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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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Due to Congressional action, Federal Government operations resumed on Thursday, November 13. Library of Congress buildings will open at noon to the public and researchers and staff. Visit www.loc.gov for additional information.
Fall foliage lights up at sunset in front of the Library's Jefferson Building, November 22, 2019. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.
November 13, 2025 at 2:33 PM
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NOTICE: During a temporary shutdown of the federal government, all Library of Congress buildings are CLOSED to the public and social media accounts are not active. In the meantime, please enjoy our content archive.
A sign reads: "NOTICE: In the event of a temporary shutdown of the federal government, due to a lapse in funding, all Library of Congress buildings will be CLOSED to the public until further notice. Services and resources for researchers will NOT be available online or in-person until funding is restored. Staff will not have access to office email, voicemail messages or social media accounts during this time. For updates please monitor the news media, check www.loc.gov, or call 202-707-5000."
October 1, 2025 at 12:05 PM
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Once more, due to popular demand, we share Rosa Parks’ pancake recipe in honor of 🥞 #NationalPancakeDay. Jotted down on an envelope, it came to the Library with the rest of her papers, a gift made possible by the generosity of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation in 2016. www.loc.gov/collections/...
Rosa Parks "featherlite" pancakes recipe. Sift together 1 C flour, 2 T B. Powder, 1/2 t salt, 2 T sugar. Mix 1 egg, 1 1/4 C Milk, 1/3 C peanut butter melted, 1 T shorting or oil. Combine with dry ingredients. Cook at 275° on griddle.
September 26, 2025 at 4:26 PM
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It's National Comic Book Day! Did you know the Library has one of the nation's largest collections of comic books? Unlike the heroes depicted on their pages, not all of the volumes are in great shape. Here's how Library technicians care for the collection. blogs.loc.gov/preservation...
A detached Star Trek comic cover in the repair process. Lily Tyndall, April 5th, 2022, Preservation Directorate.
September 25, 2025 at 4:13 PM
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On this day in 1957, U.S. Army troops escorted the Little Rock Nine to Central High School in Arkansas. Less well known—in August 1958 all the city's high schools were closed for a year to resist integration. Students learned through televised lessons, as shown in these photos.
Photograph shows an African American high school girl being educated via television during the period that the Little Rock schools were closed to avoid integration. September 1958. Thomas O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Two teachers teaching a class which is being broadcast by KATV 7 television, after high schools were closed to prevent integration, Little Rock, Arkansas. September 1958. Thomas O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Photograph shows three pajama-clad white girls being educated via television during the period that the Little Rock schools were closed to avoid integration. Thomas O'Halloran, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
September 24, 2025 at 9:19 PM
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The Library of Congress has three buildings on Capitol Hill but that’s STILL not enough space to store all of the collection items in the world’s largest library. Here's a look at one of the off-site Library storage facilities in Fort Meade, Maryland.
September 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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Welcome to the world of “inclusions,” an ecosystem known to archivists the world over in which they come across all sorts of things readers have purposefully or inadvertently left between a book’s pages. Recently at the Library, the objet du jour was... a snakeskin. 🐍 blogs.loc.gov/loc/2025/09/...
September 19, 2025 at 6:41 PM
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It's Constitution Day! The Constitution's current home is the National Archives, but it used to be housed here at the Library.
For the first time ever, through Oct. 1, the National Archives has the U.S. Constitution & all 27 amendments on display. Head to visit.archives.gov to learn more!
September 17, 2025 at 11:13 PM
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September is Library Card Sign-up Month. It's easy to get one from the Library of Congress!

Here's how: www.loc.gov/research-cen...
The Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, November 21, 2017. Photo by Shawn Miller.
September 12, 2025 at 12:40 PM
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Vergara's archive includes a photograph taken from this spot on September 11, 2001. It also documents the Tribute in Light memorial and the progress of One World Trade Center's construction. guides.loc.gov/vergara-coll...
View of Lower Manhattan from the Manhattan Bridge, September 11, 2001. The skyline is shrouded in smoke. View of Lower Manhattan from the Manhattan Bridge, 2010. Taken at 3 a.m., this photograph shows the Tribute in Light, an art installation near the World Trade Center site commemorating the 9/11 attacks. Two columns of blue light, representing the Twin Towers, reach from the skyline into the sky. View south from the Manhattan Bridge along Madison St., Chinatown, Manhattan. March 2021. One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the skyline.
September 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
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The Library is home to the photographic archive of Camilo José Vergara, whose photography documents how America’s cities have changed through the years. One spot he's photographed again and again: Lower Manhattan as seen from the Manhattan Bridge. 🧵
View of Lower Manhattan from the Manhattan Bridge, November 1979. The Twin Towers stand among the rest of the skyline
September 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
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Attention, educators! As you build out your curriculum for the school year ahead, the Library of Congress is here for you with teaching tools, professional learning, and powerful primary sources for your classroom. Check out loc.gov/teachers to learn more.
Poster promoting reading and library use, showing children near bookshelves. It reads: "September. Back to Work Back to School Back to Books." Chicago : Illinois WPA Art Project, [1940]. Work Projects Administration Poster Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
September 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
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Roosevelt refused to kill the bear, deeming it unsportsmanlike. Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman (whose papers are held at the Library) satirized the event & soon a NYC shop owner began selling stuffed "Teddy's Bears." The bear cub character became Berryman's signature.
A 1904 Berryman cartoon that likely comments on President Theodore Roosevelt's role in dedicating the Louisiana Purchase Exposition buildings and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in St. Louis. The illustration depicts him and Berryman's signature bear celebrating with the St. Louis skyline in the background. Roosevelt is holding a scroll that reads "Freedom of the City" and is signed by the mayor. The bear is holding a set of keys.
September 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
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It's National Teddy Bear Day 🧸. You may know teddy bears are named after President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, but do you know why? It started on a 1902 bear hunting trip, on which Roosevelt had trouble finding a bear, so his assistants found one for him & tied it to a tree. 🧵
A 1906 Berryman cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt, in hunting gear, petting two turkeys that have been tied to pegs in the ground. The President says, "I'm on!" The turkeys say, "Discovered." The cartoonist's signature small bear looks on. A sign on a tree reads "Posted! Pine Knot Preserve." In November 1906, President Roosevelt went hunting at his lodge, Pine Knot, hoping to shoot a wild turkey for the first time. His neighbors played a joke on him, turning a flock of domestic turkeys into the area, but the President discovered the trick. The joke was inspired by the famous occasion when the President refused to shoot a small bear that had been tied to a tree. Berryman published a cartoon the next day in the Washington Post, showing Roosevelt defending the bear. The cartoon became the stuff of legend, the teddy bear was born, and Berryman used the small bear in his cartoons throughout his career.
September 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
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The National Book Festival always goes by way too fast! We had a great day and we hope you did, too.

Please take our survey and tell us how we did: nationalbookfestivalsurvey.com

#NatBookFest
Poets Laureate Tracy K. Smith, Ada Limón and Joy Harjo on stage at the National Book Festival A National Book Festival volunteer laughs while rolling up a poster A wide shot of the large crowd at the 2025 National Book Festival Mac Barnett and Geena Davis on stage at the National Book Festival
September 7, 2025 at 12:04 AM
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We love you book nerds. 🥹 #NatBookFest #fitcheck
September 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
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We love you book nerds. 🥹 #NatBookFest #fitcheck
September 6, 2025 at 9:36 PM
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Notice: All National Book Festival programming scheduled to be in Rm. 202 will be moved to Rm. 204 for the remainder of the day!
List of Rm. 202 programming being moved to Rm. 204 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. What You Need in the Game of Life with Channelle Desamours 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. That Boy Is Cute (but Let Me Save the World First) with Susan Dennard and Tahereh Mafi 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Don't Corner Me; I Bite! with Kelly Andrew, Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. When Dark Academia Gets Real, with Elle Gonzalez Rose and Mariko Tamaki 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. What Doesn't Kill You Makes You More Awkward: Erin Entrada Kelly and Kwame Mbalia 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. The Latest in the "Legendborn" Series, with Tracy Deonn
September 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
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Reminder if you're at the National Book Festival today: This thread has all the info you need to find your way around, but there are also LOTS of volunteers who can help you out!
A National Book Festival volunteer holds an "Ask Me" sign at the 2025 National Book Festival
September 6, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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And doors are OPEN for the 25th National Book Festival! loc.gov/bookfest
People gather near the info booth at the entrance to the Washington Convention Center for the 25th National Book Festival
September 6, 2025 at 12:58 PM
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Can't attend in person? Discover how to experience the 2025 National Book Festival online with our virtual attendee guide: www.loc.gov/events/2025-...

Videos of the programming will also be made available online shortly after the festival.
Illustration of an icon that indicates a finger clicking a button
September 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
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Fast facts:
- The festival is 100% FREE & open to the public
- Doors open at 8:30 a.m., festival hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- The closest Metro station is Mount Vernon Square (on the Green/Yellow lines)
More frequently asked questions & answers here: www.loc.gov/events/2025-...
Picture from a previous year's National Book Festival features a volunteer holding an "Ask Me" sign
September 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
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It's almost time! The 25th Library of Congress National Book Festival is TOMORROW (Saturday, Sept. 6) at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Are you coming? Read this #NatBookFest thread! 🧵👇
Colorful graphic reads: Uniting Book Lovers for 25 Years Library of Congress National Book Festival September 6, 2025 Visit loc.gov/bookfest to learn more.
September 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
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Beautiful, vintage illustrated calendars from the Library's Prints and Photographs Division and a fun calendar fact for you: This date (and 10 after that) in 1752 technically didn't exist for the British Empire or the 13 Colonies. Why? 🧵 ⬇️
Poster calendar [for] 1897. July, August , September. Rhead, Louis, 1857-1926, artist. Boston : L. Prang, 1896. Forms part of the Artist poster filing series, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Image features illustration of a woman in a floor length blue dress and corset holding onto grape vines above her head. The month of August is to the left of her, the month of September to the right and July is above her. July August September 1897 calendar. Penfield, Edward, 1866-1925, artist. Publisher not identified. Forms part of the Artist poster filing series, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Image features an illustration of a man and a woman standing in a field, possibly dressed for playing a sport. The man holds an orange parasol that fans out behind them. The calendars for July, August and September are above their heads.
September 3, 2025 at 1:53 PM
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On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified, giving women the Constitutional right to vote. After Congress sent the Amendment to the states 15 months earlier, the National Woman’s Party would sew a new star on this flag whenever a new state ratified it. 🧵
National Woman's Party activists watch Alice Paul sew a star onto the NWP Ratification Flag. 1920. Photo by the National Photo Company. National Women's Party Records, Library of Congress.
August 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM