Hearing @lizzo  play some of the Library's priceless antique instruments on Monday was such a gift, and we were honored and happy to help her share that gift with her concert audience Tuesday night. Here is some more behind-the-scenes footage of her Library tour. #LizzoAtLOC 

One of the most beloved free-to-use photos in the Library's collection is of Brünnhilde, for obvious reasons. We're happy to report that 2023 comes with a freshly digitized photograph of Brünnhilde from another angle. 😻 More of our free-to-use photos:

A flute @lizzo  played in the Main Reading Room Monday (with permission from some lucky researchers who were there!) looks similar to the crystal one she had at her concert, but is actually plexiglass. It is also very rare & was manufactured when the material was first invented.🔊

Today in History: Aaron Burr shoots Alexander Hamilton in a duel in Weehawken, N.J., 1804 #otd  #tih 

Most silent-era film productions have been lost to time & hardly *any* material shot by Black filmmakers pre-1920 has survived. But recently, the earliest known footage produced by a Black film company was found, hiding in plain sight, in our collections.

For those concerned about the flute: Music Division curators made sure it could be played without damage. This sort of thing is not all that unusual, in fact. Some of the Library's priceless instruments were donated with the stipulation that they remain functional & be played.

Today in History: jazz titan Billie Holiday is born, 1915 #otd  #tih 

The Library always stands ready to assist when a new Congress convenes. This week we pulled materials from our collections for Congress members to be sworn in with. Here's a behind-the-scenes look from our comic book vault.