News from the Library of Congress

Friends of the Library of Congress, Materials from the Musical ‘Hadestown’ and More

Be A Friend + Vote for the 2024 Friends Choice Awards!

What does a preservation makeover really look like?  How does supporting librarians serving the blind and print disabled worldwide build accessible collections?  Where do you begin celebrating Africana food and foodways?  Help us find out!  Be a friend and Vote for your choice in the 2024 Friends’ Choice Awards.    

The Friends’ Choice Award recognizes the project donors most want to fund.  You get to decide!  If you’re already a Friend of the Library – check your email for the voting link. If you are not a Friend – join today! Memberships begin at $50 annually. Learn more about the proposals and vote for the one you want to see come to life.

Be a Friend + Vote today!

Materials from the Musical ‘Hadestown’ Added to Library of Congress Collections

The Library of Congress has added rare materials from the development of the Tony Award-winning musical “Hadestown” to its collections, thanks to a donation from the show’s Tony Award-winning creator, singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell.

Library Announces 2023 Music Commissions from Koussevitzky Foundation

The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress has awarded commissions for new musical works to six composers. The commissions are granted jointly by the foundation and the performing organizations that will present the world premiere of each work.

George Chauncey, Historian of LGBTQ+ Life and Kluge Prize Recipient, Releases New Video Series “Through History to Equality” George Chauncey, recipient of the 2022 John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity, released three videos today with the Library of Congress examining the experiences of LGBTQ+ Americans. These are now available to watch on loc.gov and the Library’s YouTube channel. Learn more.

The Wright Brothers History Takes Wing at the Library

At 10:35 on the morning of Dec. 17, 1903, on a remote sand dune in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, mankind flew for the first time. Orville Wright piloted a homemade airplane powered by a homemade engine for a few wobbly seconds while his brother and co-creator Wilbur ran alongside the right wingtip. “Success four flights thursday morning” Orville telegraphed their father back home in Dayton, Ohio. The world would never be the same. Humans flew to the moon 65 years later.