Library of Congress International Collections

06/16/2025

Learn more about Takeshirō Matsuura (1818-1888)--a Japanese explorer, author, and artist known as the "Godfather of Hokkaido"--in this new blog post: https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2025/06/highlights-of-ainu-and-ezochi-rare-materials-at-the-library-of-congress-takeshiro-matsuura-19th-century-humanist-explorer-of-ezochi/?loclr=fbint.

Several of Matsuura's written works, many of which are richly illustrated, can be viewed freely online through the Library's Ainu and Ezochi Rare Collection at https://www.loc.gov/collections/ainu-and-ezochi-rare-collection/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbint.

Image: Portrait of Matsuura, left, from “The Old Geographer Matsuura Takeshiro" (1916), and a scene from “Kita Ezo yoshi, ichimei, Taraika Orokko kikō” (An account of northern Ezo, or travels in Taraika and Orokko).

06/05/2025

We mourn the passing of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, world-renowned Kenyan novelist, scholar and playwright on May 28.
We also celebrate his many accomplishments. Noted as a perennial favorite to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, Ngũgĩ’s writings spanned over 50 years and were translated into 32 languages. His first novel, Weep Not, Child, published in 1964, was about the effects of the Mau Mau uprising on the lives of the ordinary people of Kenya.

Ngũgĩ was a guest at the Library in 2019, where he presented his newly released 34th publication "Minutes of glory and other stories.” The event, “An Evening with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o”, can be viewed at https://www.loc.gov/item/2024696493.
The Library’s holdings also include a long list of works by and about Ngũgĩ.

05/07/2025

Now online: oral history interviews of US-allied Lao military veterans of the Secret War in Laos, https://www.loc.gov/collections/lao-special-guerrilla-unit-and-royal-lao-army-veteran-interviews/about-this-collection/?loclr=fbint

Hear directly from participants of this little-known but incredibly important part of the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War). Listen to interviews from a military region commander, a nurse, infantry, forward air controllers, special commando raiders, liaison officers and others who served in the Royal Lao Army and the CIA and US Army Special Forces-backed Special Guerrilla Units. They fought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail serving as “Road Watch” teams and in large unit actions against Pathet Lao and People’s Army of Vietnam forces.

04/24/2025

The Signal blog, which traces the evolution of digital practices at the Library of Congress, has published an interview with the Asian Division’s South Asian reference specialist Charlotte Giles, highlighting the new Maldives Government Web Archive released this year, https://blogs.loc.gov/thesignal/2025/04/archiving-an-island-nation-the-maldives-government-web-archive/. In this interview, she discusses how the web archive was created, what it preserves, and why it is an important addition to the Library’s Asian Division. She shares examples of how the archive captures the unique perspective of an island nation and explains why collecting materials from the Maldives is important but also challenging. This is part of a series highlighting new collections in the Library’s web archives and the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating them.

04/15/2025

The Library of Congress laments the passing of Peruvian author, public intellectual, and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa. He recorded for our PALABRA Archive in 1977: https://www.loc.gov/item/93842767/

Vargas Llosa is widely known for his work in fiction as one of the most prominent members of the Latin American 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮 of the 1960s and 70s. His most well-known works include 𝘓𝘢 𝘊𝘪𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘥 y 𝘭𝘰𝘴 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘴 (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰) (1963), 𝘓𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘦 (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦) (1966), and 𝘓𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰 (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥) (1981). He also wrote short story collections, including 𝘓𝘰𝘴 𝘫𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘴 (𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴) (1959), and essays. His books have been translated into more than thirty languages, and in addition to the Nobel Prize, he has received numerous other awards such as the Leopoldo Alas Book Prize, the Ritz Paris Hemingway Award, the Rómulo Gallegos Prize, and the Miguel de Cervantes Prize.

Photo credit: Jaime Travezán and Morgana Vargas Llosa

04/10/2025

Don’t miss an upcoming panel on May 9 featuring veterans of the Secret War in Laos speaking about their experiences during the Vietnam War. Laos was a key battlefield as the Ho Chi Minh Trail transited the country. Lao Special Guerrilla Unit/Royal Lao Army soldiers fought along this bloody road, serving as “Road Watch” teams and in large unit actions. Also speaking will be former US CIA case officers and U.S. Army Special Forces veterans. Due to the covert nature of the war in Laos and US involvement, historical documentation has been limited, especially in terms of personal narratives. This panel lets you hear directly from participants of this little-known but crucial story of the Vietnam War 50 years after its end. This event will be both in person at the Thomas Jefferson building Whittall pavilion and simultaneously online via Zoom. There will be time for questions from the audience at the end of the session. Register at https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_hjbOnLzARnS-xfT92VXdvw

03/26/2025

Greek Independence Day is upon us! On March 25, 1822, this sunny Mediterranean nation proclaimed its independence from the Ottoman Empire. The road there was long and arduous. But the cause and the suffering which accompanied it garnered great sympathy and support across Europe and the United States through the movement known as Philhellenism. The Library of Congress holds a wealth of primary and secondary sources in multiple formats in the study and recognition of this historical achievement. This blog post introduces readers to some of them.

The Library of Congress holds a wealth of primary and secondary sources in multiple types of formats on the study and recognition of Greek independence and Philhellenism. The blog post introduces readers to some of them.

03/01/2025

106 years ago today, in 1919, tens of thousands of Koreans took to the streets of Seoul and across the Korean Peninsula, boldly demanding independence from Japanese colonial rule. The March 1st Movement (Samil Undong) became the largest and most powerful expression of civil disobedience in Korean history.

The movement spread rapidly throughout Korea and to Korean communities abroad, including demonstrations by Koreans in Hawai’i and elsewhere in the US. The movement caught the attention of global communities and inspired other anti-colonial struggles, including China’s May Fourth Movement. Though immediate independence was not achieved, the spirit of the 3·1 Movement laid the foundation for the establishment of the Korean Provisional Government. In recognition of its profound legacy, the Republic of Korea adopted 1919 as the first year of its official calendar.

The Library of Congress contains a wealth of primary and secondary sources for this important movement including first-hand accounts, photographs, and scholarly publications in Korean and English. This March 19, 1919 article from the Washington Times (later the Washington Times-Herald), shows how the Korean Independence Movement was reported in the United States (https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84026749/1919-03-19/ed-1/?loclr=fbint). Interested readers can explore US press coverage of these events by searching Chronicling America, a digital collection of historical American newspapers (https://www.loc.gov/collections/chronicling-america/?loclr=fbint).

02/28/2025

This year, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins on March 1. Observed globally, Muslims celebrate this month with fasting, prayer, and reflection, further emphasized by charity and kindness. From dawn until sunset, abstinence from food and drink is required. The fast is broken each evening with a meal known as “Iftar.” The month concludes with the celebration of ‘Id al-Fitr, characterized by communal prayers and feasting.

For more on Ramadan, see: https://blogs.loc.gov/international-collections/2017/05/the-visitor-the-holy-month-of-ramadan-and-muslim-practice/?loclr=fbint

Below image is of a 19th Century Qur'an displaying the verses 183-185 from Surat al-Baqarah on the obligations of fasting. The Quran can be viewed at https://www.loc.gov/item/2010471600

02/12/2025

The recent heavy snowfall across much of the eastern United States has us once again thinking about the many beautiful snowscapes depicted in the collection of Japanese woodblock prints found in the Library's Prints & Photographs Division. This print, "Bikuni Bridge in Snow," is part of the series "100 Famous Views of Edo" by master artist Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858). View this print in full at https://www.loc.gov/item/2009631904/?loclr=fbint.

02/05/2025

Come work with us at the Asian Division of the Library of Congress! The Asian Division is hiring a processing technician to work primarily with the division’s Chinese collection. See the vacancy announcement at USA Jobs, https://www.usajobs.gov/job/830056100. Application deadline is February 21, 2025. Consider applying or sharing this announcement with colleagues with proficiency in Chinese and professional experience in libraries or archives.

What do processing technicians do at the Library? They organize and shelve newly arrived Chinese-language books and periodicals; locate and retrieve materials for library users in the Asian Reading Room; process interlibrary loan requests; inventory the Chinese collection’s newspapers and other titles on microfilm; ensure that bibliographic records for periodicals have accurate holdings information; and prepare collection items for digitization, among other duties. Learn more about the Asian Reading Room’s collections and services at https://www.loc.gov/research-centers/asian/?loclr=fbint.

Images clockwise from top left: a collage of book covers from recently acquired Chinese-language books; a box with reels of a Chinese-language newspaper; and a view of the Asian Reading Room.

02/03/2025

We’d like to introduce a new blog post, “The Posters of the Minjung Movement in the 1980s.” This blog post explores the posters included in the Minjuhwa Undong (South Korean Democratization Movement) collection housed in the Asian Division. It highlights the creators of the posters, the undongkwŏn ("counterhegemonic force") and the key issues they addressed, including minjung ("common people"), minjok ("ethnic-nation"), Anti-Americanism, class conflict, and the pursuit of unification in conjunction with Minjung Art. These posters are invaluable historical artifacts of the era that offer rare insights into how the movement's agenda, objectives, and strategies unfolded within South Korea's complex geopolitical landscape during the Cold War.
Caption: Kwangju haksal wŏnhyung No T'ae-u Taet'ongnyŏng i waen mal inya: Migungnom e kugŏl hanŭn No T'ae-u rŭl mora naeja. [1980s.] Minjuhwa Undong Collection. Korean Rare Book Collection. Library of Congress Asian Division.

This blog post explores the posters included in the Minjuhwa Undong (South Korean Democratization Movement) collection housed in the Asian Division. It highlights how these posters, in conjunction with Minjung Art, vividly portray the key agents, objectives, and strategies of the democratization mov...