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Library of Congress

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Official account of the world’s largest library. Explore collections & plan a visit. All Library accounts: https://loc.gov/connect

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Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 4h ago

Did you know the Library of Congress is home to the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Papers? There are hints about the couple's domestic life therein, including recipes! Here are a few of them, "Desi's Paprika Steak" and "Lucy's Sunday Night Special."

Black and white photo shows Lucille Ball leaning over a chair to kiss Desi Arnaz, who is sitting in the chair. Photographed by Charlotte Brooks. Look magazine photograph collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.Handwritten recipe reads: Desi's Paprika Steak Crisp some bacon + saute Green pepper slices green onions Fresh tomatoe some olive oil (poquito) teensy worstershire teensy tobasco garlic powder paprika 2. cut up chili peppers THIN steaks marinated in soy sauce VERY SHORT TIME! start with bacon + peppers + take off until other stuff is done.Typed recipe reads: Lucy's Sunday Night Special 1 Pound Sausage Fry in dry pan. Take off all grease 1 Cup Chopped Celery 1 Cup Chopped Green Pepper 1 Cup Chopped Onions SAUTE above ingredients 1/4 Pound Blanched Finely Chopped Almonds. Fried in butter. 1 1/2 Cups Uncooked Rice 2 Pint Cans Chicken Broth COOK EVERYTHING IN 1 DISH Bake at 300-350 oven 1 to 2 hours Serves 6-8
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 5d ago

It's a blockbuster summer at the movies! Did you know movie theaters were some of the very first public spaces in America to be air conditioned? The promise of cool air became a way to attract audiences, as these pictures from the Library's collection illustrate.

Women buying tickets at a movie theater box office in Chicago. Signs posted all around them advertise the "cool comfort" of the air conditioned theater. Photo by John Vachon, 1940 July. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.People on the sidewalk outside a Chicago movie theater showing Frank Capra's "Meet John Doe." A large sign above the front doors says "Air Conditioned Theater." Photo by John Vachon, 1941 July. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.Street scene showing movie theater, probably in the vicinity of Lancaster, Ohio. Marquee reads: "One Wild Night June Lang Lyle Talbot." A sign hanging from the marquee simply reads: "Cool." Photo by Ben Shahn, August 1938. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.The front of a Montrose, Colorado movie theater has a sign hanging out front that declares: "It's Cool Inside." Photo by Russell Lee, September 1940. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · last wk.

It's NASA's birthday! 🚀 Did you know a Library of Congress researcher helped launch NASA? During the Sputnik crisis, Eilene Galloway was working as a National Defense Analyst for the Library's Legislative Research Service, now called the Congressional Research Service. 🧵

Portrait of Eilene Galloway. Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · last wk.

All the #Jimothy love has us thinking about Washington, D.C.’s famous raccoon from a century ago, Rebecca. She was one of many pets that roamed the White House grounds during President Calvin Coolidge’s time in office. 🦝❤️ This picture is from the Library's Prints and Photographs Division.

First Lady Grace Coolidge, half-length portrait, standing, facing front, holding her pet raccoon Rebecca. National Photo Company Collection. Between 1921 and 1923.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 2w ago

🎨 Watercolor architectural drawings aren't as common anymore, but the Library of Congress collections contain many dating back to a time when they were, including some of the Library itself, the Biltmore Estate and even the White House.

Congressional Library. Peters, G. W., artist. 1897. Artist’s rendering of the Northwest Corridor on the first floor of the main building of the Library of Congress, the Thomas Jefferson Building. The perspective view offers a hint at the elaborate decorations, the coffered ceilings, the tile floors, and the mural art found in lunettes along the corridor.A rendering of the Banquet Hall at Biltmore Estate, built for George Washington Vanderbilt II, Asheville, North Carolina. 1890. Hunt, Richard Morris, 1827-1895, architect.An ink drawing filled in with watercolor of a proposed principal floor plan for the President’s House, i.e. the White House, designed by architect Benjamin H. Latrobe. The watercolor is used to great effect, creating shadows to make the floor plan feel three-dimensional, and including the landscaping to fully set the scene. 1807. Latrobe, Benjamin Henry, 1764-1820, architect.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 2w ago

On this moon landing anniversary, a look at these two editorial cartoons from July 1969 illustrating both the public's awe and the public's criticism of the mission. Both are by Herbert Block, commonly known as Herblock. The Herbert L. Block Collection was donated to the Library of Congress in 2002.

Drawing shows a space boot being released from the world represented as as a ball and chain.Editorial cartoon shows man watching television while sitting in lounge chair on the moon. The earth below is surrounded in smoke labeled "War", "Poverty" and "Prejudice."
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 3w ago

ICYMI: The lineup for 2026 National Book Festival (Aug. 22) was announced last week. Just a little more than a month to go! For the first time this year, free tickets will be required for festival entry, but not for individual programs at the festival. Tickets can be reserved at loc.gov/bookfest!

2026 National Book Festival | Events at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

The 2026 National Book Festival will be held in the nation's capital at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, August 22, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (doors open at 8:30 a.m.). The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are required. A selection of programs will be livestreamed online, and videos of all programs will be available shortly after the festival.

loc.gov

Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 3w ago

The Library's Jefferson Building, built in the late 1800s, was the first public building in Washington constructed with electrical wiring. Some of the design elements proudly showcase bare light bulbs, a celebration of what was then a new and powerful American invention.

Bronze statues of women holding torches of electric light sit on the newel posts of the ornately designed staircases in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. Photo by Shawn Miller. Bronze statues of women holding torches of electric light sit on the newel posts of the ornately designed staircases in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress Jefferson Building. Photo by Shawn Miller.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 4w ago

NOTICE: Due to forecasted storms, tonight's showing of "Clueless" will be postponed. Summer Movies on the Lawn will resume next week, weather-permitting. 🍿 July 16 - Rocky 🍿 July 23 - Back to the Future 🍿 July 30 - A League of Their Own 🍿 Aug. 6 - Apollo 13 🍿 Aug. 13 (rain date) - Clueless

Visitors flock to the north lawn for a viewing of "Shrek" during the kickoff of the Library's Summer Movies on the Lawn series. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 4w ago

Last month, Major James Capers received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Vietnam War. Capers is known in the military community as the father of modern Marine reconnaissance. He led Team Broadminded, which conducted high-risk missions, and was the face of the “Ask a Marine” campaign. 🧵

Major James “Jim” Capers in the Great Hall at the Library of Congress.1970 "Ask a Marine" poster shows Major James Capers Jr. in uniform. Thirteen men lined up on the beach (eight standing in the back row, five kneeling in the front) comprise "Team Broadminded."
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 4w ago

FYI: For the first time this year, free tickets will be required for festival entry, but not for individual programs within the festival. Tickets can be reserved at loc.gov/bookfest!

Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · 4w ago

NEWS: The 2026 National Book Festival lineup and poster are here! We hope to see you Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.! ⬇️ newsroom.loc.gov/news/2026-li...

The 2026 National Book Festival poster features illustrations of people holding and reading books, along with the Washington Monument, the Capitol dome and the Library of Congress dome.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · last mo.

Fascinating Declaration of Independence 🇺🇸 facts: The printed copy on the right actually pre-dates the more well-known, handwritten copy on the left, which wasn't produced or signed by John Hancock and other members of the Continental Congress until weeks AFTER July 4, 1776. 🧵

The "engrossed" hand-written copy of the Declaration of Independence, which resides at the National ArchivesA "Dunlap broadside" version of the Declaration of Independence, which is typeset, not handwritten
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · last mo.

A new exhibition opens today (July 3) at the Library of Congress. “The Declaration’s Promise: A Revolutionary Idea" explores the principles of the Declaration of Independence and their impact on American history over the last 250 years. 🇺🇸

Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · last mo.

Ahead of Independence Day, a story brought to you by Library of Congress scientists. Throughout June 1776, Thomas Jefferson was drafting what we now know as the Declaration of Independence. As he edited, he made neat strike outs. In one instance, though, there's an obvious smudge. 🧵

Close up of the word "citizens" in a draft of the Declaration of Independence, which is visibly smudged Illustration of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams reviewing a draft of the Declaration of Independence. Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, artist. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Library of Congress@librarycongress.bsky.social · last mo.

"For more than 40 years, Carol Highsmith wakes up every single day with one mission: to document every nook and cranny of the United States, from its majestic mountains and quirky roadside attractions to its most unforgettable characters, known and unknown." 🧵

Photographer Carol M. Highsmith in Monument Valley, the Navajo tribal park in northern Arizona and southern Utah