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Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress – Recent Updates

• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest June 1, 2020
  Just Wow On April 4th we launched a new Campaign featuring a mother and daughter Suffragist pair, Lucy Stone and Alice Stone Blackwell. We always knew we'd add additional family members to "The Blackwells: An Extraordinary Family," Campaign, and thought that we could hold off till August. But you all have been doing so much […]
• Memorial Day Weekend Update from the Library of Congress May 22, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you and your families remain well this month. On Monday, we will observe Memorial Day, honoring the service and sacrifices of members of our armed forces. Our nation is strong and it endures because of the men and women who give it their all in protecting and preserving our democracy. Since […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress: May Updates May 21, 2020
  Happy Thursday, Volunpeers! May has been an extraordinary month for the By the People project and we couldn’t have done it without YOU. Your contributions are making history and we are pleased to share that you have officially completed 100,000 assets! Way to go! Two completed campaigns Your hard work has really paid off! You […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress: Update for LC staff May 11, 2020
  Happy Monday, LC transcribers - we've got some exciting updates to share with you!  Teddy Roosevelt progress You're all doing an amazing job on the Teddy Roosevelt campaign. So far you've completed 18,241 pages, and 2,103 are in progress or under review, leaving just 37,136 to transcribe! These transcriptions will make a huge difference to researchers, students […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress: 🌸April showers bring May flowers!🌸 April 30, 2020
  Happy Thursday, #volunpeers! April has been a big month for the By the People team and we continue to be astounded by the amazing work all of you do! We have some exciting updates for all of you. Blackwell Family progress You all are knocking it out of the park with Lucy Stone & Alice Stone […]
• The Library of Congress Turns 220 April 24, 2020
  In 1800, as part of an act of Congress providing for the removal of the new national government from Philadelphia to Washington, President John Adams approved an act of Congress providing $5,000 for books for the use of Congress—the beginning of the Library of Congress. Since that beginning 220 years ago, the Library has grown […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress Update for LC staff April 16, 2020
  Dear Colleagues, Your work on the Teddy Roosevelt campaign continues to amaze us! So far you've transcribed over 10,000 pages and reviewed/completed nearly 8,000 of these. Another 2,000 currently need review. We would love it if you could set yourselves a personal challenge–for every page you transcribe, review two pages to help us get the pile […]
• A Message from the Librarian of Congress April 10, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you are taking care or yourselves and your families as we settle into a new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During these challenging times, the Library of Congress buildings remain closed to the public with all public events currently canceled through May 11. However, while our physical doors may be closed, […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest April 6, 2020
  Are you a Lucy Stoner? We’re very excited to announce our latest campaign--"The Blackwells: An Extraordinary Family," featuring a family renowned for their advocacy for abolition, suffrage, and temperance, and their accomplishments over two centuries. This new campaign initially focuses on two women of the family: Lucy Stone and her daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell. As […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress Staff update April 3, 2020
  Dear colleagues,  We hope that this email finds you as well as you can be at this time. On March 20th we rolled out the first ever staff-only By the People Campaign, which features the letterpress correspondence of Theodore Roosevelt. Since then we've seen incredible rates of participation and page completion: 2,700 pages are complete and over 1,200 […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The latest March 25, 2020
  Dear colleagues,  We know that this is a tough time for many folks, and that it can be hard to figure out a telework routine on top of figuring out a social distancing routine. The By the People team hopes you are all finding ways of keeping calm, safe, and engaged during this time.  Telework […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest March 16, 2020
  Engagement opportunities during Library closure Dear volunteers, We know that it's an uncertain time for many people as the Coronavirus unfolds. Most public gatherings are being cancelled and schools and businesses are switching to online only activity, where they can. The Library of Congress is taking precautions, too. The Library is closed to the public […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest February 25, 2020
  New Campaign--"Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents" Today we launch a new Campaign called "Herencia: Centuries of Spanish Legal Documents," featuring documents written in Spanish, Latin, and Catalan between 1300 and 1800. Our aim is to transcribe the documents word-for-word so that researchers can more easily discover these materials. This Law Library Collection is our first entirely non-English […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest February 19, 2020
  Lincoln Challenge update We’re in the final stretch! It’s the last few days of our Letters to Lincoln challenge! Can you help us out with the last 90 pages of the 1865-1889 letters? 75 need review and 15 are “In Progress.” Once these pages are all complete we can bring all 1,481 back to the […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress: The Latest February 12, 2020
  We have a lot to celebrate and reflect on this month including Black History Month, and the birthdays of Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, and Susan B. Anthony. We have plenty of By the People materials for you to explore, transcribe, and review in honor of all these themes and people.  Black History Month […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress: The Latest February 4, 2020
  Celebrating Rosa Parks "I felt I was lynched many times in mind and spirit. I grew up in a world of white power . . .” These words rock us with their hard truth. They were written by Rosa Parks sometime after her arrest in 1955 for defying a Montgomery, Alabama, bus driver’s order to […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress: The Latest January 29, 2020
  Happy Birthday, Alan Lomax! Friday, January 31 marks the 105th birthday of folklorist Alan Lomax. All month we’ve challenged you to review "The Man Who Recorded the World" pages to help us get to 3,000 completed pages to celebrate his legacy, and the traditions of those whom he recorded and interviewed. From 1936 to 1966 Lomax […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest January 15, 2020
  Hi everyone,  This month we're celebrating the life and work of Alan Lomax, the most famous American folklorist of the 20th century. Our goal is get the number of completed pages up to 3,000 by what would have been Lomax's 105th birthday on January 31st. We're at 2,206 as of January 15, 2020. Can you help us get over […]
• Crowdsourcing at the Library of Congress The Latest December 31, 2019
  December Clara Barton challenge update Dear volunteers, one an all,  I confess that we left the office on December 23rd worried that poor Clara Barton would be forgotten on her Christmas birthday, and our goal of getting the review pile below 3,000 pages was a silly idea at this time of year. But we arrived back on December […]
• Thanks for Your Support! December 30, 2019
  Thank You! Thank you for all you do to support the nation’s Library. With new books, films, and music arriving every day, the Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Whether you support us with a gift or simply by spreading the word about what we do, you help us in our […]

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

• Memorial Day Weekend Update from the Library of Congress May 22, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you and your families remain well this month. On Monday, we will observe Memorial Day, honoring the service and sacrifices of members of our armed forces. Our nation is strong and it endures because of the men and women who give it their all in protecting and preserving our democracy. Since […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: Newspaper Navigator Announced: Extracting Photos, Maps, and Comics from over 16 Million Newspaper Pages! May 14, 2020
  Newspaper Navigator Announced: Extracting Photos, Maps, and Comics from over 16 Million Newspaper Pages! May 14, 2020 Last week the Library of Congress Labs team shared some exciting news about the first phase of the Newspaper Navigator project. Led by Ben Lee, Innovator-in-Residence at the Library of Congress, Newspaper Navigator uses machine learning techniques to […]
• The Library of Congress Turns 220 April 24, 2020
  In 1800, as part of an act of Congress providing for the removal of the new national government from Philadelphia to Washington, President John Adams approved an act of Congress providing $5,000 for books for the use of Congress—the beginning of the Library of Congress. Since that beginning 220 years ago, the Library has grown […]
• A Message from the Librarian of Congress April 10, 2020
  Friends, I hope that you are taking care or yourselves and your families as we settle into a new normal amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During these challenging times, the Library of Congress buildings remain closed to the public with all public events currently canceled through May 11. However, while our physical doors may be closed, […]
• Thanks for Your Support! December 30, 2019
  Thank You! Thank you for all you do to support the nation’s Library. With new books, films, and music arriving every day, the Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Whether you support us with a gift or simply by spreading the word about what we do, you help us in our […]
• Make Your Gift Before We Close the Books on 2019! December 20, 2019
  Make Your Gift Before We Close the Books on 2019 The Library of Congress is your place to discover new ideas. Visit our new exhibitions, join us for our events and educational programs and participate in our activities that connect you with millions of people around the world. Join the community of people that helps […]
• TODAY: Ignite the Power of Ideas December 3, 2019
  Make Your Gift to the Nation's Library The day has arrived—#GivingTuesday—a day when your gift makes a difference and a statement. The Library of Congress depends on the support of people like you for its exhibitions, programs, events and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with its unique […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: 119 YEARS AGO: "The Gobble," San Francisco Call," Nov. 24, 1901 November 27, 2019
  Not enjoying the Thanksgiving spirit? Here's an unusual poem by Clarence V. Odell describing the turkey-eat-turkey dynamic of a 'gobble,' another name for a flock of the big birds (also known as a 'rafter'). "NINE greedy gobblers having a fete,One ate his head off, then there were eight...." Pity the turkeys... it rarely ends well […]
• Ignite the Power of Ideas November 26, 2019
  On Tuesday, December 3, we ask you to make a gift to the Library of Congress in celebration of #GivingTuesday—a global giving movement. Your gift supports exhibitions, events, programs and activities that connect millions of people across the nation and around the world with the unique collections, experts and services here at the nation’s library. […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: Checking Out Baseball’s World Series in Washington 1924, 1925 and 1933 October 25, 2019
  Game 3 of the 2019 World Series gets underway in Washington, DC, tonite and we're excited! Not since 1933 has Washington hosted the championship games of “America’s great pastime,” baseball! In 1924, Washington’s then-home baseball team, the Washington Senators, won the series and earned bragging rights in 7 games against the New York Giants. Not […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: "FIRE! Destruction of Chicago!" Chicago Tribune, Oct. 11, 1871 October 8, 2019
  Almost 150 years ago on October 8, 1871, the Great Fire of Chicago began in a small dwelling on "the west side"  of the city. Two days later, as the conflagration finally died down, the Chicago Tribune printed a brief two-page issue, its first since the disaster began. Its own home offices devastated by the […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: CORRECTION - NEH Announces 2019 Awards for the National Digital Newspaper Program, Adding Partners in Rhode Island, Virgin Islands and Wyoming! August 16, 2019
  An error was made in a previous message regarding the number of partners to date in the National Digital Newspaper Program. Corrected message below: The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced 2019 National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) funding for institutions representing 11 states to expand their selection and digitization of U.S. historic newspapers […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: NEH Announces 2019 Awards for the National Digital Newspaper Program, adding partners in Rhode Island, Virgin Islands and Wyoming! August 16, 2019
  The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced 2019 National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) funding for institutions representing 11 states to expand their selection and digitization of U.S. historic newspapers for contribution to the freely available Chronicling America online collection, hosted by the Library of Congress. New partners in the program include the Providence Public […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: 100 YEARS AGO: "Wilson Blocks Daylight Saving Appeal," The Evening World, July 12, 1919 July 12, 2019
  Daylight saving time went into effect in the United States on March 31, 1918 during World War I as part of the war effort and many thought it would end when the war ended. Farmers across the country petitioned to end national daylight saving time in 1919 but President Wilson vetoed the repeal stating it […]
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers: 75 Years Ago: “ALLIES SMASHING INLAND,” The Wilmington Morning Star, June 07, 1944 June 6, 2019
  Across the world on June 7, 1944, newspapers rushed to press with the first word on the Western Allied invasion of the beaches of Normandy in France. For days before, front pages in the homefront news were filled with word of Allied battles on all fronts with hints of an imminent invasion of the French […]