JULY 3 AND 4 HOLIDAY NOTICE: The Thomas Jefferson Building will be open to visitors with timed-entry tickets on Friday July 3rd, and Saturday July 4, from 10:00am – 5:00pm. The Main Reading Room and The Source will be open to the public from 10:00am – 5:00pm. All other reading rooms are closed in observance of the federal holiday, and there will be no research availability or reader registration on both days.
“Making the Declaration” Webinar
This webinar will explore the intellectual sources and material processes that allowed the Declaration of Independence to be made over the course of twenty-three days in the summer of 1776. The audience will learn about the texts and traditions that Thomas Jefferson drew upon while writing the first draft, the revision process within the Continental Congress that led to the final version of the…
Contributor:
Hastings, Patrick
Date:2026-06-11
Film, Video
Literacy Awards Webinar: Exemplifying New Models for Literacy Promotion
The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate how they define literacy. In this Webinar, 4 organizations, Indy Reads, Knowledge Empowering Youth, READ Global, and Richland County Public Library’s Education Studio…
Contributor:
Marshood, Ruba - Sanchez, Joe - Volk, Megan - Beckerle, Hana - Kerich, Gladys - Wirth, Amanda
Contributor:
Johnson, Ahmed - Carter, Henry - Yarasavage, Nathan
Date:2026-06-10
Film, Video
Geography and Map Division Virtual Orientation: Mapping America’s 250th Anniversary with Graphics
Join the Geography and Map Division to discover some of our many collection materials related to the 250th anniversary of the United States (A250), from Revolutionary War battle maps, to George Washington’s property maps, to Lewis and Clark’s exploration maps. In celebration of this milestone, learn about our A250-themed partnership with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). The partnership…
Contributor:
Carmouze, Meg - Pearcy, Amber - Mattson, Lena - Pastuch, Carissa
Date:2026-06-09
Film, Video
Transcribing The American Revolution In Context
Commemorate 250 years of the United States with the Library of Congress volunteer transcription program, By the People!Dive into our shared history by transcribing the historic texts included in The American Revolution in Context. From diaries and letters to cookbooks, pamphlets, sheet music, and maps, these volunteer transcription projects from across Library of Congress collections provide context for understanding colonial America through the Revolution…
Contributor:
Osborn, Carlyn - Algee, Lauren
Date:2026-06-04
Film, Video
Lookin’ Sharp: Reflections on the Zoot Suit and Black Style
With its bold design and unique style, the zoot suit is woven deeply into the fabric of American history. Spend the afternoon with historian and curator Monica L. Miller (Barnard College) who will discuss the history of the iconic suit and her book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. The virtual program will highlight Library of Congress collections…
Contributor:
Miller, Monica - McCarthy-Clark, Andrew - Healey-Brooks, Taylor
Date:2026-05-28
Film, Video
Parliamentary Rules and Sanctions for Language and Behavior in New Zealand and Australia
The Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar Series is designed to shed light on foreign and comparative law issues currently being researched by foreign law and international law experts at the Law Library of Congress.During the past 2 years, several members of parliament in Australia and New Zealand have faced sanctions for their behavior in the debating chamber. Suspensions have been handed down for performing…
Contributor:
Buchanan, Kelly
Date:2026-05-28
Film, Video
Literacy Awards Webinar: Boosting Family Engagement Through Literacy and Learning
The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate how they define literacy. In this Webinar, Book Harvest’s Books from Birth Program, Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug Program, and WETA’s Colorín Colorado demonstrate…
Finding Pictures: Twentieth-Century Ephemera
Join us for insights into the lives of Americans as represented through the ephemeral world of commercial art—objects made to be used for a short time. Archivist Owen Ellis and Curator Sara W. Duke will talk about packaging, trading cards, design drawings, greeting cards, labels, advertisements, and more. The Library received these fascinating items through the U.S. Copyright deposit program between 1909 and 1978.
Contributor:
Ellis, Owen - Duke, Sara
Date:2026-05-20
Film, Video
Lunch and Learn Webinar: Using Secondary Resources in Legal Research
This Lunch and Learn webinar will provide an overview of secondary sources such as legal encyclopedias, treatises and dictionaries. In addition, the webinar will provide examples to show how these resources are used in practice. The presentation will demonstrate how secondary sources are an important step in the legal research method and how they can guide researchers to primary sources. Many of the materials…
Contributor:
Kane-Cruz, Olivia
Date:2026-05-19
Film, Video
Made at the Library: Brooke Newman “The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy”
Historian Brooke Newman of Virginia Commonwealth University will discuss her book, “The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas,” with Manuscript Division historian Julie Miller. Dr. Miller is the curator of the Library’s ongoing exhibition, “The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution.” Dr. Newman will describe her research for the book, and discuss her…
Contributor:
Newman, Brooke - Miller, Julie
Date:2026-05-04
Film, Video
Demystifying Audiovisual Preservation
This webinar will provide a brief overview of preservation management basics for analog audio, video, and film collections. Specific topics will include: identification, care and handling, planning preservation projects, and digitization best practices.
Law Day 2026: The Declaration of Independence and the Rule of Law
On April 30 at 3 p.m., the Law Library of Congress and the American Bar Association cohosted our annual Law Day celebration. Dr. Andrew Shankman, in conversation with Dr. Kevin Butterfield, helped us celebrate Law Day and America 250 by discussing what the philosophical and historical context of the Declaration of Independence can teach us about the rule of law in America.
Contributor:
Shankman, Andrew - Bulut, Aslihan - Butterfield, Kevin - Flowers, Michael
Date:2026-04-30
Film, Video
Preservation Science for Recordings On Magnetic Tape
The Library of Congress holds a collection of over half a million audio recordings on magnetic tape, and its collection suffers the same physical maladies that are familiar to audiovisual curators worldwide: sticky, shedding, and squealing audio tape materials. These symptoms of deterioration well known, but the possible causes and remedies for degradation still inspire passioned debate. The highly commercialized and mass-produced nature of…
Contributor:
Parks, Amelia - Davis, Andrew - Martyniak, Cathleen
Date:2026-04-30
Film, Video
Surveying Rolled Wall Maps
This presentation will highlight the collaboration between the Conversation Division and Geography and Map Division to complete the Survey Project for Rolled Wall Maps. This multi-year project consisted of evaluating and describing upwards of 230 rolled wall maps and was driven by division-specific objectives.
Offsite Collection Retrieval
Last year, the Collections Management Division retrieved 54,770 individual items from its offsite facilities for patrons on Capitol Hill. Typically requests placed before 11am are delivered the same day and all other requests are delivered the next business day. The focus of this presentation will be on processes and procedures including the systems, staffing, and equipment used to ensure collections are delivered on time.
Contributor:
Parks, Amelia - Martin, Matt - Martyniak, Cathleen
Date:2026-04-28
Film, Video
The Reel Library: Master Negative Microfilm Collections at the Library of Congress
Although the Library has shifted toward digital, microfilm’s chapter at the Library of Congress (LOC) is far from closed. The Library of Congress has over one million reels of microfilm in its collections and microfilm are requested and used every day. Microfilm may be the only copy of important material at the LOC. The Preservation Services Division ensures that patrons to the Library can…
Literacy Awards Webinar: Bolstering K-12 Education Through Literacy Initiatives
The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate how they define literacy. In this Webinar, 4 organizations, CitySchools Collaborative, Digital Inquiry Group, Reading Assist, and SML Good Neighbors showcase how their…
Contributor:
Lietz, Lisa - Chang, Allister - Burd, Gina - Beckerle, Hana - Breakstone, Joel - O'Neal, Caroline
Date:2026-04-25
Film, Video
A Historical Legal Analysis of Citizenship in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Join foreign law specialist Louis Gilbert for a Foreign and Comparative International Law webinar on the historical legal analysis of citizenship in the Democratic Republic of Congo.In this presentation, Gilbert will trace the legal construction of Congolese nationality from the colonial period to the present, with particular attention to the North Kivu region, and examine how successive governments have used citizenship law to regulate…
Contributor:
Gilbert, Louis
Date:2026-04-23
Film, Video
Orientation to Legal Research: Tracing Federal Regulations
The Orientation to Legal Research series of webinars is designed to give a basic introduction to legal sources and research techniques. These orientations, taught by legal reference librarians, are typically offered once a month on a rotating basis.This entry in the series provides an overview of U.S. federal regulations, including information about the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, the publication and citation of regulations, and the…
Contributor:
Bavis, Barbara
Date:2026-04-16
Film, Video
Made at the Library: The Other War on Drugs: Emily Dufton and Addiction Inc.
Join historian Emily Dufton, Dr. Jerome Jaffe, drug addiction specialist and President Richard Nixon’s former “Drug Czar” for addiction treatment, and Manuscript Division historian Ryan Reft and reference librarian Kristen Reichenbach for a discussion about the nation’s history of drug treatment.
Contributor:
Reft, Ryan - Jaffe, Dr. Jerome - Dufton, Emily - Reichenbach, Kristen
Date:2026-04-15
Film, Video
Finding Pictures: Arthur Rothstein’s Photographic Legacy
Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Ann Rothstein-Segan and her husband, Brodie Hefner, as we talk about Ann’s father, the late Arthur Rothstein. Hear about Rothstein’s life and the many cultural and scientific contributions he made as a renowned photographer working for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, then for Look Magazine and other publications around the world. The Library…
Contributor:
Hefner, Brodie - Rothstein-Segan, Ann
Date:2026-04-15
Film, Video
Geography and Map Division Virtual Orientation
Join us for a virtual orientation that will provide a general introduction to the world’s largest map library, focusing on collections and resources accessible online from anywhere. Explore a treasure trove of maps, atlases, and cartographic resources followed by a Q&A; session with a map librarian.
Contributor:
Raines, Amelia - Stoner, Julie
Date:2026-04-14
Film, Video
Virtual Volunteering with By the People: Explore, Transcribe and Learn
Since 2018, volunteers with the Library of Congress’ By the People program have transcribed more than 1,000,000 historical documents — from the papers of Theodore Roosevelt and Rosa Parks to Walt Whitman and more. Learn how these efforts improve access and discovery, and find out how you can join this virtual volunteer community at crowd.loc.gov.
Literacy Awards Webinar: Get to Know the 2025 Top Prize Literacy Awards Winners
The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate what literacy means for them. In this Webinar, our 4 Top Prize Winners of 2025, Literacy Partners, Literacy Mid-South, The Louisiana Endowment for…
Contributor:
Linsey, Ameshica - Burk, Kymyona - Lopez, Michelle - Beckerle, Hana - Srour, George - Debacher, Sarah
Film, Video“Making the Declaration” Webinar This webinar will explore the intellectual sources and material processes that allowed the Declaration of Independence to be made over the course of twenty-three days in the summer of 1776. The audience will learn about the texts and traditions that Thomas Jefferson drew upon while writing the first draft, the revision process within the Continental Congress that led to the final version of the…
Film, VideoLiteracy Awards Webinar: Exemplifying New Models for Literacy Promotion The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate how they define literacy. In this Webinar, 4 organizations, Indy Reads, Knowledge Empowering Youth, READ Global, and Richland County Public Library’s Education Studio…
Film, VideoFinding your Ancestors at the Library – Using the Library of Congress for Genealogical Research Learn about Library of Congress genealogical resources to help you learn more about family members.
Film, VideoGeography and Map Division Virtual Orientation: Mapping America’s 250th Anniversary with Graphics Join the Geography and Map Division to discover some of our many collection materials related to the 250th anniversary of the United States (A250), from Revolutionary War battle maps, to George Washington’s property maps, to Lewis and Clark’s exploration maps. In celebration of this milestone, learn about our A250-themed partnership with the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). The partnership…
Film, VideoTranscribing The American Revolution In Context Commemorate 250 years of the United States with the Library of Congress volunteer transcription program, By the People!Dive into our shared history by transcribing the historic texts included in The American Revolution in Context. From diaries and letters to cookbooks, pamphlets, sheet music, and maps, these volunteer transcription projects from across Library of Congress collections provide context for understanding colonial America through the Revolution…
Film, VideoLookin’ Sharp: Reflections on the Zoot Suit and Black Style With its bold design and unique style, the zoot suit is woven deeply into the fabric of American history. Spend the afternoon with historian and curator Monica L. Miller (Barnard College) who will discuss the history of the iconic suit and her book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. The virtual program will highlight Library of Congress collections…
Film, VideoParliamentary Rules and Sanctions for Language and Behavior in New Zealand and Australia The Foreign and Comparative Law Webinar Series is designed to shed light on foreign and comparative law issues currently being researched by foreign law and international law experts at the Law Library of Congress.During the past 2 years, several members of parliament in Australia and New Zealand have faced sanctions for their behavior in the debating chamber. Suspensions have been handed down for performing…
Film, VideoLiteracy Awards Webinar: Boosting Family Engagement Through Literacy and Learning The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate how they define literacy. In this Webinar, Book Harvest’s Books from Birth Program, Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug Program, and WETA’s Colorín Colorado demonstrate…
Film, VideoFinding Pictures: Twentieth-Century Ephemera Join us for insights into the lives of Americans as represented through the ephemeral world of commercial art—objects made to be used for a short time. Archivist Owen Ellis and Curator Sara W. Duke will talk about packaging, trading cards, design drawings, greeting cards, labels, advertisements, and more. The Library received these fascinating items through the U.S. Copyright deposit program between 1909 and 1978.
Film, VideoLunch and Learn Webinar: Using Secondary Resources in Legal Research This Lunch and Learn webinar will provide an overview of secondary sources such as legal encyclopedias, treatises and dictionaries. In addition, the webinar will provide examples to show how these resources are used in practice. The presentation will demonstrate how secondary sources are an important step in the legal research method and how they can guide researchers to primary sources. Many of the materials…
Film, VideoMade at the Library: Brooke Newman “The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy” Historian Brooke Newman of Virginia Commonwealth University will discuss her book, “The Crown’s Silence: The Hidden History of the British Monarchy and Slavery in the Americas,” with Manuscript Division historian Julie Miller. Dr. Miller is the curator of the Library’s ongoing exhibition, “The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution.” Dr. Newman will describe her research for the book, and discuss her…
Film, VideoDemystifying Audiovisual Preservation This webinar will provide a brief overview of preservation management basics for analog audio, video, and film collections. Specific topics will include: identification, care and handling, planning preservation projects, and digitization best practices.
Film, VideoLaw Day 2026: The Declaration of Independence and the Rule of Law On April 30 at 3 p.m., the Law Library of Congress and the American Bar Association cohosted our annual Law Day celebration. Dr. Andrew Shankman, in conversation with Dr. Kevin Butterfield, helped us celebrate Law Day and America 250 by discussing what the philosophical and historical context of the Declaration of Independence can teach us about the rule of law in America.
Film, VideoPreservation Science for Recordings On Magnetic Tape The Library of Congress holds a collection of over half a million audio recordings on magnetic tape, and its collection suffers the same physical maladies that are familiar to audiovisual curators worldwide: sticky, shedding, and squealing audio tape materials. These symptoms of deterioration well known, but the possible causes and remedies for degradation still inspire passioned debate. The highly commercialized and mass-produced nature of…
Film, VideoSurveying Rolled Wall Maps This presentation will highlight the collaboration between the Conversation Division and Geography and Map Division to complete the Survey Project for Rolled Wall Maps. This multi-year project consisted of evaluating and describing upwards of 230 rolled wall maps and was driven by division-specific objectives.
Film, VideoOffsite Collection Retrieval Last year, the Collections Management Division retrieved 54,770 individual items from its offsite facilities for patrons on Capitol Hill. Typically requests placed before 11am are delivered the same day and all other requests are delivered the next business day. The focus of this presentation will be on processes and procedures including the systems, staffing, and equipment used to ensure collections are delivered on time.
Film, VideoThe Reel Library: Master Negative Microfilm Collections at the Library of Congress Although the Library has shifted toward digital, microfilm’s chapter at the Library of Congress (LOC) is far from closed. The Library of Congress has over one million reels of microfilm in its collections and microfilm are requested and used every day. Microfilm may be the only copy of important material at the LOC. The Preservation Services Division ensures that patrons to the Library can…
Film, VideoLiteracy Awards Webinar: Bolstering K-12 Education Through Literacy Initiatives The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate how they define literacy. In this Webinar, 4 organizations, CitySchools Collaborative, Digital Inquiry Group, Reading Assist, and SML Good Neighbors showcase how their…
Film, VideoA Historical Legal Analysis of Citizenship in the Democratic Republic of Congo Join foreign law specialist Louis Gilbert for a Foreign and Comparative International Law webinar on the historical legal analysis of citizenship in the Democratic Republic of Congo.In this presentation, Gilbert will trace the legal construction of Congolese nationality from the colonial period to the present, with particular attention to the North Kivu region, and examine how successive governments have used citizenship law to regulate…
Film, VideoOrientation to Legal Research: Tracing Federal Regulations The Orientation to Legal Research series of webinars is designed to give a basic introduction to legal sources and research techniques. These orientations, taught by legal reference librarians, are typically offered once a month on a rotating basis.This entry in the series provides an overview of U.S. federal regulations, including information about the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, the publication and citation of regulations, and the…
Film, VideoMade at the Library: The Other War on Drugs: Emily Dufton and Addiction Inc. Join historian Emily Dufton, Dr. Jerome Jaffe, drug addiction specialist and President Richard Nixon’s former “Drug Czar” for addiction treatment, and Manuscript Division historian Ryan Reft and reference librarian Kristen Reichenbach for a discussion about the nation’s history of drug treatment.
Film, VideoFinding Pictures: Arthur Rothstein’s Photographic Legacy Please join us for a conversation with Dr. Ann Rothstein-Segan and her husband, Brodie Hefner, as we talk about Ann’s father, the late Arthur Rothstein. Hear about Rothstein’s life and the many cultural and scientific contributions he made as a renowned photographer working for the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression, then for Look Magazine and other publications around the world. The Library…
Film, VideoGeography and Map Division Virtual Orientation Join us for a virtual orientation that will provide a general introduction to the world’s largest map library, focusing on collections and resources accessible online from anywhere. Explore a treasure trove of maps, atlases, and cartographic resources followed by a Q&A; session with a map librarian.
Film, VideoVirtual Volunteering with By the People: Explore, Transcribe and Learn Since 2018, volunteers with the Library of Congress’ By the People program have transcribed more than 1,000,000 historical documents — from the papers of Theodore Roosevelt and Rosa Parks to Walt Whitman and more. Learn how these efforts improve access and discovery, and find out how you can join this virtual volunteer community at crowd.loc.gov.
Film, VideoLiteracy Awards Webinar: Get to Know the 2025 Top Prize Literacy Awards Winners The Literacy Awards Webinar Series showcases the 24 Winners and Honorees of the 2025 Literacy Awards Program. In each of the 6 Webinars, organizations whose work promotes literacy across the globe will share their work, outline their best practices, and illustrate what literacy means for them. In this Webinar, our 4 Top Prize Winners of 2025, Literacy Partners, Literacy Mid-South, The Louisiana Endowment for…