Archive for July 2015 (14 posts)

Pics of the Week: Step Right Up, Folks!

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Today we bring you a trio of images from this week’s display of items found in the Library’s collections by our Library of Congress Junior Fellows–36 interns from around the nation who dig through our collections during their 10-week stays and showcase their findings at summer’s end. Chosen each year through a competitive program, the fellows fan out across the Library, assisting with archiving, analytical tasks and other work that is valuable to us and fascinating for them.

To the right, Junior Fellow Gina Apone of Washington, Michigan, who attends Michigan State

Gina Apone and George Thuronyi

Gina Apone and George Thuronyi

University, joins Copyright Office staffer George Thuronyi in displaying items found in Copyright’s files pertaining to a famous American circus of the 1890s, “The Great Wallace Shows.” Step right up, folks!

Below, you’ll see  Junior Fellow Joseph Patton of LeRoy, New York, who attends SUNY at Buffalo and worked this summer with the Library’s Veterans History Project, overseeing a display about the VHP histories of two Navy veterans. Norman Duberstein, a WWII Navy fighter pilot, put in a collection rich with materials concerning the Pacific war, including photos of Duberstein and others in his squadron, creative works by members of that group and two of Duberstein’s own combat diaries. The late James Davis Mayhew, who served as a radioman aboard the battleship U.S.S. New Mexico, provided photos, letters including his own cartoons, and documents pertaining to the battles his ship engaged in. The 15-year-old VHP, which specializes in oral histories in which veterans of U.S. wars are interviewed about their service, expects to collect its 100,000th oral history this year.

Joseph Patton at the Junior Fellows VHP table

Joseph Patton at the Junior Fellows VHP table

And this photo shows Junior Fellows Olivia Brum of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, who attends Alfred University, and Nicolas Kivi of Midland, Michigan, a student at the University of Tennessee, speaking with Associate Librarian for Library Services Mark Sweeney about a glass flute from the Library’s Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection, which they analyzed for preservation purposes. The Miller collection, which holds nearly 1,700 flutes from around the world, is housed in the Library’s Music Division.

Junior Fellows describing their preservation analysis of a glass flute

Junior Fellows Olivia Brum and Nicolas Kivi describing their preservation analysis of a glass flute

Hypothesis of a Culture

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April Rodriguez, one of 36 Library of Congress Junior Fellow Summer Interns, wrote the following post while working in the Library’s American Folklife Center. Rodriguez recently received a master’s degree in library information studies from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She also has a background in sound engineering and film archiving, and she was […]

The Art of Acquisition

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(The following is a feature story in the July/August 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. The story was written by Jennifer Gavin, a senior public affairs specialist in the Office of Communications. Joseph Puccio, the Library’s collection development officer, contributed to this story. You can read the issue in its entirety here.) The […]

Two Worlds Collide – Erich Leinsdorf Meets Janis Joplin

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The following post has been written by Kevin McBrien, one of 36 college students participating in the Library of Congress 2015 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program. McBrien graduated in May from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in music history and literature. He begins graduate school in the fall and hopes […]

History You Could Really Sink Your Teeth Into

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E.L. Doctorow, a giant of American letters who uplifted the genre of the historical novel, died yesterday at the age of 84. The author of “Ragtime,” “World’s Fair,” “Billy Bathgate,” “The March,” “Welcome to Hard Times” and “Andrew’s Brain,” among many other works of fiction, will be much missed. Doctorow was the recipient of the […]

Curators’ Picks: The Art of Theatrical Design

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The following is a feature from the May/June 2015 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. Co-curators Daniel Boomhower and Walter Zvonchenko of the Music Division highlight items from the Library’s exhibition, “Grand Illusion: The Art of Theatrical Design.” This week is your last chance to stop by the Library to see what’s on […]

Inquiring Minds: An Interview With Author James McGrath Morris

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James McGrath Morris is an author, columnist and radio show host. He writes primarily biographies and works of narrative nonfiction. He discusses his newest book, “Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press,” tomorrow, July 21, at the Library. Read more about it here. Tell us about your new book ”Eye […]

Look What I Discovered: Life as a Mary Wolfskill Trust Fund Intern

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Today’s post has been written by Logan Tapscott, one of 36 college students participating in the Library of Congress 2015 Junior Fellows Summer Intern Program. Tapscott is completing a modified dual degree through the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education: a master of arts degree in public history from Shippensburg University and a masters in […]

Letters About Literature: Dear Mary Oliver

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In this final installment of our Letters About Literature spotlight, we feature the Level 3 National Prize-winning letter of Aidan Kingwell of Illinois, who wrote to Mary Oliver about her poem “When Death Comes.” Kingwell’s poem also recently made the news. Letters About Literature, a national reading and writing program that asks young people in grades […]

Willie Nelson to Receive Gershwin Prize

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(The following is an article featured in the Library of Congress staff newsletter, The Gazette, written by editor Mark Hartsell.) So great is his impact on music, even folks who never bought a country album instantly recognize Willie Nelson: the headband, grizzled beard and long braids; the quavering, nasal voice and off-beat phrasing; the sound […]