It’s an oft-cited fact that the Library of Congress takes into its collections a staggering 10,000 items every single day. So it’s nice to be able to talk, about what we try to give back, at least in the broadest sense of the term. Today I received the following report from Library Services (the largest …
The names ?Edward and Marian MacDowell? might not be immediately recognizable to a wide swath of the population. But try some of these names on for size: Aaron Copland, Willa Cather, Leonard Bernstein, Dorothy and DuBose Heyward, James Baldwin, and Thornton Wilder. Those are but a handful of the luminaries who spent some of their …
Another busy day!
I spent this morning in a hearing at the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, during which Librarian of Congress James Billington and our Chief Operating Officer, Jo Ann Jenkins, testified on the Library’s budget priorities for Fiscal Year 2008, which begins Oct. 1, 2007.
The Librarian discussed requests including funding to cover mandatory pay raises and price increases; a new Logistics Center at Fort Meade, Md., to address “life-safety and environmental conditions” at the Library’s current center in Landover, Md.; implementation of the Digital Talking Books program at the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; and restoration of a portion of the funds that were rescinded from the Library’s national digital preservation program, known as “NDIIPP”.
The priorities were also stated March 22 before the Senate committee’s counterpart in the House.
If you’d like to learn more about the Library’s budget, after the jump I have included the full text of a story on the March 22 House hearing from the Library’s “Gazette,” which is our snazzy in-house newsletter that normally resides behind a firewall. (If you’re curious why it’s firewalled, then you might ask how many among you are really interested in esoterica such as Metrochek distribution.)
By the way, one of the reasons for the blog is to make some of our in-house content more publicly available. To wit, the budget story follows …
Kansas takes centerstage “Today in History,” as a pair of Sunflower State notables are celebrated, including playwright William Inge, born this day in 1913.
Good Housekeeping is probably best known both as a magazine and for its famous “Seal.” Today’s “TIH” hearkens back to this day in 1885 when the magazine itself was first launched.
The webcast from Monday?s big Waldseem?Map event is now up. (RealMedia streaming file, 36:59.) The previous link has also been updated. UPDATE: It has been suggested that the link to the webcast is broken, but it doesn?t appear so on my machine. Anyone else having trouble with it?
Several commenters in recent days have been attempting to post off-topic comments in the form of a hack that is designed to circumvent certain copyright protections. These comments will not be approved, and any commenters who persist in this manner are subject to being banned from commenting. (See the disclaimer found above the comments box.) …
Lest the day slip completely away from me � and so as to keep my newfound “TIH” autodidacticism intact � I point to today’s edition remembering the day in 1931 when the lights first went on at that famous magnet for oversized apes, the Empire State Building. I’ve only been to the top once, but …
It’s a busy day and a busy month at the Library of Congress! Not only is today Law Day, but it marks the kickoff of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. We’ve issued a news release detailing how the Library is observing the month, and launched a Web site gathering several related Library collections and resources together …
As a followup to yesterday?s blurb about the fire at the Georgetown branch of the DC Public Library ? although I didn?t know it at the time of posting, the Library of Congress is working to lend a hand. Here is a statement I received from staff in our Preservation Directorate: Ginnie Cooper, Chief Librarian …