Press Releases

Occasional announcements about the Geography and Map Division collections, noteworthy acquisitions, and events are published on our press releases page.

  • November 8, 2022  (22-100)
    Library Explores the Role of GIS in Addressing Humanitarian Disasters The Library of Congress will highlight the role that geospatial data and GIS technologies can play in creating positive change in the face of global humanitarian challenges to mark GIS Day on Nov. 16. Geography enthusiasts, teachers, students and professionals celebrate GIS Day across the globe with community events to highlight the benefits of geospatial science and technology in addressing the world’s challenges. This…
    • Date: 2022-11-09
  • October 26, 2022  (20-094)
    Library of Congress Acquires Rare Codex from Central Mexico The Library of Congress has acquired the San Salvador Huejotzingo Codex, which documents legal proceedings from 1571 in which Indigenous Nahuatl officials in central Mexico accused their village’s Spanish canon, or administrator, of mistreatment, harassment and underpayment.The codex contains new details about the earliest legal structures in Mexico after Spanish colonization and the way Indigenous people used Spanish laws to defend their rights. The…
    • Date: 2022-10-27
  • November 11, 2021  (21-069)
    Library of Congress Celebrates GIS Day Focused on the 2020 Census This year’s GIS Day at the Library of Congress, an event held annually during Geography Awareness Week, will focus on the 2020 Census, which provides a snapshot of American demographics like no other geospatial sources available. Geography is a cornerstone of the census and geographic information systems help map and analyze the spatial distribution of people, goods, programs and services. GIS offers real-world applications…
    • Date: 2021-11-12
  • March 1, 2021  (21-010)
    Library of Congress Builds New Collections Documenting COVID-19 Pandemic As the world marks the one-year anniversary of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Library of Congress has been collecting materials and documenting this time in history through a variety of initiatives.The Library’s rapid-response collecting since the start of lockdowns and social distancing measures over the past year has included acquiring photographs that document the pandemic’s impact on individuals and communities, capturing artists’ responses to…
    • Date: 2021-03-02
  • November 9, 2020  (20-073)
    Library to Host Experts on Mapping COVID-19 Pandemic for GIS Day 2020 The Library of Congress will mark GIS Day on Nov. 18 with special programs featuring geographic information science professionals and analysts who are documenting the outbreak of COVID-19.For cartographers and epidemiologists tracking the spread, evolution and mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as the distribution of a potential vaccine and personal protective equipment, the outbreak of COVID-19 has presented a geospatial analysis challenge…
    • Date: 2020-11-10
  • February 5, 2020  (20-001)
    Library Announces Annual Cherry Blossom Festival Events The Library of Congress announces two cultural events during the 2020 National Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual commemoration of Japan’s 1912 gift to the U.S. of 3,020 cherry trees. An artwork display and book launch for “Cherry Blossoms: Sakura Collections from the Library of Congress” will kick off the Library’s celebration on Thursday, April 9. The gift book visualizes the fascinating history of cherry…
    • Date: 2020-02-06
  • November 11, 2019  (19-110)
    New, Vivid History of Pre- and Post-Columbian Art Featured in 'Collecting for a New World' A new book explores the history of the early Americas — a story of before and after, defined and divided by the pivotal moment of contact, in 1492, between Europeans and the indigenous cultures of the New World — told through the collection of early American treasures in the Library of Congress.On the European side, this is a tale of exploration, high-stakes treasure seeking…
    • Date: 2019-11-12
  • October 29, 2019  (19-103)
    Library of Congress Hosts GIS Day 2019 The Library of Congress will celebrate GIS (Geographic Information Science) Day on Nov. 13 with an all-day series of talks on the use of GIS technology and 3D mapping in cultural heritage preservation and disaster response.The discussions will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in LJ-119 on the first floor of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street.…
    • Date: 2019-10-30
  • June 13, 2019  (19-065)
    Librarian of Congress Appoints Michelle Light Director of Special Collections Michelle Light, formerly director of Special Collections and Archives at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has been named director of the Library of Congress’ Special Collections Directorate. She began work in her new position on May 28. Light’s professional career in libraries spans 26 years and includes positions of progressive responsibility: head of Special Collections Technical Services at the University of Washington; head…
    • Date: 2019-06-14
  • December 6, 2018  (18-145)
    Library Announces Grant for Research Using World's Largest Map Collection The John W. Kluge Center and the Philip Lee Phillips Map Society at the Library of Congress invite qualified scholars to apply for a grant to conduct research for two months at the Kluge Center using the Geography and Map Division’s collections and resources.The Philip Lee Phillips Society Fellowship will award $11,500 to selected scholars with the possibility of an additional $2,000 as an…
    • Date: 2018-12-07
  • August 27, 2018  (18-107)
    Indigenous Inca, Taíno, Maya & Nahua Legacies Featured in Gallery Talks This fall, the Library of Congress will present a series of four gallery talks in the exhibit “Exploring the Early Americas.” The talks will focus on the everyday lives of the indigenous people of the ancient Americas and the newly developing connection between archaeology and neuroscience.Starting in September, lectures will be held monthly through December on Wednesdays from noon to 1 p.m. in the…
    • Date: 2018-08-28
  • June 17, 2018  (18-076)
    Geographers on Film Series Tells the Story of the 20th Century in America The Library of Congress’ Geography and Map division, in collaboration with the American Association of Geographers, has digitized an archive of more than 300 filmed interviews, called “Geographers on Film,” which highlights leading voices that transformed the discipline of cartography and geography in the 20th century in America.The complete series has been digitally preserved by the Library of Congress’ Audio-Visual Conservation Laboratory and the…
    • Date: 2018-06-18
  • April 26, 2018  (18-055)
    Library of Congress Facilitates Access to Collections Through Innovative Technology The Library of Congress has launched three new online interactive sites that highlight creative ways to facilitate the accessibility of thousands of collections, using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based tool to create story maps.Presenting the information in a curated format, story maps allow users to combine text, images and multimedia content in an online application that tells stories through data and the capabilities of…
    • Date: 2018-04-27
  • March 7, 2018  (18-017)
    Library of Congress Offers Free Spring Activities Spring season brings warm temperatures, fresh flowers and free Library of Congress programming celebrating women in history, poetry, literature, art and science while introducing patrons to international culture and history with lectures, symposiums, book talks and a pop-up display.The Library recently announced the official events that will be held in conjunction with the National Cherry Blossom Festival , as well as a host of…
    • Date: 2018-03-08
  • December 7, 2017  (17-176)
    Spend the Chilly Months Inside the Library of Congress This winter season, the Library will host a multitude of free programming that highlight musical genius, showcase film, open the doors of the Main Reading Room and introduces patrons to a world of knowledge and recent findings with lectures, symposiums and book talks. Winter is the perfect time for music enthusiasts to reserve their tickets for the spring “Concerts from the Library of Congress”…
    • Date: 2017-12-08
  • November 20, 2017  (17-155)
    Library of Congress Acquires Extremely Rare Mesoamerican Codex The Library of Congress has acquired the Codex Quetzalecatzin, one of the very few Mesoamerican manuscripts to survive from the 16th century. After being in private collections for more than 100 years, the codex has been digitally preserved and made available online for the first time to the general public at loc.gov/resource/g4701g.ct009133/.The codex, also known as the Mapa de Ecatepec-Huitziltepec, represents one of the…
    • Date: 2017-11-21
  • October 31, 2017  (17-163)
    Library Symposium on Geographic Information Systems The Library of Congress will celebrate GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day on Nov. 14 with an all-day series of talks on the use of GIS technology in the federal government and academia.The discussions will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the Montpelier Room on the sixth floor of the James Madison Memorial Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E.,…
    • Date: 2017-11-01
  • September 10, 2017  (17-118)
    Autumn Events at the Library of Congress The Library of Congress will host an array of programming this fall season that celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, welcomes a new poet laureate and introduces new ways to experience the nation’s library through author talks, tours and online offerings. After opening with a spectacular 2017 National Book Festival, the Library is following up with a commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month, beginning Sept. 15 with…
    • Date: 2017-09-11
  • May 24, 2017  (17-074)
    Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Now Online The Library of Congress has placed online nearly 25,000 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, which depict the structure and use of buildings in U.S. cities and towns. Maps will be added monthly until 2020, for a total of approximately 500,000.The online collection now features maps published prior to 1900.  The states available include Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota,…
    • Date: 2017-05-25
  • May 11, 2017  (17-073)
    Golden Age of Pictorial Maps Is Subject of Book Discussion Pictorial maps – maps that include artwork of objects, animals, people and even imaginary creatures – have been around since medieval times. The tradition continued to the modern era, reaching its apex in the 1920s-1970s in the United States.The Library of Congress has an extensive collection of these maps in its Geography and Map Division. Many of the maps reproduced in “Picturing America: The…
    • Date: 2017-05-12
  • April 23, 2017  (17-056)
    Forthcoming Events at the Library of Congress May-July 2017 Note: Events subject to change; all telephone numbers are 202 area code; additional venue information provided below listingsMay 1 – June 30DISPLAYOngoing display of JFK materials that includes special biographical information about JFK and books written by the former president. Also featured are books about Kennedy in foreign languages. Available for view Monday - Saturday, 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. in the Great Hall South…
    • Date: 2017-04-24
  • April 3, 2017  (17-044)
    "Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I" Opens Today The Library of Congress today opens a major exhibition to commemorate the centennial of World War I.  “Echoes of the Great War: American Experiences of World War I” tells the stories of Americans in the war, through correspondence, music, film, recorded sound, diaries, posters, photographs, scrapbooks, medals, maps and materials from the Veterans History Project.The exhibition is located in the Southwest Gallery on the…
    • Date: 2017-04-04
  • March 30, 2017  (17-040)
    Library Offers Events and Initiatives to Commemorate World War I The Library of Congress continues its array of programming to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War I.  The events and initiatives include exhibitions, lectures, symposia, blogs, publications, digitized collections, War Gardens, veterans’ stories, educational tools, film programs and research guides.The Library is uniquely prepared to tell the story of U.S. participation in World War I, because it holds the…
    • Date: 2017-03-31
  • March 23, 2017  (17-034)
    Library Publishes New Book, "Picturing America: The Golden Age of Pictorial Maps" Designed to educate, amuse, or advertise, pictorial maps were a clever and colorful component of print culture in the mid-20th century, often overlooked in studies of cartography. A new book published by the Library of Congress in association with the University of Chicago Press, “Picturing America: The Golden Age of Pictorial Maps,” by Stephen J. Hornsby, celebrates these vibrant maps, tracing their development and…
    • Date: 2017-03-24
  • February 8, 2017  (17-018)
    New Chief for Geography and Map Division Paulette Marie Hasier has been appointed chief of the Geography and Map Division at the Library of Congress. Hasier has nearly 20 years of library and geospatial information program management experience, most recently as branch chief of the U. S. National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s GEOINT Research Center and Pentagon Map Library. Hasier is the ninth person and first woman to be named chief of…
    • Date: 2017-02-09
  • November 3, 2016  (16-197)
    All-Day Series of Talks to Focus on Geographic Information Systems The Library of Congress will celebrate GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day on Nov. 16 with an all-day series of talks on the use of GIS technology in the federal government, the private sector, academia and K-12 schools.
    • Date: 2016-11-04
  • October 6, 2016  (16-176)
    New Website on Martin Waldseemüller And His 1507 Map, the "Birth Certificate of America" The Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress and the Galileo Museum in Florence, Italy, today unveiled a multi-media interactive website that celebrates the life and times of 16th-century cartographer Martin Waldseemüller.
    • Date: 2016-10-07
  • September 8, 2016  (16-157)
    Dava Sobel to Discuss "Mapping the Elusive Southern Sky," Oct. 6 Dava Sobel, the best-selling author and historian of science, will discuss early efforts to chart the stars, for the Library of Congress’ annual Jay I. Kislak Lecture in the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas, on Oct. 6.
    • Date: 2016-09-09
  • August 31, 2016  (16-146)
    "Mapping a Growing Nation" Exhibition Replaces "Mapping a New Nation" The Library of Congress today opens “Mapping a Growing Nation: From Independence to Statehood,” which replaces the three-year-old exhibition “Mapping a New Nation: Abel Buell’s Map of the United States, 1784.” The rare Abel Buell map remains on display, joined by seven state maps and a railroad map.
    • Date: 2016-09-01
  • August 30, 2016  (16-142)
    Cartography Conference Will Celebrate 1516 Carta Marina and Focus on Mysterious Maps A conference hosted by the Library of Congress will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Waldseemüller’s Carta Marina and focus on some of the most mysterious maps of the medieval and early modern periods.
    • Date: 2016-08-31
  • July 31, 2016  (16-127)
    Maya Hieroglyphic Language, Theory and Decipherment Seminars To Be Held at Library The Library of Congress in September will begin hosting monthly seminars of the Pre-Columbian Society that focus on the epigraphy and hieroglyphics of the early Americas.
    • Date: 2016-08-01
  • July 13, 2016  (16-114)
    Library of Congress Acquires Archives of the American Association of Geographers The American Association of Geographers—a nonprofit scientific and educational society founded in 1904—is donating its archives to the Library of Congress, which holds the largest map and geography collection in the world.
    • Date: 2016-07-14
  • May 30, 2016  (16-094)
    Library of Congress Appoints Junior Fellows to 2016 Summer Intern Program A panel of Library curators and specialists has selected 38 undergraduate and graduate students from among nearly 800 applicants to participate in the Library’s 2016 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program.
    • Date: 2016-05-31
  • April 16, 2015  (15-068)
    Conference on the Cartographic History of Polar Exploration, May 14-15 The history and cartography of the Arctic and the Antarctic—including the modern mapping of the poles that highlights dramatic changes during the last five decades—will be the topic of a conference at the Library of Congress, May 14-15.
    • Date: 2015-04-17
  • March 10, 2015  (15-036)
    Kislak Lecture to Examine Forensic Imaging of Historic Manuscripts, April 9 Michael B. Toth will speak and lead a roundtable discussion on the study of historic manuscripts using contemporary forensic technologies in the eighth Jay I. Kislak Lecture at the Library.
    • Date: 2015-03-11
  • July 17, 2014  (14-119)
    Library Presents Special Display on History, Technology and Sociology of the Bicycle, Aug. 8 The Library of Congress on Aug. 8 will present a special display of materials from the Library’s collections on the history, technology and sociology of the bicycle.
    • Date: 2014-07-18
  • June 30, 2014  (14-113)
    "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor" Exhibition at Library of Congress To Display 1215 Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta from England From Nov. 6, 2014 through Jan. 19, 2015, the Library of Congress will display one of only four surviving copies of Magna Carta from 1215, the great charter of rights and liberties.
    • Date: 2014-07-01
  • April 14, 2014  (14-061)
    Library of Congress Holds Conference May 15-16 On the History of 20th Century Cartography and Beyond Scholars will gather at the Library of Congress to look back at the long history of cartography in the 20th century and glance at what is coming in the future.
    • Date: 2014-04-15
  • March 9, 2014  (14-042)
    Richard Hansen to Deliver Kislak Lecture On Origins and Collapse of Preclassic Maya in the Mirador Basin, Guatemala Richard Hansen, a distinguished American archaeologist of the early Maya civilization, will deliver the seventh Jay I. Kislak Lecture, focusing on the extraordinary concentration of large and early ancient Maya cities nestled in the Mirador Basin of northern Guatemala.
    • Date: 2014-03-10
  • November 20, 2013  (13-207)
    Rare Abel Buell Map of the United States from 1784 Is Now on Display at Library of Congress A new exhibition at the Library of Congress, “Mapping a New Nation: Abel Buell’s Map of the United States, 1784,” showcases the first map of the newly independent United States that was compiled, printed and published in America by an American.
    • Date: 2013-11-21
  • September 15, 2013  (13-157)
    Library of Congress to Exhibit Rare Abel Buell Map of the United States from 1784 The Library of Congress on Oct. 14 will open “Mapping a New Nation: Abel Buell’s Map of the United States, 1784,” an exhibition featuring the first map of the newly independent United States that was compiled, printed and published in America by an American.
    • Date: 2013-09-16
  • May 28, 2013  (13-111)
    Library of Congress Appoints Junior Fellows to 2013 Summer Intern Program A panel of Library curators and specialists has selected 41 college students from among more than 1,100 applicants to participate in the Library’s 2013 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program.
    • Date: 2013-05-29
  • May 16, 2013  (13-100)
    All of Martin Waldseemüller's Cartographic Works On Display for Five Weeks at Library of Congress An exhibit, “Redrawing Ptolemy: The Maps of Martin Waldseemüller,” which accompanies a cartography conference today at the Library of Congress, will remain on display for five weeks, through Saturday, June 22.
    • Date: 2013-05-17
  • April 28, 2013  (13-081)
    Conference on "Re-Drawing Ptolemy: The Cartography Of Martin Waldseemüller and Mathias Ringmann," May 17-18 A Library of Congress conference on May 17 and 18 will bring together scholars who have worked to answer some of the outstanding historical questions relating to the entire Waldseemüller body of work and that of his fellow cartographer Mathias Ringmann.
    • Date: 2013-04-29
  • April 4, 2013  (13-069)
    Cartographer to Discuss Work of Renaissance Astronomer and Mathematician John W. Hessler, a noted cartographer and specialist in the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, has just published the first scholarly publication on the “Schöner Sammelband,” a collection of maps and notes made by the Nuremberg astronomer and mathematician Johannes Schöner (d. 1547).
    • Date: 2013-04-05
  • February 7, 2013  (13-024)
    Rare Renaissance Maps Subject of New Library Publication One of the most important compilations of Renaissance cartographic materials is the subject of a new volume to be published in March by the Library of Congress.
    • Date: 2013-02-08
  • August 20, 2012  (12-154)
    Two Renaissance World Maps are Focus of New Library Publication The Library of Congress is publishing a new book on two 16th-century maps that fundamentally changed the way the world was viewed.
    • Date: 2012-08-21
  • April 24, 2012  (12-087)
    Visualizing the Nation's Capital: Two Centuries of Mapping Washington D.C., May 18-19 The Library of Congress on May 18 and 19 will present the first conference devoted to mapping the nation’s capital, covering the period from Pierre-Charles L’Enfant’s 1791 Plan of the City of Washington to the present.
    • Date: 2012-04-25
  • March 27, 2012  (12-064)
    Library Conference to Address Two Centuries of Mapping Washington, D.C., May 18-19 On May 18 the Library will host "Visualizing the Nation’s Capital: Two Centuries of Mapping Washington, D.C.”
    • Date: 2012-03-28
  • May 16, 2011  (11-104)
    "Earth as Art" Exhibition Opens May 31 When Earth is viewed from space, cloud formations, coastlines, mountain ranges, islands, deltas, glaciers and rivers take on patterns resembling abstract art. These images can be seen in a new exhibit at the Library of Congress, starting May 31.
    • Date: 2011-05-17