Celebrate Comedy Night During Live! At The Library in October
Comedians Maria Bamford and Gary Gulman Talk Comedy Storytelling
Visitors are invited to celebrate Comedy Night at the Library of Congress during Live! At the Library on Oct. 17. Join comedians Maria Bamford and Gary Gulman for a discussion on their latest books. Other activities will include a comedy challenge, in which participants can perform jokes and book humor.
Enjoy a special performance by DC Improv, featuring eight polished punsters who each will perform a short monologue during the night. Additionally, visitors can view a special display of select comedy items from across the Library’s collections.
During Live! At the Library on Thursday evenings, the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building and all exhibitions are open for extended hours from 5 to 8 p.m. Visitors are invited to enjoy happy hour drinks and snacks available for purchase in the beautiful Great Hall overlooking the Capitol while visiting the Library’s exhibitions and programs.
Visitors are also invited to Experience the Main Reading Room during Live! at the Library. Usually reserved for researchers, visitors can now walk inside and see one of Washington’s most beautiful spaces.
Ticketing
For events during Live! At The Library, please use the event registration ticketing link found next to the event below or at loc.gov/live. This ticket grants access to the program as well as the Library’s exhibitions and the happy hour portion of the evening.
Programming Highlights for October
Oct. 10: Visitors are invited to tour the Hispanic Reading Room during an open house celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Admire the famous Portinari Murals and talk to curators about the collections held within the beautiful reading room. Register for this event.
Oct. 10: At 7 p.m., director Asaf Galay, winner of the 2024 Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for the Film, will discuss the importance of archival footage and the Library’s collections in making his film with Katherine Malone-France of The Better Angels Society and Jacqueline Stewart, chair of the National Film Preservation Board. Register for this event.
Oct. 17:. Hear legendary comedians Maria Bamford and Gary Gulman discuss their books about childhood, mental illness, humor and wanting to belong at 6 p.m. Explore your inner comic, see comedic treasures from the Library’s collections, and wander the Thomas Jefferson building for various comedy-themed activities from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Register for this event.
Oct. 31: Celebrate Halloween in the Great Hall for happy hour food and drinks from 5 to 8 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to wear costumes. Register for this event.
Exhibitions On View
·“Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress,” the inaugural exhibition in the David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery, draws from the Library’s rich Americana and international holdings in more than 450 languages and a variety of formats created across time and continents. “Collecting Memories” marks the ways and the means cultures preserve memory.
·“Not an Ostrich: And Other Images from America’s Library” represents a sampling of the more than 15 million photographs held by the Library, ranging from the early days of photography to today. Located in the Southwest Gallery of the Thomas Jefferson Building, visitors will see the “first selfie,” which is thought to be the earliest known American photographic self-portrait, and view important pictures of Harriet Tubman, the Wright brothers and more.
·Take a trip through a re-created version of Thomas Jefferson’s Library, which assembles 6,487 volumes that founded the Library of Congress, and learn how one of America’s greatest thinkers was inspired through the world of books.
·“Celebrating 30 Years of the Small Press Expo” is a display highlighting material from the annual comics and graphic arts festival. The Library has a long-standing partnership with the Small Press Expo to collect and document the festival. This year, the festival was held in Bethesda, Maryland, on Sept. 14 and 15. This display will be on view until Oct. 17.
·“Hispanic Heritage: Oscar Hijuelos” is a display featuring a variety of materials from the Library’s newly acquired personal papers collection of the New York-based Cubano author Oscar Hijuelos (1951–2013). Hijuelos was the first Hispanic American awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, in 1990, for his novel, “Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” (1989). This display will be on view until Oct. 30.
Live! At The Library is part of a broader effort to reimagine the visitor experience at the Library of Congress that invites visitors to enjoy the Library and its collections in new ways during extended evening hours from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday nights. The series regularly features special conversations, music, performances, films and workshops that showcase the broad range of holdings at the national library.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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Media Contact: Elaina Finkelstein, efinkelstein@loc.gov
PR 24-083
09/19/2024
ISSN 0731-3527