Special Focus
Notes from Jenny Hill
October 13
Hi!
I can't believe that we are already approaching the middle of Oct! Time seems to be going by so quickly. I've still been enjoying my time at the Library of Congress! I went to the copyright office today, guest spoke for an hour at SCSU's IM 302: Theory to Practice Class via long-distance telephone, and met a man who I once saw in a video about the Library of Congress as a little kid. It was a fun day!
We all went kayaking in the Potomac this weekend and ate at an authentic Ethiopian restaurant. I volunteered at the Luis Palau Festival (Luis is an evangelist from Argentina) and saw more of the National Air and Space Museum. There are moments throughout my day when I think of home and miss you all...looking forward to seeing you when I return.
I have attached another link to a web page with twenty pictures. It may take some time to load.
Have a great rest of the week! Jenny
September 23
Hello!
This was another busy week! On Sunday I spent five hours at the Holocaust museum and then went to National Archives, the National Air and Space Museum, and the sculpture garden which is part of the National Gallery of Art. On Monday I visited the National Library of Medicine, located in Bethesda MD. The Library of Congress does not house medical information because this library exists. NLM is the largest medical library in the world, and a neat place to visit. At one point they were housed in Ford's Theater, but were then moved. After Lincoln died, no one thought it appropriate to house entertainment in that building, so that is why the library was located there for a time. One of the things that they are working on improving is the practice of telemedicine. Basically, doctors can observe/treat/diagnose patients via the internet or broadcasting technologies without anyone having to travel great distances. Cool! They've also digitally scanned two cadavers and made a computer program out of them so med students can practice procedures.
At work, I have been continuing to learn how to catalog. It is very tedious and detail oriented. I found out that one of the catalogers can catalog in 20 languages...all of Eastern Europe and most of Western Europe. That is impressive! I just pulled some maps today of MN that I am going to scan. Two of them are maps of both Sherburne and Wright County (where I'm from), so that is going to be a meaningful project. Soon, I should be learning how to scan multiple image maps on the jumbo scanner. I get the feeling that it's going to be a little more complicated than the 10 by 12 inch maps I've been working with lately.
This weekend, the Library of Congress is hosting the National Book Festival on the National Mall. I will be volunteering there all day. Several authors are coming and maybe Laura Bush. Mrs. Cheney was supposed to come as an author, but I believe that Dick isn't in the best of health at the moment, so I don't think she's going to be able to make it.
I really am enjoying myself, and am so happy to be given such a wonderful opportunity. My coworkers and roommates are great! I feel that I am learning so much, and am enjoying the fun of DC. I included a link in the bottom of this e-mail with a few more pictures. They may take a second to load. Have a great weekend! Click here for pictures
Jenny
September 15
Hello friends, family, professors and classmates!
I have finally managed to post some pictures that I have taken on the web. The link is enclosed in this e-mail. I was able to go the Nat'l Gallery of Art this weekend and see the only Di Vinci in the Western Hemisphere. This week I learned that the Library of Congress catalogs websites that chronicle historic events: September 11th, Hurricane Katrina etc. Interesting! I hope you enjoy the pics. It has been fun to hear from you all. Jenny
September 7
Hello,
Many of you have been wondering what I have been up to! I started my class and internship this week. I am taking a class on fundraising which I feel is going to be helpful for my future career choice of working with libraries. Technology and books are expensive, so it will be nice to learn how to pay for them! I have spent the last couple of days at the Madison Building working in the digital scanning lab in the maps and geography division at the Library of Congress.
Entering the building is alot like going to the airport. Your bags are x-rayed and you have to step through a gate where you are wanded with a metal detector. Your bags are also searched on the way out. LOC is the only branch of the government to do this; they want to make sure that you are not stealing anything.
I am primarily working to scan maps using a $6000 scanner that were made by the CIA and are going to end up on the LOC website. Once the maps are scanned, I manipulate them using Adobe Photoshop. Eventually each map will be cataloged and added to the collection. Right now, each map that I have scanned is sitting in a giant acid-free folder which is stamped and marked with a call-number. Tomorrow I will be participating in a glue party. I will be gluing catalog tags to the acid-free folders using archival glue.
I have learned that LOC is actually a member of the legislative branch of the government. The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. What a neat thing to be a part of! I am so glad to be having this experience. Jenny
August 17
Hi UCP,
I just accepted an offer to intern at the Library of Congress late yesterday afternoon. The details I have are listed below. Thank you once again for letting me know about the Washington Center. Interning at the Library of Congress is a dream come true. I will keep in touch. The plane leaves August 31st. Jenny
Jennifer,
I am glad to offer you an internship via The Washington Center at the Library of Congress beginning on September 6, 2005. We are excited about your participation. Though our initial contact with you has been somewhat hectic, I assure you that you will have a rewarding and enriching experience at the Library of Congress. Because we are such a large institution, it can take time for us to move on some decisions.
Your position will be in the Office of Strategic Initiatives working with the electronic preparation and display of educational materials. You would work with collections we currently have on line and production of some primary source materials. We are in the process of identifying specific projects for you to work on. I will be in touch with you as soon as I have those details.
If, by some odd chance, this placement is not suitable. I will be able to offer you options of placements in either the Social Sciences Cataloging Division or the Copyright Office or other locations in the Library of Congress. I will collaborate with you in each step of the placement process.
I look forward to talking with you tomorrow. Meanwhile here is information on the Library of Congress and my the Office of Workforce Diversity.
Office of Workforce Diversity
OWD maximizes implementation of workforce diversity throughout the Library via affirmative action and special programs, alternative dispute resolution, and equal employment opportunity complaints processing. These component offices implement a wide range of programs and services in support of the Library's goal of promoting equal employment opportunities and fair and equitable treatment for all employees, applicants for employment, researchers and visitors regardless of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
Working at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with nearly 128 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 57 million manuscripts.
The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations.
The Library's workforce is approximately four thousand dedicated staff who acquire, catalog, preserve, and make available library collections within our three buildings on Capitol Hill and over the Internet.
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