Today, we are celebrating the first anniversary of the DC Public Library in the Flickr Commons.

In 1944, the DC Public Library purchased photographer E.B. Thompson’s collection of images of Washington, DC. This collection included more than 1,800 lantern slides and glass plate negatives.

Starting in 1946 the DC Public Library contracted with the Library of Congress to create 8×10 black and white prints on mounts from his collection of slides and negatives. The prints are now part of the Washington, DC, Historical Image Collection in the Washingtoniana Division.

The strength of this collection lies “in its images of federal buildings, the Arlington National Cemetery, federal memorials, national parades, historic houses, and street scenes.” DCPL’s collection is very rich in photographs of historic buildings and national monuments. However, there is a notable amount of images of people and street scenes, too.

DCPL held a very exciting “Then and Now” Commons-themed contest. Please be sure to view the winning entry here.

The DC Public Library’s photostream consists of eight sets. Two of these sets represent photographs taken by E.B. Thompson. There is a total of 306 photographs in these two sets.

From the set “All Uploaded E.B. Thompson Photos” is this photograph of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, ca 1925.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

There is a set of second batch of E.B. Thompson photos in which there is a “Canoe Race!”

Canoe Race!

This photograph of the of the Library of Congress (ca. 1900) is from the “Buildings” set.

Library of Congress

Also, from the “Buildings” set is this photograph of the north lawn of the White House, taken ca. 1860.

White House

(more…)

As found by Pixel Wrangler:

DC Public Library	dbking
THEN	NOW

Nationaal Archief, for International Women’s Day, released a housekeeping set – photos joyful and serious of women’s and men’s everyday routine.

Wasgoed wordt gemangeld / Laundry is being passed through the mangle

The DC Public Library has released a large group of photos by E.B. Thomson, including much in color.

In the White House

The Library of Congress’s Friday Bain Collection uploads includes athletes, men of business and politics, royalty, celebrities, battle sites … and a mine disaster in Cardiff, Wales.

Cardiff mine disaster

The National Maritime Museum has new photographs from the Portlands.

London Lighterman

(more…)

Your weekly recap of happenings around the Flickr Commons.

The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition Oregon State University Archives

Let’s start the week off with a challenge! The Oregon State University Archives just added a map to their 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition set on Flickr. Anyone feel game to create a mash-up similar to what we did with the Chicago Expo? Read more about the finding of this map at OSU Archives’ blog.

• The Museum Computer Network 2009 conference is being held November 11-14 in Portland, OR. OSU Archives will present its case study of the Flickr Commons!
• Speaking of Portland, anyone know anything about some of the rose gardens there? OSU wants your help!
• Some clarifications on our experience with ‘free’ content – Seb Chan at the Powerhouse Museum responds to a question about their experience with the Flickr Commons.
• Be sure to catch his presentation schedule, too. Lots coming up.
• The 2009 National Digital Forum conference will be held November 23-24 at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Courtney Johnson at the National Library of New Zealand has information on subsidies for small organizations.
• Stacking the Tech: The Library of Congress Talks Digital Initiatives with the folks at Library Journal.
• Catch this write-up, by L’Archivista of the Building, Managing and Participating in Online Communities session at the Society of American Archivists 2009 conference.
• The American Historical Association provides a Take Two of Snapshots of the Past: The Commons on Flickr, an overview of the institutions that have joined the Commons since their first article.
• Picturing Rochester: Got photos of Rochester, New York? George Eastman House wants ‘em!
• The Powerhouse Museum has labels! And they want your visitor labels for their Odditoreum!
• The National Library of Wales has new podcasts up! Great stories of the library from folks that used to work there.
• Astrobiology: Life in Space, a webcast from the Library of Congress of Daniel P. Glavin, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who says the possibility of extraterrestrial life in our solar system is not limited to Mars.
• You’ll like the preview of the D.C. Public Library’s new website!
• Read about the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Peel Island lazaret, from the State Library of Queensland, Australia.
• Not sure where to find the Smithsonian on the internet? Here’s a guide.
• The SI and the Chandra X-ray makes news about research on the birth of stars.
• Harewood House and some historic photographs of Yorkshire – a fun field trip with the National Media Museum!
• ARRRRRRRR! The Field Museum wants you to dress like a pirate!

The Brooklyn Museum Crew

Twitter was all up in arms last weeks with #dukeriley. Here’s the Brooklyn Museum’s battleship. The New York Times and WNYC explain.

Congratulations to Shannon Field (<wikd>) for winning the DC Public Library’s Commons-based Then & Now contest! Her winning entry, America’s Main Street, brings Pennsylvania Ave, ca. 1905 over a century into the future. You can see the runners up in the DCPL’s blog entry.

DC Public Library	Shannon Field
THEN	NOW

Among the joys of browsing the Commons is finding those photos whose dates are more specific that “circa 1920″ or even “1920″. Here, in celebration of the middle of summer — or winter, as the case may be — are photos from across the Commons, from Julys past …

Cyclists climb over a closed railway crossing. July 1932, the Tour de France.

Nationaal Archief

“Revolutionary uprisings in Persia and Mexico threaten civil rebellion”. July 5, 1908, the New York Tribune.

The Library of Congress

The Dudley Cantrell Band plays at Grace Bros. July 15, 1937, Sydney, Australia.

State Library of New South Wales

A young bride is prepared by her bridesmaids. July 11, 1970, Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Nantucket Historical Association

Tom Walton plays the guitar. July 4, 1982, White Springs, Florida.

State Library and Archives of Florida

The Langley Flyer superstructure is loaded onto a houseboat. July 1903, Widewater, Virginia.

DC Public Library

Berenice Abbott captures one moment in the city. July 16, 1936, Union Square, New York City.

New York Public Library

Seven testifying scientists pose for a photographer during the Scopes Trial. July 1925, Tennessee.

Smithsonian Institution

American manufacturers parade on Independence Day. July 4, 1893, Chicago.

Brooklyn Museum

And Mme Gadriol goes for a ride. July 9, 1899, Luchon, France.

Bibliothèque de Toulouse

Our weekly look around the Commons’ institutions to see what’s happening both digitally and brick-&-mortar.

Fill the Gap: Case 55B (Jul 09) by the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Help the Smithsonian American Art Museum find an object for this space by searching their online collections.

• RIP Michael Jackson. Some notes about his passing from the Brooklyn Museum and the Smithsonian.
• Gone, But Not Forgotten: Marvin Heiferman, Smithsonian Photography Initiative, laments the passing of Kodachrome.
• m-Libraries 2009 coverage by the New York and D.C. Public Libraries.
• PandaCam at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo!
• Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution discusses how the Smithsonian is using new technology tools in support of the Institution’s 163-year-old mission: the “increase and diffusion of knowledge,” in this CSPAN video.
• Did you know that the Smithsonian streams live events on ustream?
• Vote for the best dressed in red, white, and blue in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History 4th of July contest!
• Intern opportunities are available at that museum, too. Check out this write-up of what it’s like to intern for them.
• Guinea pigs wanted for the D.C. Public Library’s Google Voice platform! Check out the DCPL’s other projects, too, including an iPhone app.
• You can learn a language at the D.C. Public Library, too.
• 8 finding aids for the Oregon State University Archives collections were completed or updated in June 2009.
• Judith H. Dobrzynski had lunch with Arnold Lehman, director of the Brooklyn Museum; they discussed the problem of permanent collections.
• Hey U, Tune In: The Library of Congress is now on iTunes!
• Learn about the people that make the stacks come alive in this Library of Congress post.
• Is a Bad Economy Ever ‘Good’? Read this LOC post about public service announcements, the Ad Council, and the donation of ad inventory by papers struggling to stay afloat in the new economy.
• Learn more about the global recession and the arts in this round-up from The Source, National Library of New Zealand.
• Find, Out. NLNZ’s discovery service is now in beta!
• See Old McDonald … and Dick and Jane, a favorite of Jay Vissers, New York Public Library.
• The delphiniums are in bloom at the George Eastman House! Check out their trials with email in Picturing Rochester: Behind the Scenes.
• Keep up to date on all the happenings of the Swedish National Heritage Board during Almedal Week. Lots of information and presentation info, and links to translate it all into English.
• Museums as soup kitchens for the soul, from the Powerhouse Museum.
• These podcasts from the State Archives and Library of Florida will brighten any day. I’ve been listening as I compile this. :)
• Download the National Media Museum’s film schedule.
• First World War diary record series passes 400,000 images at the Australian War Memorial.
• The History of the John Oxley Library – Part Five, by the State Library of Queensland, Australia.

Friday Fun!

Astoria, Oregon, Oregon State University Archives

Take a trip with the Oregon State University Archives! People and Places: Early “Oregon” – a great overview of OSU Archive’s latest release to the Commons.

Go Visit!

Ending July 5 - Caillebotte: The works of impressionist painter, Gustave Caillebotte, exclusively at the Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn is the final stop on this tour and the only American venue for this exhibition.

Ending July 5 - Masterpieces of Ancient Jewelry: Exquisite Objects from the Cradle of Civilization at Chicago’s Field Museum.

Now through July 11 - Foundry to Finish: Making of a Bronze Sculpture at the Getty; This exhibition and accompanying photographs and videos demonstrate the process of bronze casting as Adriean de Vries practiced it for Juggling Man.

July 20-24 - Summer School – How Do You Make Powerful Art? at the National Galleries of Scotland. Investigate art from Raphael to Damien Hirst, looking at why artists make art.

SHOUT IT OUT! Help keep the New York Public Library open.

Read more about the NYPL’s plight at the Daily News.

Heard around the Commons:

• Vet du hvor bildet er tatt? Last week, the Swedish National Heritage Board asked for help identifying a photo in the Commons. Within 24 hours, the location was determined … and they got a write up on the news!
• Pirates land in Chicago, a photo essay in the Chicago Sun-Times of the Field Museum’s “Real Pirates”.
• The Field’s dead geese help solve mystery of plane in Hudson, an article by the Chicago Tribune.
• Enter the Don McCullin competition at the National Media Museum: Win a signed hardback copy of the book Don McCullin by commenting on one of the photos Don curated for the museum’s Flickr stream.
• Check out the photos of the opening night of 1984, with John Hurt, at the National Media Museum.
• Celebrate the 1,000th Tyrrell image in the Powerhouse Museum’s Flickr stream!
• Valour is explained by the Australian War Memorial.
• Installing the Summer Shows, insight into the behind-the-scenes work at the George Eastman House.
• I Do Solemnly Swear … Got photos of the 2009 U.S. Presidential Inauguration? Share them with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
• Picnic pest is focus of a Smithsonian exhibition — A write-up from the Philadelphia Enquirer on an intriguing photography exhibit.
• Check out some new National Air and Space Museum Photos (Smithsonian).
• Meanwhile, back on earth … A Slideshow, curated Flickr photos, by the Smithsonian Photography Initiative’s Marvin Heiferman.
• Islamic Art at the Brooklyn Museum, from Sunday Arts.
• Check out this interview by the Examiner of Dr. Patrick Amsellem, the Associate Curator of Photography at the Brooklyn Museum.
• The Sounds of American Life and Legend are tapped for the Seventh Annual National Recording Registry, from the Library of Congress.

Friday Fun!

The History of Household Technology, from the Library of Congress

Go Visit!

Now through 30 June — 1969: The Year of Gay Liberation at the New York Public Library. The 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village, New York, is this month. There’s also a collection of GLBT books on display at the D.C. Public Library. We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!

12-14 June – Fantastic Films Weekend at the National Media Museum. Oohhhhhhhhh, scary movies!

13 June –Garden Fest 2009: The Scenic Route, the annual all day family-friendly event presented by the Horticulture Services Division (HSD) at the Smithsonian Institution.

13 June — Alice Waters book signing at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

15 June – Kick-Off Event: Juneteenth DC 2009 at the D.C. Public Library. Featuring performances, remarks and a reception in celebration of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. More info on Juneteenth here.

16 June – What Is a Conversation Piece? at the National Galleries of Scotland. Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, explores this fascinating type of art, which is such an important tradition within European painting.