thomas Jefferson Building on May 20, 1999. The exhibit, reflecting American "creativity," surveys the work of this extraordinary example of a 20th century team and their influence on popular taste. The exhibition...
    • Date: 1999-07-09
  • July 9, 1999  (99-056g)
    Fact Sheet: Library of Congress Bicentennial Celebration Other Projects Photo Contest. The Center for the Book and the American Library Association are promoting library use everywhere by involving all libraries in local photography contests. National winners will be announced in June 1999.Performing Arts. The Music Division is commemorating the Library's Bicentennial through the commissioning and performance of music, dance and theater representing the breadth, diversity and significance of America's musical heritage. The concert...
    • Date: 1999-07-09

June 1999

  • June 29, 1999  (99-090)
    National Photo Contest Winners Announced Kirsten Baker, an 18-year-old from Liverpool, N.Y., is the grand prize winner in the "Beyond Words: Celebrating America's Libraries" national photo contest sponsored by the Library of Congress and the American Library Association (ALA) and underwritten by Ingram Library Services. The contest is a Library of Congress Bicentennial project. The Library of Congress is celebrating its 200th anniversary on April 24, 2000.Ms. Baker's black-and-white...
    • Date: 1999-06-29
  • June 28, 1999  (99-070)
    House and Senate Leading Effort with Library of Congress to Document America in Local Legacies Program Working with their members of Congress, Americans in all 50 states and five territories are participating in an unprecedented effort initiated by the Library of Congress to document the cultural heritage of communities throughout the nation. The project, called Local Legacies, is one of the keystones of the Library's Bicentennial celebration in the year 2000 (http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial). Documentation of Local Legacies will be done through...
    • Date: 1999-06-28
  • June 28, 1999  (99-094)
    Library of Congress World History Seminar To Be Cybercast WHAT: The Library of Congress will host a three-week summer research seminar for community college faculty, "Globalizing Regional Studies."WHEN: Tuesday, July 6, through Friday, July 23WHERE: The Library of Congress Web site: http://www.loc.gov/today or http://www.loc.gov/loc/cyberlcWHO: The Library of Congress is collaborating with the American Historical Association and the Community College Humanities Association in this project. Also cooperating are the African Studies Association, the Association...
    • Date: 1999-06-28
  • June 21, 1999  (99-086)
    Library of Congress To Open National Digital Library Learning Center The National Digital Library Learning Center, a facility that will be used to train teachers in the classroom use of the Library of Congress's American Memory historical collections, opens today in the Madison Building. American Memory, a project of the Library's National Digital Library (NDL) Program, makes available to students, teachers and lifelong learners more than 2 million items of intellectual content at www.loc.gov.A...
    • Date: 1999-06-21
  • June 21, 1999  (99-093)
    Library to Highlight Louisiana "Local Legacies" WHO: Librarian of Congress James H. Billington U.S. Members of Congress from Louisiana Louisiana participants in the Local Legacies Bicentennial project of the Library of CongressWHAT: Briefing for media on Louisiana's contribution to the Local Legacies project, in which communities across the nation are documenting their local cultural traditions. This documentation, in words and photographs and on video and audio tape, will be sent...
    • Date: 1999-06-21
  • June 17, 1999  (99-085)
    National Digital Library Learning Center To Open WHAT: Opening of National Digital Library Learning CenterWHEN: Monday, June 21, 11 a.m.WHERE: National Digital Library Learning Center, Atrium Library of Congress James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E.BACKGROUNDThe Library of Congress National Digital Library Program has been a leader in providing educational content on the Internet through its American Memory historical collections . The collections are used by educators and students to put...
    • Date: 1999-06-17
  • June 17, 1999  (99-089)
    Library of Congress Announces Koussevitzky Commissions for 1998 The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress and the Koussevitzky Music Foundation Inc. have awarded commissions for new musical works to nine composers. The commissions are being granted jointly by the foundations and the performing organizations that will present the newly composed works.Award winners and the groups co-sponsoring their commissions are: Daniel Godfrey and the Cassatt String Quartet; Louis Karchin and...
    • Date: 1999-06-17
  • June 17, 1999  (99-091)
    Grandson of Silent Film Pioneer to Speak Edwin W. "Ned" Thanhouser, grandson of silent motion picture pioneers Edwin and Gertrude Thanhouser, will curate a program of historic silent films on June 25 and 29, 1999, in the Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theater at 6:30 pm.The Thanhouser Company, and its successor, Mutual's Thanhouser Film Corporation, was one of the pioneering independent motion picture production companies. Thanhouser produced and released to worldwide...
    • Date: 1999-06-17
  • June 14, 1999  (99-087)
    Classic Movies to Tour The Library of Congress announced today that cable network American Movie Classics has agreed to assume sponsorship of the Library's Film Preservation Tour, which brings National Film Registry titles to theatrical audiences around the country, helping to direct the public's attention to the need to conserve America's film heritage. AMC's gift will allow the Library to complete its goal of bringing the tour to...
    • Date: 1999-06-14
  • June 11, 1999  (99-082)
    Former Lebanese President to Lecture on Mideast Peace WHO: Amin Gemayel, 1982-1988 President of the Republic of LebanonWHAT: Free lecture, "Lebanon and the Regional Peace Process"WHEN: 6 p.m. June 11WHERE: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E.BACKGROUNDPresident Gemayel's lecture will address some of the ramifications of the new attempts at reviving the Arab-Israeli peace process.Mr. Gemayel was born in Bikfaya in 1942. He graduated from St. Joseph...
    • Date: 1999-06-11
  • June 8, 1999  (99-036)
    Experts To Survey Past and Future at the Library of Congress "The rule of reason turned out to be a sham . . ."". . . our century has witnessed the disappearance, or withering away, of political philosophy."" . . . a fear has arisen that were greenhouse gases to continue upward along their business-as-usual course that late in the next century yet another reorganization of the ocean's circulation system might be triggered."These are just...
    • Date: 1999-06-08
  • June 7, 1999  (99-052)
    Copyright Office to Increase Fees The U.S. Copyright Office plans to increase certain fees effective July 1, 1999. These include the fees for basic registration, document recordation, search services, certification, and additional certificates. Any request for a service that is received in the U.S. Copyright Office on or after July 1, 1999, for a service whose fee is scheduled to increase on that date must be accompanied by the...
    • Date: 1999-06-07
  • June 7, 1999  (99-081)
    Library of Congress Publishes Revised Edition of 1943 Work on Declaration of Independence A revised edition of the 1943 book, The Evolution of the Text of the Declaration of Independence by Julian P. Boyd, has just been published by the Library of Congress in association with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Inc. The new edition brings together for the first time photographic reproductions of all known drafts of the Declaration of Independence in one large-format book, including...
    • Date: 1999-06-07
  • June 1, 1999  (99-083)
    New Book About Jefferson and Education Published by the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson and the Education of a Citizen, a 383-page volume containing papers by 18 scholars, has been published by the Library. The volume was edited by James Gilreath, formerly of the Library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division.The papers, which address the issue of education and preparation for citizenship that underlies a free society as Jefferson perceived it, were presented at a conference...
    • Date: 1999-06-01

May 1999

  • May 27, 1999  (99-075)
    Public Events at the Library Of Congress June - August 1999 (Events subject to change)ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLICTuesday, June 1 FILM A mini-series of Bob Hope films begins this evening with a screening of "Calling All Tars" (Warner Bros., 1936) and "Son of Paleface" (Paramount, 1952), marking a display of recently acquired Bob Hope materials in the "American Treasures" exhibition. Watch for more information about the opening of the new...
    • Date: 1999-05-27
  • May 27, 1999  (99-079)
    Swann Foundation Announces Fellow for 1999-2000 The Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon, administered by the Library of Congress, announces that it has selected Stephen Kercher, a Ph.D. candidate in History and American Studies from Indiana University, to receive its 1999-2000 Swann Foundation Fellowship.Mr. Kercher's dissertation, The Limits of Irreverence: Irony and Satire in American Culture, 1950-1964, explores American cartooning during the Cold War Era and includes...
    • Date: 1999-05-27
  • May 27, 1999  (99-080)
    Copyright Office Releases Report on Digital Distance Education The Copyright Office has released a report on "Copyright and Digital Distance Education."In the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, Congress charged the Copyright Office with responsibility to study how to promote distance education through digital technologies, and report back with recommendations within six months. The report has been issued after an intensive process of identifying stakeholders, holding public hearings, soliciting comments, conducting research,...
    • Date: 1999-05-27
  • May 26, 1999  (99-077)
    Library of Congress Issues 1999 Catalog of Publications The Library of Congress has recently published Celebrating Books: Selected Publications from the Library of Congress. The 1999 catalog, which will be updated annually, includes titles published by the Library and those produced in cooperation with a number of renowned trade publishers."All of the books included in this catalog highlight a specific Library of Congress collection, exhibition, or subject that can be explored through...
    • Date: 1999-05-26
  • May 25, 1999  (99-076)
    Library of Congress Displays Thomas Jefferson's Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be [sacred & undeniable] self-evident, that all men are created equal [& independent] ...The rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, in the hand of Thomas Jefferson with emendations by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, will be on display in the "American Treasures of the Library of Congress" exhibition from June 16 through September 4.Ultimately, 86 emendations were made...
    • Date: 1999-05-25
  • May 21, 1999  (99-078)
    Media Advisory Due to a D.C. water emergency, the Library of Congress has closed the Jefferson, Madison and Adams buildings today, May 21, until further notice. Please check the Library's recorded message line at (202) 707-5000 or our Web site at http://www.loc.gov for updated information. We regret any inconvenience to our patrons.
    • Date: 1999-05-21
  • May 20, 1999  (99-074)
    Original Drawings for The Water-Babies to Be Exhibited A group of 12 original drawings created by Jessie Willcox Smith (1863-1935) in 1916 to illustrate The Water-Babies, a children's book by the Reverend Charles Kingsley (1810-1875), will go on display on June 10 in the Swann Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon in the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. The exhibition closes September 18. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through...
    • Date: 1999-05-20
  • May 13, 1999  (99-073)
    Summer Film Series Schedule Announced This summer the Mary Pickford Theater presents a film retrospective in conjunction with the Library of Congress exhibition The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention, featuring 26 films they made covering such disparate topics as toy trains, jellyfish, Indian textiles, algebra, and Jeffersonian democracy. Noted for their furniture designs -- the "Eames chair" in particular -- the Eameses were also...
    • Date: 1999-05-13
  • May 11, 1999  (99-072)
    Virginia and Missouri Win 1999 Boorstin Center for the Book Awards Librarian of Congress Emeritus Daniel J. Boorstin and his wife, Ruth, on May 3 presented the 1999 Boorstin Center for the Book awards to the Virginia and Missouri Centers for the Book. Each of the annual awards includes a cash prize of $5,000. The awards were presented at the annual state center "idea exchange day" hosted by the Center for the Book in the...
    • Date: 1999-05-11
  • May 7, 1999  (99-071)
    Press Preview of Eames Exhibition Set for May 17 A press preview of the exhibition "The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention" will be held in room LJ 119 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E., on Monday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Speakers will include Irene Chambers, director, Interpretive Programs Office; Alexander Von Vegesack, director of the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am...
    • Date: 1999-05-07
  • May 5, 1999  (99-063)
    Library of Congress Acquires Major Photo Archives Noted social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin and his family have donated his photographic archives to the Library of Congress. To mark the occasion, Mr. Rogovin will deliver a slide lecture on his work on Friday, May 14, at noon in the Library's Mary Pickford Theater, third floor, Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. No tickets are required.Refusing to be silenced by the House Un-American...
    • Date: 1999-05-05
  • May 5, 1999  (99-066)
    50 Educators to Participate in Library of Congress American Memory Fellows Program The National Digital Library Program of the Library of Congress has announced the selection of 50 educators to participate in the 1999 American Memory Fellows Program. The program is an opportunity for teams of outstanding middle and high school humanities teachers and library/media specialists to improve the teaching of American history and culture in their schools by using digitized primary sources from the Library."The...
    • Date: 1999-05-05
  • May 3, 1999  (99-069)
    Director Liane Brandon to Speak Director Liane Brandon will introduce her film "Betty Tells Her Story" Thursday, May 13, at 7 p.m. in the Library of Congress Mary Pickford Theater as part of a continuing series of National Film Registry screenings.The story Betty tells is, by turns, humorous and painful. She talks about how she was invited to a ball, bought a beautiful dress that she could not afford,...
    • Date: 1999-05-03

April 1999

  • April 30, 1999  (99-065)
    Library of Congress Presents the George Russell Living Time Orchestra on May 10 Jazz lovers have a rare opportunity to hear the George Russell Living Time Orchestra at the Library of Congress on Monday, May 10, at 8 p.m. in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium, which is located in the Thomas Jefferson Building, First Street and Independence Avenue S.E.At 75, composer, theorist and bandleader George Russell has been an intriguing and provocative musical figure for five decades. Winner...
    • Date: 1999-04-30
  • April 29, 1999  (99-059)
    Ralph Ellison's Two Novels To Be Discussed at the Library of Congress June 29 and 30 Ralph Ellison's literary executor, scholar and editor John F. Callahan, will make two presentations at the Library of Congress in late June. On Tuesday, June 29, he will deliver the Bradley Lecture, "On Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man," at 6:30 p.m. in the Montpelier Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. On Wednesday, June 30, he will present...
    • Date: 1999-04-29
  • April 29, 1999  (99-060)
    Robert Hass to Host "River Of Words" Program at Library on Saturday, May 8 Former Poet Laureate Robert Hass returns to the Library of Congress on Saturday, May 8, to moderate a program honoring the 1999 student winners of the fourth annual "River of Words" Environmental Poetry & Art Contest. The program, which features a display of artworks by their creators and poetry readings by the winning authors, will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Mumford Room...
    • Date: 1999-04-29
  • April 29, 1999  (99-061)
    Library Announces Third Mellon Foreign Area Fellowship Awards Eight scholars have won stipends in the third Mellon Foreign Area Fellowship competition, the Library's Office of Scholarly Programs announced.The postdoctoral fellowships, made possible over the last three years by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, were designed to support research that uses the Library's unrivaled foreign-language and area-studies collections. Stipends of $3,000 per month, for periods of five to nine months, were awarded to...
    • Date: 1999-04-29
  • April 29, 1999  (99-062)
    Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) To Discuss Political Participation for Asian Pacific Americans WHO: Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.)WHAT: "Encouraging Political Participation in the Asian Pacific American Community"WHEN: Wednesday, May 12, 10 a.m.WHERE: Mumford Room, sixth floor, James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E.WHY: Keynote address in the Library's celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage MonthBACKGROUNDRep. Wu was sworn in on Jan. 6, 1999, becoming the first Chinese American member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He represents...
    • Date: 1999-04-29
  • April 29, 1999  (99-064)
    Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky to Close 1998-99 Literary Series at the Library of Congress WHO: Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry Robert PinskyWHAT: a reading from his workWHEN: 6:45 p.m. May 5WHERE: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. S.E.BACKGROUNDMr. Pinsky was first appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington in 1997 and is bringing his second term to a conclusion with this reading, which also closes the Library's 1998-99...
    • Date: 1999-04-29
  • April 22, 1999  (99-058)
    All Three Library of Congress Buildings to Close on Friday, April 23 Due to additional security requirements related to events connected with the NATO summit, all Library of Congress buildings on Capitol Hill will be closed on Friday, April 23.Three public events previously scheduled for April 23 are cancelled: Poetry at Noon in the Pickford Theater; the 6:30 p.m. film program in the Pickford Theater; and the Juilliard String Quartet concert in the Coolidge Auditorium at...
    • Date: 1999-04-22
  • April 21, 1999  (99-051)
    Library of Congress Publishes Facsimile of a Rare 1562 Map of the Americas The Library of Congress has just published a facsimile of a 16th century map of the Americas. This spectacular and ornate map was the largest engraved map of North and South America at the time. Through the assistance of the VITAE Foundation in Brazil and Digicolor in Seattle, the Library produced a facsimile of the original map, one of two known originals, that was...
    • Date: 1999-04-21
  • April 21, 1999  (99-057)
    Thomas Jefferson Building of Library of Congress to Close at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 23 Because of security requirements related to events connected with the NATO summit, all facilities in the Thomas Jefferson Building will close at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 23. This includes the Visitors Center, the Great Hall, the "American Treasures" exhibition, and all of the reading rooms in that building: the Main Reading Room; the African and Middle Eastern, Asian, European, and Hispanic reading rooms;...
    • Date: 1999-04-21
  • April 20, 1999  (99-046)
    12 Winners Announced in Final Round of Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition Twelve winners in the third and final round of the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition have been announced. The program, in which Ameritech donated $2 million to the Library's National Digital Library (NDL) Program, has made awards to 33 institutions, including the 12 that will receive awards either alone or as part of a consortium this year.The competition has enabled U.S. libraries,...
    • Date: 1999-04-20
  • April 20, 1999  (99-054)
    Center for the Book and Weekly Reader Corporation Announce "Letters About Literature" Essay Contest Winners A Pennsylvania girl and a budding New York folksinger won the "Letters About Literature" essay contest, the Center for the Book and Weekly Reader Corporation announced today. They competed with 20,000 students nationwide in the reading-writing contest. The students' essays were read by 100 judges across the country."Letters About Literature" invites students to write a personal letter to an author -- living or dead...
    • Date: 1999-04-20
  • April 20, 1999  (99-055)
    Gold Rush Historian J.S. Holliday to Discuss His New Book on June 10 at the Library J.S. Holliday, a popular lecturer and the author of Rush for Riches: Gold Fever and the Making of California (Oakland Museum of California and the University of California Press, 1999), will discuss his new book at the Library at 6 p.m. June 10 in the Mumford Room, on the sixth floor of the James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. The talk is...
    • Date: 1999-04-20
  • April 14, 1999  (99-048)
    Library of Congress Announces Worldwide Search for Lost Books of Thomas Jefferson The Library of Congress today announced the beginning of a worldwide search to locate duplicates of volumes from the personal library of Thomas Jefferson that were destroyed by a fire in the U.S. Capitol on Christmas eve, 1851. Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys football team, and his wife, Gene, have given the Library $1 million to purchase the volumes...
    • Date: 1999-04-14
  • April 14, 1999  (99-049)
    Library of Congress Kicks Off Bicentennial Gifts to the Nation Project With its announcement that Jerry and Gene Jones had donated $1 million for the re-creation of Thomas Jefferson's personal library, the Library of Congress inaugurates its Bicentennial Gifts to the Nation project. The Library will be 200 on April 24, 2000."The importance of the Gifts to the Nation project cannot be overestimated," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. "Even the world's largest library...
    • Date: 1999-04-14