Library of Congress's Blog, page 153

Pic of the Week: A Tree for CRS

CRS Director Mary B. Mazanec, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington (from left), Architect of the Capitol Stephen Ayers and Rep. Jim Moran shovel dirt around a newly planted commemorative tree on Monday. Photo by David Rice.

The Congressional Research Service celebrates its centennial this year. To mark the occasion, a commemorative tree was planted on the grounds of the Thomas Jefferson Building. The 10-foot Japanese maple serves as a living memorial to the men and women who have served in the  legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress.

A plaque at the base of the tree notes the species, date and occasion: “Sponsored by James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, in honor of Congressional Research Service’s Centennial.”

The service officially was born July 18, 1914, when then-Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam, following a congressional directive, issued an administrative order establishing a legislative-reference unit at the Library. In 1970, the Legislative Reorganization Act gave the agency an expanded mission and a new name – the Congressional Research Service.

Astrobiology Chair Steven Dick Discusses Research, Tenure at the Library

(The following is a repost from the Insights: Scholarly Work at the John W. Kluge Center blog. Jason Steinhauer spoke with Steven Dick, Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, who concludes his tenure at the Kluge Center this month.)

How the Discovery of Life Will Transform Our Thinking
October 27, 2014 by Jason Steinhauer

Astrobiology Chair Steven Dick believes that the discovery of life in the universe is a question of when, not if. Such a discovery will take different forms: microbial life, possibly complex life, maybe even intelligent life. Researching the scenarios and investigating the potential outcomes and ramifications has been at the essence of Dick’s year-long residency at the Kluge Center. He sat down with Program Specialist Jason Steinhauer to talk about the nature of discovery, the societal and policy ramifications of discovery, and how he used the Library of Congress collections in his research.

Good morning, Steven, and thanks for being here. Let’s start with this: your tenure as Astrobiology Chair at the Kluge Center is drawing to a close, concluding on November 1. Any thoughts or reflections as your time winds down?

It’s been a fabulous year, beginning with testifying at a Congressional hearing on astrobiology in December, then the astrobiology and theology conversation in June, and finally the big astrobiology symposium in September, “Preparing for Discovery.” While here I’ve worked on both the proceedings of our astrobiology symposium, which will be published as a trade volume by Cambridge University Press, and I’ve finished most of the research for my upcoming book, tentatively titled “Cosmic Encounters: How the Discovery of Life Will Transform Our Thinking.” That’ll also be the subject of my final lecture. It’s been everything I thought it would be and more.

Let’s pick up on the topic of your final lecture: How will the discovery of life beyond Earth transform our thinking?

Well, you always have to set out the scenarios: if it’s microbes that’s one thing, if it’s intelligence that’s another thing. But even if we find single-cell organisms, it has the potential to transform our scientific knowledge. The quest for a universal biology has been one of the big inquiries of science, but it’s hard to have a universal biology or a definition of life when you only have one example-life on Earth. Life on Earth is all carbon-based, relies on DNA as its genetic code, and has water as a solvent. Out in the Solar System and beyond it could be quite different. If we discover a different form of biochemistry or a different kind of genetic code-or a different kind of solvent such as a hydrocarbon as opposed to water-that would be exciting. We’d then have an opportunity to come up with some general rules of biology and a universal biology might be attainable.

So the discovery of something as tiny as a microbe could have a seismic effect.

When we thought we found fossils in a Mars rock in 1996, it had huge effect. So imagine the discovery of living bacteria. When we thought we’d found fossils in 1996, President Clinton expressed interest, there was a symposium convened by Vice President Gore on the subject, and there were Congressional hearings, not to mention the debate in the scientific journals. That’s likely to be what happens when we have a real discovery. As part of my research this past year I’ve looked into the nature of discovery. Discovery is an extended process, which consists of detection, interpretation, and understanding. If and when we discover life beyond Earth, it’s going to be an extended process. By studying the history of past discoveries, we can gain insights into how future discoveries may unfold. It’s the same pattern each time: detection, followed by a long period of interpretation until, ultimately, we understand what it is. It’ll take a period of years to know what we really found.

Would the change in our thinking unfold over a similar extended period?

Absolutely. The impact will take place over a long period of time. I’ve used the analogy of culture contacts, wonderfully documented in the Kislak Collection of the Cultures and History of the Americas here at the Library of Congress, to help in this regard. It’s not a direct analogy, of course, but there are lots of interesting insights uncovered when you examine what Europeans thought the Native Americans would be like, and vice versa. There are subtle lessons: problems in communication, how different brains or minds perceive experiences based on strongly-held cultural beliefs and norms. This analogy more pertains to the potential discovery of intelligent life. I believe we’re much too sanguine about our ability to communicate with any potential intelligent life beyond Earth. But it’s an interesting problem to attempt to transcend anthropocentrism and think more broadly about what might be the landscape of life in the universe. I believe that any discovery we make will be quite surprising.

§ Watch: Steven Dick on doing research in the Library of Congress. Filmed by Feature Story News.

Suppose we discover bacteria at the bottom of a lake on Titan. How do we fit that into our understanding of evolution and natural selection? How do we integrate cosmic evolution into our scientific way of thinking?

Everything in the universe is evolving, and has been since the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. Biological evolution is one local example of cosmic evolution. We know the universe is evolving physically; we know species evolve biologically; and we know cultures evolve. If the universe is biological and cultures evolve, then you get into the concept of post-biologicals. Maybe biological life is just a passing phase in the universe, and what we’re looking for out there is quite different from biological life? But to your question, I see no reason why evolution by natural selection would not be true elsewhere in the universe. If we found bacteria in a hydrocarbon lake on Titan, a moon of Saturn, I believe it would have evolved under natural selection, which means it will have evolved under the conditions of its natural habitat. We’re searching for a universal biology and we’re looking for principles, and I believe the number one universal biological principle throughout the universe would be natural selection.

And in this hypothetical scenario, if we find microbes on Titan we’d then want to ask what came before it and what comes after it.  

Right. We examine how species evolve here on Earth, and that’s what we’d do on another planet. We’d attempt to fit into an evolutionary scheme. That would be a good problem to have!

What are the politics of extraterrestrial life, from your vantage point?

This is more than an academic problem. It has political and societal implications. In both Congressional hearings on astrobiology, Members of Congress asked what do we do if we discover something? There’s been some work on this problem, but not enough, in my opinion. There are some basic planetary protection protocols regarding the microbial situation, but they haven’t gone much beyond that. And there are no protocols for intelligent life beyond “confirm first and then tell everyone.” This is not for a single person to figure out. It would need to be an interdisciplinary group that includes elected officials, scientists, humanists, and theologians. The theological implications would play out for each religion over the course of time. By the way, it seems largely to be western culture that has the preoccupation with life beyond Earth. It’s an interesting question why that is. Eastern cultures do not seem as preoccupied, whereas western scientists and popular culture are consumed by it. Why that is is an interesting research question that I’ve not explored.

How have the Library’s collections aided you while here?

Well, I’ve already spoken about the Kislak Collection. That collection helped lay out the guidelines for the questions we might ask ourselves as we devise these contact and discovery scenarios. They are questions, as opposed to answers, but they are the start of preliminary reconnaissance on this topic. While here I looked at hundreds of books in the Library’s collections, in areas of cultural contact, cognitive science, philosophy and the question of objective knowledge. I’m not an expert in all these areas, but my book will be very broad covering science, history, theology and anthropology. My hope is that the experts will contribute more to this discussion. And of course the Kluge Center makes the access to these wonderful collections possible.

Any final thoughts you wish to add?

Only that I highly recommend the Kluge Center to everybody, and encourage any scholar to apply for the fellowships offered. I’ll add that I’ve also been pleasantly surprised to learn what a vibrant place the Library of Congress is. There are always things going on here, with free talks, concerts, and events happening daily. It’s an intellectually vibrant place and I’ve really enjoyed it.

Steven Dick delivers his final lecture as Astrobiology Chair, “How the Discovery of Life Will Transform Our Thinking,” on Thursday, October 30th at 4 p.m. at The John W. Kluge Center, room LJ-119 of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Pianist, NLS Making Beautiful Music Together

Jazz pianist Justin Kauflin is quick to laugh and down to earth, taking his national success in stride, especially for a 28-year-old musician. Kauflin has a CD of his original music coming out in January, is currently promoting a documentary film about his friendship with noted jazz trumpeter Clark Terry and has toured with the likes of Quincy Jones, who also signed him to his production company.

Jazz pianist Justin Kauflin performed on Wednesday at the Coolidge Auditorium. Photo by Mark Layman.

While Kauflin’s accomplishments are noteworthy, his rise to acclaim hasn’t been without difficulty. The young musician suffered from low vision his entire childhood and became completely blind by age 11 due to a rare eye disease. Despite these circumstances, he showed musical promise as early as 2 years old, playing the piano as soon as he could reach the keys. He also studied the violin.

“I was interested but not dedicated,” Kauflin admitted of his musical education. Still holding his attention were things like basketball, video games and, in general, being a kid.

Once he completely lost his sight, music and the piano became central to his life. He shifted his focus from classical to jazz when he enrolled in the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Va., and began performing jazz professionally at age 15 while still in school.

In 2004, Kauflin graduated as valedictorian at the Governor’s School and received a presidential scholarship at William Paterson University in New Jersey, where he received a degree in music. While at WPU, he counted Terry and the late Mulgrew Miller among his mentors – both would also help him realize a full-time career as a jazz pianist.

“They both taught me that who you are as a person comes out in your music,” Kauflin said.

While Miller passed away last year, Kauflin and Terry’s relationship is stronger than ever. The two are featured in the 2014 documentary, “Keep on Keepin’ On,” which has won multiple film festival awards.

On Wednesday, Kauflin took to the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium stage in a special concert presented by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) at the Library of Congress. His was the third concert presented by NLS to highlight the Music Section and its services.

In high school, Kauflin became a patron of NLS. He began borrowing instructional braille music materials but soon moved on to easy and then intermediate piano works in braille by classical composers. By 2007, he had started borrowing more advanced material. Among his favorites then and now are works by Bach and Chopin.

“It’s been a wonderful process,” he said of using NLS. “It enabled me to work on what one should while studying the piano – how to interpret music and make it your own.”

Kauflin is particularly excited about NLS’s Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) app.

“It allows me to sync up my iPhone with braille music scores,” he explained. “I’m thrilled at that because it’s another way of getting music.

“The service NLS provides is invaluable. The difference from before I used the service to now is staggering. There is so much more I can consume.”

Opera Onstage, Drama Offstage

Today marks the anniversary of the opening of the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, on Oct. 22, 1883.  This is the hall, no longer in existence, where Enrico Caruso performed “Vesti La Giubba” in “Pagliacci”; where Geraldine Farrar sang “Un Bel Di,” in “Madame Butterfly.”  Thanks to radio broadcasts, it was the center of attention for opera-lovers coast to coast on Saturday afternoons from 1931 until the opening of the Met’s current hall in Lincoln Center in September of 1966. The broadcasts continue, and since 2006 people at various movie theaters around the country can also see select Met productions televised live in high definition, for about the price of a standee spot at the live show.

By now we’re used to the storyline (usually comic) in which what’s going on offstage is even more dramatic than what’s happening onstage (Marx Brothers, “A Night at the Opera”) – even though operas have been known to end with heroines flinging themselves off parapets (“Tosca”), the Old Believers immolating themselves (“Khovanshchina”), or the dissolute, unrepentant title character being dragged into Hell (“Don Giovanni”).

Looking up through one of the curving staircases at the Metropolitan Opera. Photo by Adriel Bettelheim

Yet sometimes, the drama-about-the-drama is not a commedia. This season, the Met has had to respond to a controversy over its offering of living American composer John Adams’ 1991 opera “The Death of Klinghoffer,” which, opponents allege, glorifies terrorism and anti-Semitism.   Adams, who spoke at the Library in 2010 and had a residency here in 2013, takes his opera storylines from recent history; the Klinghoffer story harks back to an actual incident that took place on a cruise ship boarded by terrorists in 1985. Adams’ other well-known operas are “Nixon in China,” about the former president’s visit to Mao Zedong in 1972, and “Dr. Atomic,” a dramatization of what was going on in the mind of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer during a critical period in the Manhattan Project to develop the atom bomb.

Only time will tell where “Klinghoffer” will be, in the pantheon of opera, in another 50 years, or 100, or 200.  It opened to protests, but also to applause, at the Met on Monday.

Also on the Met’s schedule this year is a production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” an opera based on a story by Beaumarchais banned in many courts during Mozart’s lifetime because it featured a serving-man outwitting his noble overlord.

And the Met, in a few weeks, will open Dmitri Shostakovich’s infrequently seen “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk,” which in 1936 was said to be so despised by Stalin that Shostakovich’s musical career within the U.S.S.R. took a crushing blow, led by an editorial in “Pravda,” that required years to recover from. That opera is almost better known as a censorship target than on its own merits.

The Library of Congress holds one of the world’s foremost collections of opera-related manuscripts, sheet music, photographs and stage designs.  In addition to the sampling of these treasures brought forward in last year’s exhibition “A Night at the Opera,” the Library offers many streaming recordings by famous early stars of opera on its National Jukebox website (here’s the Barcarolle from “Tales of Hoffman.“)

And speaking of the Marx Brothers – we’ve got Groucho’s papers, including the script for “A Night At the Opera.”  That 1935 classic is also a 1993 entry in the Library’s National Film Registry.

A-B-C … Easy as One, Two, Three

Noah Webster, ca. 1867. Prints and Photographs Division.

On Oct. 16, 1758, Noah Webster, the “Father of American Scholarship and Education” was born. Lexicographers everywhere celebrate his contributions on his birthday, also known as “Dictionary Day.”

As a young, rural Connecticut teacher, he used his own money to publish his first speller in 1783. Reissued throughout the 19th century, the 1829 “Blue Back Speller” was second only to the Bible in copies sold. After his death in 1843, the rights to his dictionary were sold to George and Charles Merriam, whose company is now known as Merriam-Webster Inc. The Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division holds a copy of the 1829 edition and Webster’s first speller from 1783.

An active federalist, Webster became a pamphleteer for centralized government and was critical of the politics of self-aggrandizement. Clearly setting himself with the nation’s founders, he believed that if a man was dependent financially on someone, he could not serve the public good but would only be concerned about his dependent relationship. A politician had to be independent – owning his own land and not directly involved in the marketplace. To Webster, George Washington was the epitome of this disinterested leader. You can find several letters written between the two in the online collection of the Library’s collection of the George Washington Papers. His support of the founding fathers led him to maintain correspondence with James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, both of whose papers are also held at the Library.

Noah Webster. Born 1758-died 1843. The schoolmaster of the republic. Print, Dec. 19, 1891. Prints and Photographs Division.

Webster was also an advocate for copyright laws and traveled widely to further legislation, including the Copyright Act of 1831. The Library is the home of the U.S. Copyright Office, where you can find information on how to register a work, learn about copyright law and search copyright records.

Author Jonathan Kendell’s book, “The Forgotten Founding Father: Noah Webster’s Obsession and the Creation of an American Culture” (2011) recounts Webster’s life as a successful publisher, public servant and political confidante. Kendall spoke at the Library following the publishing of his book.

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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: Cultural Contributions

(The following is a guest post by Tracy North, reference specialist in the Library of Congress Hispanic Division.)

As Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) comes to a close, now is an excellent time to reflect on the many ways in which Hispanic Americans have contributed to our nation’s cultural and political landscape.

Joseph Hernandez, first delegate to Congress from the Florida Territory and brigadier general of the Militia of Florida. Between 1850 and 1857. Prints and Photographs Division.

Hispanic Americans have served in Congress as far back as 1822. The first Hispanic American member of Congress, Joseph Marion Hernández, served as the Territorial Delegate from the Florida Territory as a Whig from 1822-1823. Then, in the second half of the 19th century, the territory of New Mexico was represented by a succession of statesmen, businessmen, veterans and intellectuals. The first Hispanic-American senator, Octaviano Larrazolo, also represented the state of New Mexico (from 1928-1929). In total, eight Hispanic Americans have represented their constituents as members of the United States Senate, including three who serve in the current 113th Congress. On the House side, 100 Hispanic Americans have served – and continue to represent our country – from 12 states and 4 territories including Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, New York and Texas.

While many Members return to their districts to serve their local communities – at the request of current and past U.S. presidents – Hispanic American members of Congress have augmented their political careers by serving the country as cabinet heads and ambassadors after their terms have ended. A publication from the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives examines the political trajectory of Hispanic American territorial delegates, resident commissioners and congressmen and senators in our nation’s history.

Hispanic Americans have enlisted in the U.S. military in all conflicts dating back to the Civil War and including both world wars, the Korean War (most notably the 65th Infantry Borinqueneers from Puerto Rico), the Vietnam War, and more recent conflicts in the Persian Gulf. You can learn more about all of America’s veterans by visiting the Veterans History Project, an oral history project that “collects, preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.” A special presentation on Experiencing War: Hispanics in Service shares stories of men and women in all branches of the U.S. military.

Antonio Martinez service picture with division logo. Veterans History Project.

Featured narratives, such as that of Antonio Martinez, animate history. On Christmas Eve 1944, Martinez was one of 2,235 American servicemen aboard a Belgian transport ship, the Leopoldville, on its way from England to France. Five miles from its destination, a torpedo from a German U-boat struck the ship, and it sank within three hours. Martinez helped a man who could not swim. One of the last rescued from the water, Martinez survived, but more than 750 GIs did not. His in-depth account of this tragedy, among the worst in U.S. military history, is an important addition to the public record, as survivors were told at the time not to discuss the episode. It took 50 years before an official monument to those who went down with the ship was erected.

Some featured veterans, such as Leroy Quintana, went on to gain fame after military service. Drafted to serve in Vietnam in 1967, Quintana did at one point consider fleeing across the border into Canada. But his mother had instilled in him respect for military service, and he stayed on. Serving in the 101st Airborne at the height of U.S. involvement, he kept a notebook of his experiences on five-man reconnaissance teams. “There was no reward for people returning from Vietnam,” recalls Quintana, “especially in the Army.” Quintana became a published, award-winning poet who sometimes uses his days in the service as inspiration for his work.

Other stories, such as that of Joseph Medina, give personal perspective to current events. Following in the military tradition of his family dating to the 15th century in Spain and later in Mexico, Medina entered the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972. In 2003, Medina was promoted to brigadier general, one of the first Hispanics to hold the rank in the U.S. Marine Corps. More recently, he commanded the Expeditionary Strike Group Three during Operation Iraqi Freedom, during which he was responsible for developing the Iraqi Coastal Defense Force. “If something goes bad in Iraq,” says Medina, “the press focuses on it and everybody sees it. But sometimes they don’t see all the good things that are getting better.”

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Cuban-owned bakery, “La Borinquena Bakery,” in Paterson, N.J. Photograph by Thomas D. Carroll, 1994. American Folklife Center.

The Library’s collections are also rife with examples of personal stories about Hispanic Americans finding a place in and contributing to the economic development of U.S. society. One rich collection of interviews and documentary photographs depicts the types of jobs held by people of Paterson, N. J., a working-class city a short drive – or train ride – northwest of Manhattan. Within these tremendous oral histories, stories of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and other Hispanic Americans come to life. In one gem of an audio recording with attorney Beatriz Meza, she recalls the generosity of a mentor who guided her through the rigors of becoming a practicing attorney. Her confidence is admirable: she “feel(s) that being a Latina gives me an advantage” because she is bilingual and possesses multicultural knowledge and skills to work with diverse clients.

In addition to the useful items in our collections such as maps, manuscripts, sound recordings, photographs, posters and of course books detailing the activities of Hispanic Americans, Library staff members have developed helpful tips for researchers, such as the Science Reference Guide that highlights resources on the important topic of Hispanic American Health and the incredibly valuable tools for teachers and educators who are looking for guidance in celebrating the achievements of Hispanic Americans that are described in a past blog post.

The Hispanic Reading Room is available as a starting point for research on Hispanic Americans, Latinos in the U.S. and in Latin America, both historical and current, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Patrons and researchers can contact us on the web in English or Spanish.

See it Now: Columbus’s Book of Privileges

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Columbus’s “Book of Privileges.” 1502. Manuscript Division.

On January 5, 1502, prior to his fourth and final voyage to America, Christopher Columbus gathered several judges and notaries in his home in Seville to authorize the authentic copies of his archival collection of original documents through which Queen Isabella of Castille and her husband, King Ferdinand of Aragon, had granted titles, revenues, powers and privileges to him and his descendants. These 36 documents are popularly called Columbus’s “Book of Privileges.” Four copies of this volume existed in 1502 – three written on vellum and one on paper.

John Herbert, former chief of the Library’s Geography and Maps Division, talks about the book in this video presented in partnership with the History Channel.

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The Library’s copy of the “Book of Privileges” – one of the three on vellum – is the only one to contain the Papal Bull Dudum siquidem, the four-page letter that Pope Alexander VI composed on Sept. 26, 1493, which is thought by some scholars to contain the first written reference to a New World.

The papal letter is among the 91 full-size, full-color facsimile pages bound into the Library’s new book, “Christopher Columbus Book of Privileges: The Claiming of a New World,” which also contains the first authorized facsimile of the Library’s copy of the royal charters, writs and grants.

In addition, the pages of the letter have been printed on four loose sheets that are pocketed inside. A translation of the papal bull, which was authenticated in the 1930s, is included.

Levenger Press printed the book in the U.S. to rigorous production standards that include a Smythe-sewn binding and archival-quality paper, both to ensure the book’s longevity. The 184-page hardcover book is available for $89 from the Library of Congress Shop.

The Library debuted “Christopher Columbus Book of Privileges: The Claiming of a New World” at this year’s National Book Festival. A webcast of the presentation is forthcoming.

Library Hosts Columbus Day Open House

(The following is a guest post by Library of Congress reference librarian Abby Yochelson.)

Main Reading Room Open House.
Photo by Abby Brack Lewis.

This Monday, the Library of Congress holds its annual Columbus Day Open House in the Main Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building. Every year, excited tourists and school groups from all over the United States and around the world, families with babies in strollers and eager photographers visit by the thousands. The look on their faces is one of awe, when seeing the soaring dome and magnificent art up close.

Throughout the day, visitors have the opportunity to speak with librarians, view collections from many different parts of the institution and take photos of themselves among the Library’s riches. Tours of the Great Hall and hands-on activities in the Young Readers Center add to the excitement. More information on Monday’s event can be found here.

Open house visitors enjoy taking pictures in the Main Reading Room. Photo by Deanna McCray-James.

Librarians have helped open-house visitors find a record of their book or their father’s or grandmother’s books in the online catalog and delightedly snapped photos of them proudly standing next to the giant screen displaying the evidence that they have a book in the Library of Congress. Teachers and burgeoning family archivists are also regular attendees.

One visitor discovered a great-great uncle’s account of his World War II experience in the Library’s Veterans History Project. Another found the house she grew up in while looking at an 1887 panoramic map of Philadelphia.

Reference librarians on hand at last year’s event recall one young patron asking about material on keeping rats as pets. “My parents said if I write a really persuasive essay, they’ll consider it.”

The Ask a Librarian service is on hand to answer reference questions. Photo by Deanna McCray-James.

However, the open house isn’t the only time visitors can enjoy the Library’s collections and reference services. The Main Reading Room and several other reading rooms are open to researchers six days a week, Monday through Saturday, throughout the year except for government holidays. Anyone 16 years and older with photo identification and curiosity about anything can use the Library of Congress. It’s simple to obtain the Researcher Identification Card  and explore a variety of interests, such as family genealogy, the latest astronomy discoveries or diaries of founding fathers to learn their thoughts on the Constitution.

Not everyone can take advantage of coming to the Library in person, so the reference staff works to continuously digitize historical material. The Library not only collects materials from all over the world in all languages and formats, it also makes much of these collections accessible online.  Popular collections include the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, Chronicling America’s newspapers and the National Jukebox. A complete list of the Library’s digital collections can be found here.

In addition, the Library’s knowledgeable librarians can provide reference services virtually through the Ask a Librarian service.

The Library also offers many ways to keep up with news and events, such as exhibition openings (all exhibitions are online too) or new digitized collections, by subscribing to a wide variety of blogs, RSS feeds or email lists.

Documenting Dance: The Making of “Appalachian Spring”

(The following is an article written by Raymond White, senior music specialist in the Music Division, for the September-October 2014 issue of the Library of Congress Magazine, LCM. You can read the issue in its entirety here.)

The Martha Graham Dance Company performs “Appalachian Spring” on the stage of the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium on Oct. 30, 1944. The Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection, Music Division.

When “Appalachian Spring” debuted at the Library of Congress on Oct. 30, 1944, the one-act ballet made dance history. Set in rural Pennsylvania during the 19th century, the idyllic story of newlyweds building their first farmhouse evoked a simpler time and place that appealed to a nation at war abroad. Rooted in Americana, the ballet has continued to resonate with audiences during the 70 years since its first performance.

The confluence of several creative forces, each at the top of their game, is a key ingredient to the work’s success. These included choreographer and dancer Martha Graham and her dance partner Erick Hawkins; composer Aaron Copland and artist and set designer Isamu Noguchi. But others played a pivotal role: music patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, who commissioned the work, and the Library’s Music Division chief, Harold Spivacke, who served as impresario.

The story behind the original commission of “Appalachian Spring” began in June 1942 with an idea of Hawkins, a Graham company dancer (and Martha Graham’s future husband). He wrote to Library benefactor Coolidge, suggesting she commission work by the renowned choreographer and dancer Graham.

Mrs. Coolidge, whose 150th birthday will be celebrated with a concert at the Library on Oct. 30, 2014, was a composer and pianist. Although her musical interests were extremely wide-ranging, her greatest musical love was chamber music, and her chief musical passion was the composition and performance of new works in the Library’s concert auditorium, built with her financial support. Since its establishment in 1925, the Coolidge Foundation has commissioned more than 100 works in various musical genres, including four ballets. “Appalachian Spring” is by far the most well- known and most significant of Mrs. Coolidge’s Library commissions.

Graham came to prominence in the 1930s as director and, often, as a principal dancer of her own company. From 1934 on, the woman known as “the mother of modern dance” relied almost entirely on original scores written for her dances (as opposed to creating choreography for pre- existing music). However, she was limited in the choice of composers for her commissions by a perennial shortage of available funds. Thus, when presented with the prospect of a program of new works with scores by composers of the first rank and commissioned by the Coolidge Foundation, Graham wrote to Mrs. Coolidge with excitement: “It makes me feel that American dance has turned a corner, it has come of age.”

Letter from Martha Graham to Aaron Copland, July 22, 1943. The Aaron Copland Collection, Music Division.

The idea took hold, and prompted a flurry of correspondence among Coolidge, Graham and Spivacke. Graham was officially commissioned to create the choreography and Copland to compose one of the scores.

By the early 1940s, Copland was widely regarded as the dean of American composers. He was hailed for works in a variety of genres, many of which are still regularly played today, including his “A Lincoln Portrait,” “El Salón México” and ballets “Billy the Kid” and “Rodeo.” In his letter to Mrs. Coolidge in reply to the offer of the commission, Copland said, “I have been an admirer of Martha Graham’s work for many years and I have more than once hoped that we might collaborate.”

Although he is best remembered as an eminent music librarian and administrator, Spivacke was a key force in bringing “Appalachian Spring” to the Library’s stage. When Mrs. Coolidge expressed concern that her first-choice composers might be unwilling to accept her commissioning fee of $500, Spivacke encouraged her to make the offer regardless, arguing that Graham’s reputation would serve as adequate enticement.

The original schedule was for the premiere performances to be held in 1943, but for a variety of reasons the concert was delayed. It was Spivacke who pressed Graham and the three composers for progress reports, and he ultimately suggested rescheduling the concert for Oct. 30, 1944–Mrs. Coolidge’s 80th birthday.

Mrs. Coolidge left it to Graham to devise the ballet scripts. Graham ultimately supplied the initial story line and scenario for what would become “Appalachian Spring” for Copland. Letters between Graham and Copland reveal the give-and-take between choreographer and composer that resulted in the final course of the ballet.

1946 photograph of Aaron Copland in his studio. Victor Kraft, The Aaron Copland Collection, Music Division.

Its evocation of simple frontier life appealed to Copland and, in the words of Coolidge biographer Cyrilla Barr, “drew from him some of his best expressions of Americana in the form of hymnlike melodies and fiddle tunes, ending appropriately with variations on the Shaker hymn tune ‘Simple Gifts.’”

Copland referred to the work in progress as “Ballet for Martha.” It was Graham who suggested the final title, a phrase from a Hart Crane poem titled “The Dance”:

O Appalachian Spring! I gained the ledge;

Steep, inaccessible smile that eastward bends

And northward reaches in that violet wedge

Of Adirondacks!

Mrs. Coolidge herself had very definite ideas about the new score. She wanted it to be “true chamber music, which is to say for an ensemble of not more than 10 or 12 instruments at the outside” to suit the acoustics of the Coolidge Auditorium as well as its small orchestra pit. In the end, the performance featured a chamber ensemble of 13 wind and string instruments along with a piano, which would allow Graham to tour the work with her company.

Martha Graham and Erick Hawkins are greeted by Elizabeth Coolidge, center, following the debut performance of “Appalachian Spring.” The Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection, Music Division.

At long last, and more than a year later than its originally scheduled premiere, ”Appalachian Spring” was presented for the first time as part of the Library’s Tenth Festival of Chamber Music. Graham danced the role of the bride, Erick Hawkins was the husbandman, Merce Cunningham was the fire-and-brimstone preacher and May O’Donnell played a pioneer woman. The two other works that made up the evening’s program were “Herodiäde” (Mirror Before Me) with a score by Paul Hindemith, and “Jeux de Printemps” (Imagined Wing) with a score by Darius Milhaud.

The performance was well- received. New York Times critic John Martin observed that the tone was “shining and joyous. On its surface it fits obviously into the category of early Americana, but underneath it belongs to a much broader and a dateless category. It is, indeed, a kind of testimony to the simple fineness of the human spirit.”

But the story doesn’t end there. Copland’s score received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1945. That same year he arranged an orchestral suite of the music for concert performance, and in 1954 he orchestrated a fully symphonic version of the complete score; all three versions of the score remain popular today as concert pieces. “Appalachian Spring” remains a staple in the performing repertoire of the Martha Graham Dance Company.

(The Martha Graham Company in New York City celebrates the 70th anniversary of Graham’s “Appalachian Spring” with a performance of the work on Oct. 30. More information can be found here.)

MORE INFORMATION

Martha Graham Collection

Aaron Copland Collection

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation Collection

Harold Spivacke Collection

Library in the News: September 2014 Edition

On Sept. 10, the Library opened the exhibition “The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom.” Covering the opening were outlets including the National Newspapers Publishing Association, the Examiner and regional outlets from New York to Alabama.

“A few things set this exhibition apart from the multitude of this year’s commemorations,” wrote Jazelle Hunt for NNPA. “The Library draws from its exclusive archives of the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, James Forman of SNCC, the recently borrowed Rosa Park’ papers, and more.

“But what truly distinguishes the Library of Congress’ exhibition is that it ventures well beyond stock narratives of sit-ins and Freedom Rides.”

“The Library of Congress‘ new exhibit, ‘The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom,’ is an absolute must-see for everyone, black or white, male or female, old or young — especially those too young to have lived through this era,” wrote Marsha Dubrow for the Examiner. “The exhibit vividly illuminates that long struggle, and inspires and lights the long struggle ahead.”

One of the civil rights leaders featured in the exhibition is Rosa Parks. In September, the Library announced that her papers would be housed in the institution for the next 10 years, thanks to a loan from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, with some of the items incorporated into the Library’s exhibition.

USA Today spoke with auctioneer Arlan Ettinger, who helped facilitate the purchase by Buffett of the collection. He said he was gratified that the Library of Congress would be the next stop for Parks’ papers.

“The Buffett Foundation wasn’t acquiring this to put into their vaults, this was an acquisition to do the right thing,” Ettinger said.

Also running stories were ABC, the Associated Press, the Detroit News, the New York Times arts blog and Politico.

Many of the items on display in “The Civil Rights Act of 1964″ exhibition are photographs. They are only a small sampling of the Library’s photographic collections, which cover a wide variety of subjects. Last year, the Library published an e-book featuring some of these. VOA recently talked with the book’s photo editor, Aimee Hess.

“A lot of readers …  have said they had no idea that the Library of Congress had images like this. … We wanted people to realize that we have these in our collection, and that these images are for everybody, they’re for the public,” she said. “The bulk of the book are these unknown photographers, and their photographic contributions are just as important and just as interesting and compelling as these household names, so I think it’s really nice that we’re giving them their due.”

Mark Murrmann of Mother Jones also spent time perusing the Library’s photo collections to highlight several images of interest.

Speaking of taking creative license with the Library’s photo collections, artist Kevin Weir creates ghostly gifs using historical black-and-white photos he finds in the institution’s online archive. According to Colossal, a blog that explores art and visual culture, Weir is “deeply drawn to what he calls ‘unknowable places and persons,’ images with little connection to present day that he can use as blank canvas for his weird ideas.”

On Sept. 25, Poet Laureate Charles Wright kicked off the literary season at the Library by presenting his inaugural lecture. Susan Page of USA Today caught up with him to talk about his new job.

When asked, “Why does poetry matter?” he said, “I know why it matters to me. I can’t speak for anyone else. It changed my life. It gave me some valve for the emotional longings that I had as a young man and helped me bring together various independent thoughts that I had. It was very important to me, and I always had a love of language, which is the first thing you have to have if you want to write poems. You’ve got to love the language. And you’ve got to be good at finding new ways of using it.”

Wright also spoke with the Associated Press: “I’m at a stage in my life and career where I don’t need this, but I’m happy to have it if they want me.”