Ainsworth Rand Spofford
(1825–1908) Librarian of Congress.A former bookseller and newspaperman, Spofford joined the Library of Congress’s staff in 1861 and was appointed librarian in 1864. He permanently united the ...
Alfred W. Stern
(1881–1960) American book collector and businessman.In the 1920s, Stern began developing the largest collection of books, MSS, sheet music, memorabilia, and ephemera (see 14) relating to Abraham ...
Bay Psalm Book
(1640)The first book printed in the American colonies. This metrical version of the Psalms for the churches in Massachusetts was designed to replace that of Sternhold and Hopkins. It ...
Bollingen Prize in Poetry
Established (1948) by the Bollingen Foundation, financed by Paul Mellon and named by him for the Swiss home of the psychoanalyst Jung. The award ($1000 to 1960, $2500 to 1964, $5000 thereafter) was ...
Books in English
Bibliographic record published bi-monthly by the British Library from 1971 to 2003. Records were produced on microfiche and consisted of a cumulating list of all titles from the British National ...
Capitol
While drawing up plans for the city of Washington, the French architect Pierre L'Enfant called Capitol Hill a “pedestal waiting for a monument.” He chose the hill as the site ...
Carolyn Wells
(1862–1942) American book collector.A prolific and versatile writer, Wells came to book collecting relatively late in life. From around 1920, she began to assemble a large collection of materials ...
catalogues of books, MS and print
Catalogues record ownership, usually availability, sometimes noting donations or provenance, and are compiled with the purpose of publicly imparting this information. Catalogues of books, whether in ...
Congressional Research Service
With Congress ever hungry for information, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides a ready source of nonpartisan, thorough, and reliable data. During the Progressive Era, reformers ...
dime Novel
A cheap and usually violently sensational novel, so called because of its price (a dime being ten US cents) in the late 19th century, although in fact many of these books were cheaper still at five ...
electronic catalogue
1. An online catalogue of goods for purchase.2. An interactive videotex system in which consumers see products on their home TV screens, using touch-tone phones to control the sequence and to place ...
Essay 19 The Electronic Book
A book that has been digitized and is then sold to a customer via sending it over the Internet. Such books are either read on a computer or on an ereader.
Federal Government, Legislative Branch
OverviewSenateHouse of RepresentativesOverviewSenateHouse of RepresentativesThe legislative branch of the U.S. government—the Congress—is a bicameral legislature composed of the House of ...
Federal Writers' Project
Operated (1935–39) by the Works Progress Administration as a measure for the relief of unemployed writers, journalists, editors, and research workers. Directed by Henry G. Alsberg, the Project ...
festivals, literary
These now play a significant role in the promotion of literature around the world. Britain's first post‐war literary festival, a small‐scale local occasion which aimed to bring writers and readers ...
Frederick R. Goff
(1916–82) American bibliographer and rare book librarian.Goff was chief of the Rare Book Division of the Library of Congress (1945–72). Specializing in 15th-century books, he compiled and edited the ...
genealogical libraries
Oral and written genealogies have existed since ancient times, but only more recently have the family ties of common people been documented. Parishes began recording baptismal, marriage, and burial ...
Harry Houdini
(b. Budapest, 24 March 1874; d. Detroit, 31 Oct. 1926)Magician and escapologist, whose mother and father – a Hungarian rabbi – emigrated with him to the United States when ...
Henry Harrisse
(1829–1910),French bibliographer of American history, resident in the U.S. (1847–66). His works include Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima (1866), a bibliography of 300 books referring to America ...
Henry Stevens
(1819–86) American book dealer.A Vermont native and Yale graduate, Stevens started a book business in London in 1845. He became book purchasing agent for the Library of Congress, the ...
