Sitting On Top of the World

“Sitting On Top of the World,” written by Walter Vinson and Lonnie Chatmon, recorded by them with Bo Carter and Sam Chatmon as the Mississippi Sheiks, 1930. This recording is in the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

More:

“The Chatmon Family – Mississippi Sheiks,” Mississippi Blues Trail

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Library of Congress Stops Archiving Twitter

Way back in 2010, the Library of Congress announced its plan to archive all public messages on Twitter (on Twitter, of course), starting with the very first tweet, the Twitter equivalent of the Gutenberg Bible.

That was then. On December 26, 2017 the Library pulled the plug on Twitter. While preserving a text archive of all tweets from the first 12 years of Twitter (2006-2017), the LoC will be more selective from here on out.

More:

“The Library of Congress Quits Twitter,” Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker

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120-Character Tweets Pile Up In the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress announced its plan to archive all public messages on Twitter in 2010 (on Twitter, of course). The Library has the very first tweet, the Twitter equivalent of the Gutenberg Bible. It preserves Barack Obama’s presidential victory tweet as well as George Washington’s diary.

But Since 2010 the fire hose of tweets has become an endless tsunami, 500 million messages each day. And volume is the least of it. Archiving is not just amassing stuff. The Library has yet to figure out how to make the stuff usable while protecting privacy. And the tweets keep on coming.

More:

“Can Twitter Fit Inside the Library of Congress?” Andrew McGill, The Atlantic

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Shocking News From the Library of Congress

Before leaving Washington for a seven-week vacation, the U.S. Congress did something unprecedented: It approved the appointment of a professional librarian to run the Library of Congress. What a concept! Dr. Carla Hayden, head of Baltimore’s public library system and former American Library Association president, is the first woman and the first African-American to hold the post, appointed after a six-month delay, of course.

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with 162 million items in its collections. Not exactly the U.S. “national library,” it was established in 1800 to help Congress in its deliberations and, even though today those are largely fact-free, the library remains. It also runs the Copyright Office, has 3,200 employees, and an annual budget of $630 million.

More:

“Senate Approves Carla Hayden As New Librarian Of Congress,” Camila Domonoske, NPR

“Can Carla Hayden Reinvent the Library of Congress?” Alex Duner, U.S. News & World Report

“The Library of Last Resort,” Kyle Chayka, N+1 Online

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Library of Congress Names Righteous Tracks

The Library of Congress has just added another 25 sound recordings “recognized for their cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society” to the National Recording Registry. Among them is the 1964 45-RPM single “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by The Righteous Brothers, the ‘blue-eyed soul” duo of Bobby Hatfield and Bill Medley. 

In 1964 producer Phil Spector asked the songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil for material for the vocal duo he’d just signed to his Phillies Records label. Mann wrote a melody with the feel of a recent Four Tops hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving,” and his wife Cynthia Weil penned lyrics about attempting to rekindle lost love. It was arranged by a young Gene Page, and the lush charts launched his remarkable career.

Magna Carta In DC

This year Magna Carta turns 800 years old, and the birthday party has come to Washington DC. One of the four surviving copies of the original 1215 edition of the charter of liberties is visiting here in the Nation’s Capitol. Lincoln Cathedral has lent its copy to the Library of Congress. The “Mother of All Constitutions” will be exhibited through there through January 19th.

Of course, if old documents are not your thing, head to the National Archives. They have a copy of that newfangled Magna Carta, the one from 1297.

More: 

“Two Magna Cartas in DC,” Geoff Edgers, Washington Post

“Just how important is Magna Carta 800 years on?,” Nick Higham, BBC News

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National Book Festival 2014

The 2014 National Book Festival is running until 10:00 PM Saturday August 30th in Washington DC, produced by the Library of Congress. This year’s festival was kicked off the National Mall and is being held in the cavernous Walter E. Washington Convention Center, but they could have held it in a phone booth. 24 percent of Americans haven’t read a book in the last year, and those who did read around 5, probably comic books.

You can attend for free. Go to the Culinary Arts Pavilion to enjoy America’s new National Pastime, watching other people cook.

Related:

“The Decline of the American Book Lover,” Jordan Weissmann, The Atlantic

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The Library of Congress Has All Your Tweets. Now What?

The Library of Congress archives all public messages on Twitter. This was announced two years ago (on Twitter, of course). The Library has the very first tweet, the Twitter equivalent of the Gutenberg Bible. It preserves Barack Obama’s presidential victory tweet as well as George Washington’s diary.

Now that the Library has amassed this huge and growing sea of  social media data, it doesn’t know what to do with it. Meanwhile, the tweets keep gushing in.

This Weekend: National Book Festival

Reminder: The National Book Festival is underway, on the National Mall. Read about it here.

2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival
September 22-23, 2012 on the National Mall
Washington, DC

 Celebrate the Book with Two Days of Writers, Poets & Pavilions
Free
Rain or Shine

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Image (based on the Rafael López poster) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com. We regret that authors cannot sign your copies of their e-books. Look around for paper ones (ask Mom & Dad).

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National Book Festival, September 22-23, 2012

2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival
September 22-23, 2012 on the National Mall
Washington, DC

 Celebrate the Book with Two Days of Writers, Poets & Pavilions
Free

The 12th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival will be held on the National Mall between 9th and 14th Streets on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 23 from noon to 5:30 p.m., rain or shine. The event is free and open to the public.