New on Library of Congress

The Library of Congress and Sony Music Entertainment today unveiled a new website of more than 10,000 rare historic sound recordings available to the public for the first time digitally.

The Library's home page at www.loc.gov has been expanded, enhanced and improved. Read more about the update.

Selected items from the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection are now accessible on the Library of Congress’ American Memory website.

A new, easy-to-use guide to navigating the public spaces of the Library of Congress.

A specially-designed 18-wheel truck will bring treasures and information from the Library of Congress into cities and towns across America beginning in September 2010. Follow the path!

It's National Book Festival Week 2010! Celebrate the 10th annual event on our Facebook "BOOKFEST" tab by telling your friends your favorite places to read, or giving them gifts from the Library of Congress's Thomas Jefferson Building.

The schedule for this year's National Book Festival has been published.

The story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) is a chapter from World War II nearly forgotten for over 30 years. The first American women trained to fly military aircraft, the WASP logged over 60 million miles between 1942 and 1944 ferrying planes, towing targets, testing planes and training pilots. But they were civil servants, never fully incorporated into the armed forces. In 1977, after Air Force women began training for the first time to fly planes, Congress passed legislation to belatedly give the true pioneers, the WASP, veteran status. And in 2009, surviving WASP veterans were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Creative activities for kids based on the 2010 Library of Congress National Book Festival.

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with U.S. political figure Henry Clay (1777-1852). This resource guide compiles links to digital materials related to Clay such as manuscripts, letters, broadsides, government documents, and images that are available throughout the Library of Congress website.

The latest issue of the Wise Guide to the Library of Congress website features fascinating facts on Maryland, ping-pong, flutes, jazz photos and jailbreaks.

A panel discussion on "We Were Pirates: A Torpedoman's Pacific War," which chronicles the service of Robert Hunt, a U.S. Navy submariner who served on 12 consecutive missions aboard the Tambor.

The latest issue of the Library of Congress Information Bulletin includes stories on the Library's acquisition of the Twitter archives, the Dayton Miller flute collection, work at the Iraqi National Library and Archives, maps, flight, poetry and more.

Bob Hope, who entertainment historian and critic Leonard Maltin declared “may be the most popular entertainer in the history of Western civilization,” was arguably the nation’s best-loved topical humorist during the twentieth century. This exhibition draws from the personal papers, joke files, films, radio and television broadcasts, and other materials donated to the Library of Congress by Bob Hope and his family.

From the Preservation Division: Characterization of coated fabrics from historic collections of 19th Century hot-air balloon fragments.

New in the Prints and Photographs Division: A visual diary with 158 pencil sketches brings to life the wartime experience of noted architect Victor A. Lundy, who served in the U.S. 26th Infantry Division during World War II.

The latest issue of the Wise Guide to the Library of Congress website features fascinating facts on anarchism, flutes, Bob Hope and hot-air balloons.

The exhibition As the Old Sing, So the Young Twitter takes its inspiration from the musical and verbal relationship between birds and flutes. In the often archaic definitions of words like"twitter," "chatter," "record," and "warble" are links between birdsong and human music making. Using these four words, this exhibition explores the different realms of flute-playing, from the lively to the serene, and takes an etymological and iconographic journey through the depth and breadth of the Library of Congress collections relating to the flute.

The photographs in the John D. Whiting Collection document two related subject areas: (1) places, events, and people in the Middle East, and (2) daily life among members and associates at the American Colony in Jerusalem. More than 3,200 images cover the years 1870 to 1951, with the bulk dating from 1900 to 1940. From the Prints and Photographs Division.

The latest issue of the Wise Guide to the Library of Congress website features fascinating facts on the Twitter archives, a remarkable gift, a very funny guy and volcano preparedness.

Library of Congress activities at the 2010 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, Washington, D.C.

Nestled between the epic cataclysm that was World War II and the roiling controversy that was Vietnam, Korea is too often referred to as the forgotten war. A new presentation of the Library's Veterans History Project.

Finding aids to collections in the Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center.

The latest issue of the Library of Congress Information Bulletin includes stories on the 10th anniversary of the Veterans History Project, the Gershwin Prize, a 400-year old map and a new ambassador for children's literature.

The information and sample article links provide access to a sampling of articles from historic newspapers that can be found in the Chronicling America: American Historic Newspapers digital collection.

A resource for publishers, editors, and the general public. Find information on the wide variety of publications published by the Library of Congress, learn about co-publishing opportunities, and browse webcasts and audio clips related to recent publications.

News from the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Gay members of the Armed Forces have had to live with an extra layer of discretion and professionalism. Here are stories of men and women who served their country while balancing the need to keep their private lives private.

One of our most popular features gets a makeover, improving design and usability.

A guide to Benjamin Franklin's "Autobiography," both an important historical document and Franklin's major literary work.