The Dhofar Difference. Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region, 2000For nearly 40 years we've been taken pictures of our planet from space in the name of science. "Key natural processes and human land use such as vegetation growth, deforestation, agriculture, coastal and river erosion, wildfire potential, snow accumulation, reservoir replenishment, and urbanization" are all monitored through satellite imagery.Icelandic Tiger. Stretch of Iceland's northern coast, 1999Now let's forget the science part of the equation. These images "were selected...based on their aesthetic appeal. Cloud formations, mountain ranges, islands, deltas, and glaciers seen from space take on patterns resembling abstract art with...
The Library of Congress Makes Room for Kids
On October 23 the Library of Congress will unveil the The Young Readers Center. It will be the first area devoted exclusively to children in the library’s 200+ year history.The Center, which is housed in a renovated recording studio, will open with about 800 books. Most will be donated by publishers or culled from the library’s duplicate and exchange department.The focus is on providing personal and family “reading-aloud” experiences, supplemented by demonstrations of the library’s online educational projects aimed at younger audiences.Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-South Florida) provided the impetus for the Center. After visiting the library Wasserman was "surprised...
Library of Congress Celebrates the Joy of Reading
The Washington Mall is the site of the Library of Congress ninth annual National Book Festival, held this year on Saturday, September 26th, 2009 in Washington D.C.Scores of authors, illustrators and poets will be making presentations throughout the day in pavilions for Children, Teens & Children, Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, History & Biography, and Poetry & Prose.The popular Pavilion of the States site is back. Festival visitors can learn about the reading and literacy promotion projects as well as the literary traditions of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. Representatives from throughout the nation will...