The Library of Congress Meets Flickr

By Virginia Prescott on Monday, January 28, 2008.

The Library of Congress has posted about 3100 photos to the popular image-sharing website Flickr. Archivists hope the move will let them tap into the knowledge of the masses and help them identify some of the people and places in those old photos.

Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott talks about this pilot project with Matt Raymond, Director of Communications at the Library of Congress, and David Weinberger, Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. David is the author of Everything is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder.

Click here to check out the L.O.C.'s photos on Flickr.

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Socrates didn't like books because they're mute--they don't talk back or answer questions. Presumably he would have disliked photographs for the same reason. Of course we know that really isn't true--in fact, books and pix and texts alike, they're always trying to break into conversation. The Library of Congress photostream on Flickr is the latest example--and one of the best--of how the internet is making it possible for pictures and books and things to talk to one another, and to us. It's a grand thing!

Submitted by Matthew Battles on Mon, 01/28/2008 - 22:06.

Idea Smackdown: Round III

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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.