The Library of Congress

10/20/2026

The Library's Liljenquist collection of Civil War photographs contains several images, like these, of veterans who fought for the Union posing with family members (likely their grandsons) who served in World War I.

More of the Liljenquist collection. ⬇️ https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/?loclr=fbloc

10/19/2026

MAGAZINE MONDAY | The Library is creating high-resolution digital copies of the classic Farm Security Administration photographs (all 175,000 of them) in a massive, multiyear project. Read the full story in the current issue of the Library of Congress Magazine. ⬇️
https://lcm.loc.gov/issue/september-october-2026/preserving-the-175000-fsa-photographs-one-at-a-time/?loclr=fbloc

In a yearslong project, the Library is making high-resolution copies of images in this iconic collection.

10/16/2026

Did you know the Wright brothers had a sister? Katharine Wright was not only a caretaker to the Wright family after their mother died and to Orville after a test flight injury, but also a college graduate, a teacher, a suffragist and a member of the Wright Company alongside her brothers. 🧵

The Library of Congress is home to the Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers, which also contain some of Katharine's correspondence.

Check it out. ⬇️
https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss46706.02010/?q=katharine+wright&st=grid?loclr=fbloc

10/15/2026

The conservators at the Library of Congress mend a lot of paper by hand, but sometimes the situation calls for a different method. That's where this process comes in.

10/14/2026

Are you interested in earning your Scouting America Eagle Scout badge or Gold Award? The Library of Congress has the perfect community project for you! Scouts can arrange and conduct interviews with veterans and donate them to the Veterans History Project. Email us at [email protected] for special Scout guidance!

10/13/2026

Florence Pugh and Zoe Kazan, the star and screenwriter (respectively) of Netflix’s “East of Eden,” a fresh take on John Steinbeck’s classic 1952 California novel, recently came to the Library of Congress to get a look at some original Steinbeck material.

Among other items on display, there were signed first editions of “Eden,” manuscript pages from “The Grapes of Wrath” and a dozen or so books from the 19th and early 20th centuries that documented the land and the people of the Salinas Valley, the primary setting of “Eden,” “Of Mice and Men” and other Steinbeck works.

Read more about their visit, and the Steinbeck items at the Library.
⬇️
https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/09/east-of-eden-is-at-the-library-now-it-comes-to-tv/?loclr=fbloc

10/09/2026

A Dyslexia Awareness Month reminder: Many people don’t realize that the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) at the Library of Congress also serves people with reading disabilities such as dyslexia.

If you find it difficult to use print because of a reading disability, you can still enjoy reading with free audiobooks from NLS! In addition to its vast collection of books and magazines, NLS has materials you won’t find anywhere else in audio, like cookbooks, crafting books, how-to guides and graphic novels. Find out more about NLS services and how to enroll at www.loc.gov/nls/who-we-serve/reading-disabled?loclr=fbloc.

10/08/2026

A treat for classic lit lovers from the Geography and Map Division: Ten beautiful literary map paintings commissioned in 1953 for the Harris-Seybold Company's “Maps of Books” calendars.

Prints can be found in libraries around the world, but these are the originals! https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2026/09/worth-a-thousand-words-the-literary-map-painting-collection/?loclr=fbloc

This post highlights the Geography and Map Division’s literary map painting collection. This collection was acquired in 2019 and consists of 10 original watercolor paintings of maps representing famous novels such as The Red Badge of Courage, Call of the Wild, Robin Hood, and Moby Dick amongst oth...

10/07/2026

On this day in 1923, the first section of the Appalachian Trail opened in New York.

In "The Printed Walk," artist Lindsay Schmittle transforms her 2,180-mile journey along the Appalachian Trail into a striking artist’s book, using hand-printed imagery and materials gathered from the trail itself. The work invites readers to consider how landscapes shape memory, creativity, and personal connection.

Because the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division’s 2026 theme is "Our Common Ground: 250 Years of Americans Engaging with Nature," we have been exploring how Americans have experienced, documented, and imagined the natural world through books, prints, maps, games, and other creative works.

Works like "The Printed Walk" are part of a long tradition preserved in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, where artists, naturalists, and travelers have used books to capture their experiences with the American sublime.

10/06/2026

For Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re celebrating Chilean American Camilo José Vergara’s photography. Vergara selected the Library of Congress as the permanent home of his photographic archive in 2013. Here are some gorgeous examples of one of his most expansive subjects: "Old New York City."