E-mails to SMS: Library of Congress Photos on Flickr

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Library of Congress Photos on Flickr

These are a few of my favorite photos from the Library of Congress Flickr Collection - click on the headline above to see the photos in a slideshow.

Excuse me for reverting to my other (professional) life for this one post. I am, after all, a radical militant LIBRARIAN, and yesterday as I was sitting at the reference desk - yes, the reference desk is staffed on Saturday afternoons - I discovered a fabulous web site launched by the Library of Congress in conjunction with the photo-sharing site "Flickr" that makes available online over 3000 photos mostly from the 1940s and black & white photos from the 1910s, all copyright free!!! Check them out here.

The photos from the 1940s feature many shots of real life "Rosie-the-Riveters" along with many pictures of plane, trains, smoke stacks, lovely photos of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and countless images of Americana. From Pie Town, NM to the rural south, the photos show a wide range of life and scenery that captures a country at war.

The black and white photos from the 1910s feature many early ball players (mostly baseball, but a few football), boxers, politicians, strikes, crowds scenes, many shots of NYC and many photos that merely depict life as it was being lived in the decade that included World War I.

This nicest thing about all of the photos is that they may be borrowed, used, reproduced, or downloaded without attribution or worry about copyright violations.

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