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Archive

Inside a Historic Observatory That Almost Went Up in Flames

Lick Observatory in California has lived to see another starry night.

Isaac Schultz September 3, 2020

A plan for the controversial World War II exhibition known as <em>Exhibition X</em>.

Plumbing the Secrets of the Archives of the Museum of Modern Art

From an Avenue of Fascism, to turtle soup, to a phantom photo of three important women having tea.

Andrew Russeth August 3, 2020

Berthold Laufer's cylinders: one row for vocals, the other for instruments.

Do These Tubes Hold the Oldest Known Stereo Recordings?

In 1901, a traveling researcher recorded some Chinese opera, and accidentally made music history.

Matthew Taub July 15, 2020

Biblioteca Capitolare of Verona

One of the oldest libraries in the world is still operating and contains the oldest existing document in the Italian language.

A participant named Debbie Graves shows off her goth look.

The Museum of Youth Culture Wants Your Teenage Memories

Your awkward, rebellious stage, it turns out, is history.

Matthew Taub May 20, 2020

The mine slows the degradation of the photos. The most delicate materials are kept in a special refrigerated section.

This Vast Photo Archive Is Hidden Inside a Cold, Heavily Guarded Limestone Mine

Over 11 million Getty images are on ice near Pittsburgh.

Isaac Schultz May 11, 2020

"The package may be small, but you will know it does not need to hold the love I send, for that cannot be confined," Hildreth Heiney wrote to her fiancé in 1918. The man in the photograph, identified as John, may be her brother.

A Trove of Sad, Funny, and Familiar Stories From the 1918 Flu Pandemic

A UCLA librarian has built a remarkable collection of century-old letters, diaries, and photographs.

Jessica Klein May 1, 2020

While you're sheltering in place, you can collect oral histories that bridge your family's past and present.

It's the Perfect Time to Record Your Family's History. Here's How.

Invite your relatives to share great stories with these tips from oral historians.

Jessica Leigh Hester April 29, 2020

If you're at home, sit down for a cup of tea with Joyce Chen.

Hobbies to Hone While Hunkering Down, With Help From Public TV

Learn to draw, craft up a storm, or boogie like it's 1979.

Jessica Leigh Hester April 16, 2020

At Harvard, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, Williamina Fleming, and Antonia Maury.

Even More Ways to Help Librarians and Archivists From Home

As long as we're all cooped-up, here are six digital projects that could use your curiosity.

Jessica Leigh Hester April 7, 2020

It's a shame we don't yet have the technology to digitize the Library's famous Nottebohm Room.

The Ambitious Plan to Digitize 100,000 Historic Texts in Belgium

Two major Antwerp institutions are putting some of their voluminous holdings in the cloud.

Matthew Taub April 7, 2020

The Museum of Portable Sound before its Grand Opening Gala in November 2015. The tiny ribbon in front of the phone was cut with the tiny pair of scissors.

A Loopy Library of Sounds Features Sprinklers, Sirens, and Freud's Toilet

The Museum of Portable Sound normally resides on an iPhone 4S. Now, you can hear it via video chat.

Claire Voon April 3, 2020

Librarians and archivists have digitized a lot of material, and they could use your help reading through it.

How to Help Librarians and Archivists From Your Living Room

If you're cooped-up and curious, use your free time to decipher handwriting, tag images, and more.

Jessica Leigh Hester March 23, 2020

A U-2 spy plane takes off on from RAF Fairford, UK, in 2014. While the exterior looks the same as it did decades ago, the interior has been modernized.

U-2 Spy Plane Photos Are Windows Onto Ancient Civilizations

Traces from the ancient past are hidden in photographs from the Cold War.

Emily Hammer March 2, 2020

Items that did not suffer significant damage were sent back to the museum to be reboxed.

The Aftermath of a Fire at the Museum of Chinese in America's Archives

Staff are hopeful after the first recovery effort found 150 boxes in a salvageable state.

Sabrina Imbler January 31, 2020

Reels of nitrate films from the Cinémathèque Française, stored in a fort in Yvelines, France.

Exploring the Haphazard Archive of a Paris Film Legend

Henri Langlois rescued thousands of rare reels, but was "famously bad" at caring for them.

Emma Jacobs January 13, 2020

The mouse is only a few inches high.

Helsinki, Finland

‘Viisas Hiiri’ (‘Wise Mice’)

The tiny, studious rodents greet visitors to the National Archives of Finland.

Video • AO Docs

These Grandmothers Are Preserving Ukraine’s Folk Music Traditions