What's Happening at Our Library?

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The Blackwell's Kinfolk Family Tree highlights two prominent members. Arthur Ashe Jr.'s name is in gold, right. Family genealogist Thelma Short Doswell is highlighted in yellow, left.  Photo from Library of Congress, blog September 28, 2023



Have you checked out "our" library recently? By "our" library, I don't mean the library branch in your neighborhood, although it is definitely a place that should be very familiar to you. I mean the library that belongs to all of us--the Library of Congress.  

At our fingertips we have the ability to search millions of items in many formats and languages; to explore a growing treasury of digitized materials. This is one of the most valuable resources available for enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the lives of our ancestors. It's very easy to remember the URL--loc.gov.  

Library of Congress Blogs | Blogs from the Library of Congress (loc.gov)

And the collections and exhibits are constantly expanding.  Thanks to a timely blog called "The Signal," you can keep up with the latest news.

The picture at the top of this page is from an article in the September 28, 2023 blog post: https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2023/09/an-african-american-family-history-like-no-other/

You can catch a glimpse of the whole tree here. See more videos in their Youtube channel or just search Youtube for "Library of Congress."



A Library For You

If you aren't familiar with the library, you may ask where to begin to look for information.  Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said, “We want to transform the visitor experience for the people who visit the Library of Congress in person and the millions more who access us online.” Over the next few years, the Library will deliver a new experience, “A Library for You,” to bring that vision to life. The Library of Congress Magazine, July/August,2023 https://www.loc.gov/lcm/pdf/LCM_2023_0708.pdf


November News

https://blogs.loc.gov/thesignal/2023/11/new-loc-november-2023/

This post announced the  addition of two new datasets into the Selected Datasets collection on loc.gov: the transcription datasets for the Black South Carolinians’ Petition for Equal Rights and the National American Woman Suffrage Association Records campaigns from the By the People crowd-sourced transcription program. You can download these datasets directly from their catalog records and open them in a spreadsheet application of your choice!

Many of us have been using Chronicling America, the newspaper collections at the library.  The November blog announces BIG news.

The Library of Congress is excited to announce that the Chronicling America Historic Newspapers website is in the process of transitioning from the legacy Chronicling America interface to a new Chronicling America interface and back-end search infrastructure.

In the new system, the digitized newspapers will become part of a larger Library of Congress digital collections framework that recently received major upgrades to accommodate future growth and expansion of the collection. New website features include faceted browse options (refine searches by ethnicity, location, subject, language, etc.), improved image viewing, improved Advanced Search options, and more!

The new interface also allows users to browse digitized titles in a map. Uploads to the new interface are now automated so you may notice that there are more pages available in the new interface than the longstanding version of Chronicling America. Check out the new Research Guide on using Chronicling America to learn more.


Think Outside the Search Box

If you could walk through the main entrance of the Thomas Jefferson Building, how would you proceed to explore the library?  Would you head for the card catalog, armed with a list of family surnames to research?



Or would you begin exploring the rooms, marveling at the exhibits and collections for your enjoyment and benefit?  Would you be awestruck by the main reading room?






I know I will probably never visit the Library of Congress in person but I can still explore it virtually, maybe more completely than I could in person.  

The website even has a personal guide so I don't miss anything.  https://www.loc.gov/visit/audio-guide/

I know I would begin moving through the exhibits, making physical and mental notes of the items I was seeing.  I would be making a list of the collections I wanted to explore further.  


Greater Perspectives

Recently I "wandered" into the map collection and found

Map of all the railroads in the United States in operation and progress.Map of the eastern United States showing relief by hachures, drainage, cities and towns, state boundaries, canals, and the railroad network. In 1923 Poor's Publishing Company of New York issued a reduced redrawing of this map measuring 46 x 50 cm.
  • Contributor: Poor, Henry V. (Henry Varnum) - McLellan, David
  • Date: 1854-01-01



I enlarged the image so I could look at all the places where I had ancestors living in 1854.  Some were close to railroads, others were not.  I gained another perspective of their lives. 

Great things are coming to our library; don't miss out on the opportunities to explore and absorb this great information.

MaryLynn Strickland    


Comments

  1. ValorieDecember 4, 2023 at 1:21 PM

    Thanks so much for keeping us up-to-date on OUR library!

    ReplyDelete

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