library - The Library of Congress in Washington D.C

Staff from the Library's National Library Service for the Blind & Print Disabled read holiday poems and essays, including "Christmas" by Washington Irving, "Now Winter Nights Enlarge" by Thomas Campion, "Spellbound" by Emily Bronte, "Helas!" by Oscar Wilde, "Winter Branches" by Margaret Widdemer, "Winter Fields" by John Clare, "Sonnet to Winter" by Emily Chubbuck Judson, "Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" from "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare, "A Winter Blue Jay" by Sara Teasdale, "Winter" by Walter de la Mare and "The Snow Storm" by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, Anne Applebaum (Twilight of Democracy) and Carlos Lozada (What Were We Thinking), discuss the current American frame of mind, the tenuous state of democracy and the 2020 presidential election. Applebaum is a columnist for Atlantic magazine; Lozada is a critic with The Washington Post. Part of our National Book Festival Presents Timely Topic series, which presents thoughtful discussions on pressing themes.

A 2020 holiday message from Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

Today on 2020 National Book Festival highlights, we feature "Inland" author Téa Obreht in conversation with Ron Charles, fiction critic of The Washington Post. See the full video here: http://blogs.loc.gov//2020-national-book-festival-highli/

Everyday Mystery: How did the squash get its name? https://www.loc.gov//br/item/how-did-squash-get-its-name/

A medley of Library of Congress Chorale performances from past years includes "Shalom Chaverim," "Silent Night," "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

TOMORROW: Join Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and film historian Jacqueline Stewart for a discussion on American cinema in between screenings of select motion pictures added to the National Film Registry this year. Tune in to Turner Classic Movies: TCM tomorrow beginning at 8 pm ET. View the list of films added to the Registry: loc.gov/item/prn-20-082/?loclr=fbloc

The Washington Post featured the Library's latest acquisition of items from the National Woman's Party. The gift ensures the preservation of memorabilia documenting the fight for equality and women's right to vote. https://www.washingtonpost.com//womens-history-donation-v/

Today in History: iconic American composer Aaron Copland born, 1900 https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-14/

Today's NBF Highlight features Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead discussing his newest novel, "The Nickel Boys," with Marie Arana, literary director for the Library. See the full conversation here: https://blogs.loc.gov//2020-national-book-festival-highl/

SHOP SATURDAY: The Library of Congress exclusive paperweights reflect some of our artifacts and exhibits. Explore the offering in the online shop: https://library-of-congress-shop.myshopify.com/search

New for You: The Balthazar Korab Collection is now ready for research and exploration. This collection boasts an extraordinary array of architectural photography with over 540,000 items in a variety of photographic formats. The collection span the years 1950-2000 and features 500 architects in over 700 cities. Read more about the collection including a behind the scenes look at processing on the Picture This blog, https://blogs.loc.gov//ready-for-research-balthazar-kora/ Image: Kessler, Detroit receiving. Safety negative by Balthazar Korab, 1979. From the Korab Collection. Prints & Photographs Division.

Today in History: transcontinental telegraph completed, 1861; United Nations charter ratified, 1945 https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-24/

NEW FOR YOU: Henry Mancini (19241994) may be best known as the composer of The Pink Panther (1963) and Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). The Henry Mancini Papers number more than 200,000 documents which trace Mancini’s rise to fame from his earliest activities as a musician. Learn more about the collection and how to access on the In the Muse blog, https://blogs.loc.gov//henry-mancini-from-the-glenn-mill/ Image: Henry Mancini, Print Photograph, Undated, Box 695 / Folder 4, Henry Mancini Papers, Music Division.

Today on 2020 #NatBookFest Highlights: Sandra Cisneros speaks about the importance of empathy, a writer’s need to have an open heart, and the many ways that difficult times have spurred her work and imagination. Her recent book is A House of My Own: Stories from My Life (Vintage). See more at http://blogs.loc.gov//2020-national-book-festival-highli/

Today's Photographer Appreciation Month post features photographers from the Library’s Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photograph Collection. This U.S. government photography project initially documented individual farmers and the construction of planned suburban communities. The second stage focused on Southern sharecroppers and migratory agricultural workers. As the project expanded, photographers turned to recording both rural and urban conditions throughout the US as well as World War II efforts. Discover more photographers from this collection here: loc.gov//arti/fsa-and-owi-photographs-a-portrait-sampler/

Today in History: Congress passes President FDR's "Lend-Lease" Act aiding the Allies, 1941

Harvard University’s Danielle Allen is the 2020 recipient of the prestigious John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity from the Library of Congress, and historian and journalist Walter Isaacson is the acclaimed author of biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. The two discuss the theme of the Library's 2020 National Book Festival -- "Celebrating American Ingenuity" -- and what ingenuity means in today’s restive and divided America.