News from the Library of Congress
June 2022
-
June 30, 2022 (22-057)Jesmyn Ward to Receive 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction will be awarded to Jesmyn Ward. At 45, Ward is the youngest person to receive the Library’s fiction award for her lifetime of work.One of the Library’s most prestigious awards, the annual Prize for American Fiction honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished...- Date: 2022-06-30
-
June 22, 2022 (22-053)Library of Congress to Award Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity to Historian of LGBTQ+ Life George Chauncey Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced today that historian George Chauncey will receive the 2022 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity. Chauncey is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of American History at Columbia University, a position he has held since 2017, and he directs the Columbia Research Institute on the Global History of Sexualities.“Professor Chauncey’s trailblazing career gave us all...- Date: 2022-06-22
-
June 21, 2022 (22-055)Librarian of Congress Appoints Jennifer Meehan Director of Special Collections Jennifer Meehan, head of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library at Penn State University, has been named director of the Library of Congress’ Special Collections Directorate effective Aug. 1. Meehan’s career spans over 18 years in academic and research institutions in positions of progressive responsibility including 14 years of management and leadership experience. She currently serves as head of the Eberly Family Special Collections...- Date: 2022-06-21
May 2022
-
May 20, 2022 (22-043)Nicole Saylor Appointed Director of American Folklife Center Nicole “Nicki” Saylor has been appointed the fourth director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, effective May 22, 2022. Saylor succeeds Elizabeth Peterson, who retired from federal service in March.Before her new role at the American Folklife Center (AFC), Saylor served as chief of the Library’s Digital Innovation Lab, where she oversaw a team of innovation specialists who explore new...- Date: 2022-05-20
-
May 11, 2022 (22-042)2022 FEDLINK Awards Recognize Federal Library Community Excellence 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 2021 winners...- Date: 2022-05-11
-
May 6, 2022 (22-038)Library of Congress Awards More than $250,000 to Inaugural Projects Highlighting Uses of Digital Collections The Library of Congress today announced that three grants, totaling $250,000, have been awarded from the Connecting Communities Digital Initiative through a program available to Libraries, Archives, Museums, Minority-Serving Higher Education Institutions and Artists/Scholars. The 2022 awardees — Huston-Tillotson University in Texas, Kenton County Public Library in Kentucky, and Maya Cade, founder of the Black Film Archive in New York — will use these...- Date: 2022-05-06
-
May 6, 2022 (22-040)Concerts from the Library of Congress Presents Live Performances, Discussions in May and June Concerts from the Library of Congress is celebrating the return of live events at the Library with a rich mix of classical chamber music, Latin jazz and a panoramic outlook on new music in America. All events are presented free of charge to the public. Patrons can register to attend in-person events by visiting loc.gov/concerts. Virtual programming will be presented on loc.gov/concerts and the...- Date: 2022-05-06
-
May 5, 2022 (22-036)Three-Part Series of Interviews with Award-Winning African Writers Debuts During Africa Month Celebrations A three-part series of interviews with award-winning African writers will debut at the Library of Congress beginning today to coincide with Africa Month, an increasingly popular celebration of the continent’s peoples, cultures and history. The interviews are part of the “Conversations with African Poets and Writers Series” produced by the Library’s African and Middle Eastern Division since 2008 to promote a greater cross-cultural understanding...- Date: 2022-05-05
April 2022
-
April 26, 2022 (22-035)Jason Reynolds Expands Commitment to Rural America with In-Person Events This Spring Jason Reynolds continues his work to empower students in rural and underserved communities in 2022 — his third year as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. In May, Reynolds will kick off the first in-person leg of his “GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story” tour in Montana. Participating schools have never hosted an author visit and were selected from more than 200 proposals. As...- Date: 2022-04-26
-
April 25, 2022 (22-034)Library of Congress Acquires Papers of Award-Winning Playwright Neil Simon The Library of Congress has acquired the manuscripts and papers of playwright and screenwriter Neil Simon, the most commercially successful American playwright of the 20th century.The donation will be announced at a special event with actors Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, and Elaine Joyce Simon, actor and Simon’s widow, Monday night at the Library. The public is invited to join the event by...- Date: 2022-04-25
-
April 22, 2022 (22-031)Library Co-Publishes New Volume on History of the U.S. Supreme Court A new volume in The Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the U.S. Supreme Court describes the closing of one era in constitutional jurisprudence and the opening of another. “The Hughes Court: From Progressivism to Pluralism, 1930 to 1941” is a comprehensive study of the court under the leadership of Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.Written by Mark V. Tushnet, the William Nelson Cromwell Professor...- Date: 2022-04-22
-
April 21, 2022 (22-032)"Live at the Library" to Welcome Evening Visitors, Special Guests on Thursdays The Library of Congress will create a new evening visitor experience featuring extended public hours on Thursday evenings and regular live programming as part of a new ongoing series, Live at the Library.“The nation’s library is a treasure chest, and we’re happy to welcome everyone on Thursday evenings for a new way to engage and experience the wide variety of cultural programs and collections...
- Date: 2022-04-21
-
April 13, 2022 (22-026)National Recording Registry Inducts Music from Alicia Keys, Ricky Martin, Journey and More in 2022 Alicia Keys’ debut album “Songs in A Minor,” Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” are some of the unforgettable sounds of the nation’s history and culture joining the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. The 2022 class includes important inductions of hip-hop and Latin music, including recordings by Linda Ronstadt, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan and...- Date: 2022-04-13
-
April 5, 2022 (22-029)Library to Celebrate Joy Harjo's Three Terms as U.S. Poet Laureate The Library of Congress will celebrate Joy Harjo, the first Native American U.S. poet laureate, as her three terms in the position come to a conclusion with two public programs at the end of April.“For a remarkable three terms as U.S. poet laureate, Joy Harjo has tirelessly promoted Native poets and poetry,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “To her, poems are ‘carriers of...- Date: 2022-04-05
-
April 1, 2022 (22-027)Library Seeks Applicants for 2022 Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program The Library of Congress is seeking applicants for its next Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program, which will run from Sept. 12 -- Nov. 18, 2022. This 10-week paid internship is open to undergraduate juniors and seniors, graduate and doctoral students interested in learning and conducting research at the largest library in the world.The 2022 internship program will be a hybrid format that...- Date: 2022-04-01
March 2022
-
March 30, 2022 (22-A01)Jefferson Building Access Changes, April 6 On Wednesday, April 6, a special event in the Great Hall will reduce access in the Jefferson Building. All exhibitions and the Library Shop in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress will be closed. The West Basement (Carriage) doors will be closed to staff, researchers and the general public.Researchers may access the Jefferson Building reading rooms as they will be open...- Date: 2022-03-30
-
March 28, 2022 (22-021)Library of Congress Awards More than $500,000 to Support Contemporary Cultural Field Research within Diverse Communities The Library of Congress American Folklife Center is pleased to announce the inaugural recipient cohort of the Community Collections Grant program. This series of grants, part of the Of the People: Widening the Path initiative, is awarded to individuals and organizations working to document cultures and traditions of Black, Indigenous and communities of color historically underrepresented in the United States and in the Library’s...- Date: 2022-03-28
-
March 23, 2022 (22-024)Photography Trailblazer's Collection Donated to Library of Congress The Library of Congress has acquired the collection of a trailblazer in American photography, Robert Cornelius, including his camera lenses, daguerreotypes, cased portraits of his children and patent applications as a gift from his great-great granddaughter, Sarah Bodine. The collection expands the Library’s holdings that complement Cornelius’ famous 1839 self-portrait, which is the world’s oldest surviving portrait photograph.Cornelius was a metal worker and early...- Date: 2022-03-23
-
March 22, 2022 (22-025)Exhibition Showcases Photography from America's Library The new exhibition, “Not an Ostrich: And Other Images from America’s Library,” offers a visual feast from the photography collections of the Library of Congress and its holdings of more than 15 million photographs. The exhibition opens March 23 and will be on view through fall 2024 at the Library. The exhibit was organized by the Annenberg Foundation and first shown at the Annenberg...- Date: 2022-03-22
-
March 16, 2022 (22-023)New Library of Congress Podcast Explores "Space on the Page" The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce the release of “Space on the Page,” a new podcast that explores the universe not with a rocket but through ideas.In six episodes, hosts David Baron and Lucas Mix will interview authors and scientists who think and write about space exploration and the search for life beyond Earth. Baron and...- Date: 2022-03-16
-
March 1, 2022 (22-016)Springtime Traditions on Display with National Cherry Blossom Festival Events at the Library The Library of Congress announces two cultural events during the 2022 National Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual commemoration of Japan’s 1912 gift to the U.S. of 3,020 cherry trees.The Library will host a virtual presentation series Wednesday through Friday, April 6 to 8, exploring visual art and stories from the Library’s collections. On Saturday, April 9, the Library will host its annual Japanese Culture...- Date: 2022-03-01
February 2022
-
February 25, 2022 (22-015)Library of Congress Acquires Joan Miró's 'Makemono' Scroll The Library of Congress has acquired Joan Miró’s “Makemono,” a 32-foot-long illustrated scroll the Catalan surrealist painter created in 1956, modeled after picture and calligraphic scrolls of ancient East Asian origin. The color lithograph on silk scroll joins other original prints and illustrated books by Miró, both in the Aramont Library and the Rosenwald Collection in the Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division.Miró...- Date: 2022-02-25
-
February 9, 2022 (22-013)Supreme Court Fellows Annual Lecture to Feature U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer The Law Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Fellows Program will present a conversation with Associate Justice Stephen Breyer for the 2022 Supreme Court Fellows Program Annual Lecture on Thursday, February 17 at 3:30 p.m. EST.This event will be live-streamed on the Library’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/TavyI9kRuPM. Law Librarian of Congress Aslihan Bulut will introduce the event, and Counselor to the Chief Justice...- Date: 2022-02-09
January 2022
-
January 26, 2022 (22-007)Library to Archive American Society of Landscape Architects' Award-Winning Projects The Library of Congress and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced today a collaboration to archive the society’s Professional Award winning projects, the first time that collections representing the international landscape architecture profession will be archived by a U.S. federal institution.While the Library of Congress has archived collections representing the professions of architecture, design and engineering since the 1800s, this collaboration reflects...- Date: 2022-01-26
-
January 20, 2022 (22-003)Library of Congress Rolls Out Third Season of 'America Works' Podcast The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is kicking off 2022 with the much-awaited third season of “America Works,” a podcast series celebrating the diversity, resilience and creativity of American workers in the face of economic uncertainty. The new season, launched today, features riveting stories from a teacher and workers at a circus, a meat plant, a vineyard, and a now-closed Boeing...- Date: 2022-01-20