Martin Luther King, Jr., three-quarter-length portrait, standing, facing front, at a press conference

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Martin Luther King, Jr. – Why We Can’t . . .

The last word in the sign next to Martin Luther King, Jr. is mostly covered by a microphone. List the word that you think is on the sign and why you think that. The words on the sign were the title of a book King published the year before the photograph was taken. Investigate the sources…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Indian Timothy Memorial Bridge

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Indian Timothy Memorial Bridge

The caption lists the date of creation of this photo to be 1993. Do you think the bridge was built around the same time as the photo was taken? Why or why not? Look carefully at details in the photograph and the bibliographic record. What purpose do you think this bridge serves? Can you find this…

July 4th fireworks, Washington, D.C.

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Celebrating America

What do you see in this image? Jot down notes about what you see. What do you think about the details you noticed? How does this source make you feel? What questions do you have? Read the article from America’s Library, Independence Day: Americans Celebrate the Birth of Their Nation, then answer the question at…

Night lights : satellite view of the world

Featured Source: Night lights

Notes – “The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geophysical Data Center and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System provided data to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Bowie State University in order to render this image of global urban lights.”–On verso. – Includes lesson plan outlines, ill., and 11 maps on verso….

Portrait of Billie Holiday, Downbeat, New York, N.Y., ca. Feb. 1947

Learning from the Source: Capturing Character on Camera

The Today in History section for July 10 features Jelly Roll Morton, one of jazz music’s primary influences. From 1938 to 1948, William P. Gottlieb took over 1600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists. Carl Van Vechten also took a similar number of photographs of celebrities, including many figures from the Harlem Renaissance. The Library has two great…