Rally to Save Iowa History

For further information, see the following article published in Little Village: "Rally Planned in Iowa City to Protest Closure of State Historical Society Research Center by Reynolds Administration." Advocates for the State Historical Society of Iowa have also created an online petition, with additional resources, that currently has over 5,000 signatures. 

Update: As of December 31, 2025, the petition has nearly 8,000 signatures. For the current status of efforts to support the Society, visit the Save Iowa History web site. 

Scorpio Rising, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez, and Pariah Among 2022 Cohort Selected for the National Film Registry

Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board is an advisory body for the Librarian of Congress. The Board helps shape national film preservation planning policy, and also recommends films for the National Film Registry.

Chosen for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance, the Board's 25 annual selections for 2022 cover a wide gamut of genres and time periods, from such early films as the Mardi Gras Carnival and Cab Calloway Home Movies to such later works as Mingus and Pariah. The full list for 2022 is as follows:

2010s

Pariah (2011)

2000s

Iron Man (2008)

1990s

House Party (1990)

1980s

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Tongues Untied (1989)

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Hairspray (1988)

Itam Hakim, Hopiit (1984)

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)

1970s

Bush Mama (1979)

Word Is Out: Stories of Our Lives (1977)

Union Maids (1976)

Carrie (1976)

Attica (1974)

Super Fly (1972)

Betty Tells Her Story (1972)

Manzanar (1971)

                                                                                   

1960s

Mingus (1968)

Titicut Follies (1967)

Behind Every Good Man (196)

Scorpio Rising (1963)

Charade (1963)

1950s

Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

1940s

Cab Calloway Home Movies (1948-1951)

         

1890s

Mardi Gras Carnival (1898)

              

Further information on the Registry can be found on the Library of Congress' web site. All 850 films selected for the Registry since 1989 can also be browsed online. In addition, the public is encouraged to make nominations for next year's selections to the National Film Registry.

President Roosevelt, Duke Ellington, Max Roach, and Wu-Tang Clan among 25 Newest Additions to National Recording Registry

Now in its twentieth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 600 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2022, stating: 

“The National Recording Registry reflects the diverse music and voices that have shaped our nation’s history and culture through recorded sound. The national library is proud to help preserve these recordings, and we welcome the public’s input. We received about 1,000 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1921-2010, the selections for this year are as follows:

1. “Harlem Strut” — James P. Johnson (1921)
2. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Complete Presidential Speeches (1933-1945)
3. “Walking the Floor Over You” — Ernest Tubb (1941) (single)
4. “On a Note of Triumph” (May 8, 1945)
5. “Jesus Gave Me Water” — The Soul Stirrers (1950) (single)
6. “Ellington at Newport” — Duke Ellington (1956) (album)
7. “We Insist!  Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite” — Max Roach (1960) (album)
8. “The Christmas Song” — Nat King Cole (1961) (single)
9. “Tonight’s the Night” — The Shirelles (1961) (album)
10.  “Moon River” — Andy Williams (1962) (single)
11.  “In C” — Terry Riley (1968) (album)
12.  “It’s a Small World” — The Disneyland Boys Choir (1964) (single)
13.  “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” — The Four Tops (1966) (single)
14.  Hank Aaron’s 715th Career Home Run (April 8, 1974)
15.  “Bohemian Rhapsody” — Queen (1975) (single)
16.  “Don’t Stop Believin’” — Journey (1981) (single)
17.  “Canciones de Mi Padre” — Linda Ronstadt (1987) (album)
18.  “Nick of Time” — Bonnie Raitt (1989) (album)
19.  “The Low End Theory” — A Tribe Called Quest (1991) (album)
20.  “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” — Wu-Tang Clan (1993) (album)
21.  “Buena Vista Social Club” (1997) (album)
22.  “Livin’ La Vida Loca” — Ricky Martin (1999) (single)
23.  “Songs in A Minor” — Alicia Keys (2001) (album)
24.  WNYC broadcasts for the day of 9/11 (Sept. 11, 2001)
25.  “WTF with Marc Maron” (Guest: Robin Williams) (April 26, 2010)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2022 is available at the Registry website. Individuals may submit up to 50 nominations per year. 

Lord of the Rings, Pink Flamingos, and Cooley High Among Selections to National Film Registry

Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board is an advisory body for the Librarian of Congress. The Board helps shape national film preservation planning policy, and also recommends films for the National Film Registry.

Chosen for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance, the Board's 25 annual selections for 2021 cover a wide gamut of genres and time periods, from such early films as the Ringling Brothers Parade Film and The Flying Ace to such later works as Stop Making Sense and The Watermelon Woman. The full list for 2021 is as follows:

2000s

WALL•E (2008)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

1990s

Selena (1997)

The Watermelon Woman (1996)

1980s

Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)

1970s

The Wobblies (1979)

Chicana (1979)

Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)

Cooley High (1975)

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Sounder (1972)

Pink Flamingos (1972)

The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)

Requiem-29 (1970)                                                                                                    

1960s

Evergreen (1965)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

1950s

Strangers on a Train (1951)

1930s

Flowers and Trees (1932)

Hellbound Train (1930)

           

1920s

The Flying Ace (1926)

1910s

Jubilo (1919)

1900s

Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902)

              

Further information on the Registry as well as the films themselves can be found on the Library of Congress' web site. All 825 films selected for the Registry since 1989 can also be browsed online. In addition, the public is encouraged to make nominations for next year's selections to the National Film Registry.

Edison, Louis Armstrong, and Odetta among 25 Newest Additions to National Recording Registry

Now in its nineteenth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 575 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2020, stating: 

“The National Recording Registry will preserve our history through these vibrant recordings of music and voices that have reflected our humanity and shaped our culture from the past 143 years. We received about 900 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry, and we welcome the public’s input as the Library of Congress and its partners preserve the diverse sounds of history and culture.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1878-2008, the selections for 2020 are as follows:

1. Edison’s “St. Louis tinfoil” recording (1878)
2. “Nikolina” — Hjalmar Peterson (1917) (single)
3. “Smyrneikos Balos” — Marika Papagika (1928) (single)
4. “When the Saints Go Marching In” — Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra (1938) (single)
5. Christmas Eve Broadcast--Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (December 24, 1941)
6. “The Guiding Light” — Nov. 22, 1945
7. “Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues” — Odetta (1957) (album)
8. “Lord, Keep Me Day by Day” — Albertina Walker and the Caravans (1959) (single)  
9. Roger Maris hits his 61st homerun (October 1, 1961)
10. “Aida” — Leontyne Price, et.al. (1962) (album)
11. “Once a Day” — Connie Smith (1964) (single)
12. “Born Under a Bad Sign” — Albert King (1967) (album)
13. “Free to Be…You & Me” — Marlo Thomas and Friends (1972) (album)
14. “The Harder They Come” — Jimmy Cliff (1972) (album)
15. “Lady Marmalade” — Labelle (1974) (single)
16. “Late for the Sky” — Jackson Browne (1974) (album)
17. “Bright Size Life” — Pat Metheny (1976) (album)
18. “The Rainbow Connection” — Kermit the Frog (1979) (single)
19. “Celebration” — Kool & the Gang (1980) (single)
20. “Richard Strauss: Four Last Songs” — Jessye Norman (1983) (album)
21. “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814” — Janet Jackson (1989) (album)
22. “Partners” — Flaco Jiménez (1992) (album)
23. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”/”What A Wonderful World” — Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (1993) (single)
24. “Illmatic” — Nas (1994) (album)
25. “This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money” (May 9, 2008)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2021 is available at the Registry website. Individuals may submit up to 50 nominations per year. 

A Clockwork Orange, The Blues Brothers, and Freedom Riders among 25 Titles Added to National Film Registry

Established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, the National Film Preservation Board is an advisory body for the Librarian of Congress. The Board helps shape national film preservation planning policy, and also recommends films for the National Film Registry.

Chosen for their cultural, historic, or aesthetic significance, the Board's 25 annual selections for 2020 cover a wide gamut of genres and time periods, from such early films as Bread and The Battle of the Century to such later works as A Clockwork Orange and Freedom Riders. The full list for 2020 is as follows:

2010s

Freedom Riders (2010)

2000s

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)

Shreck (2001)

1990s
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

The Devil Never Sleeps (1994)

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

1980s

Illusions (1982)

Losing Ground (1982)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

1970s

Grease (1978)

Wattstax (1973)

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

                                                                                                           

1960s

Lilies of the Field (1963)

1950s

Outrage (1950)

1940s

Cabin in the Sky (1943)

                       

1920s

With Car and Camera Around the World (1929)

The Battle of the Century (1927)

1910s

Bread (1918)

Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

Suspense (1913)

              

Further information on the Registry as well as the films themselves can be found on the Library of Congress' web site. All 800 films selected for the Registry since 1989 can also be browsed online. In addition, the public is encouraged to make nominations for next year's selections to the National Film Registry.

Census Day: Be Counted

No, it's not an April Fools' Day joke . . . it's mandated in the U.S. Constitution. The 2020 decennial questionnaire only takes a few minutes to complete online. The long, fascinating history of the U.S. Census is also documented online. Although there are now multiple ways by which to submit census information, the first printed forms were introduced for the 1830 Census: 

From 1790 to 1820, the U.S. Marshals conducting the census only received instructions about what to ask. Each marshal supplied his own paper and used whatever method he chose to divide the paper into the columns needed to collect the required information. The method for recording the data was not standardized until 1830 when marshals received uniform printed schedules.

Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution spells out how the enumeration and political apportionment will operate on the body politic . . . hence the categories for free white persons, slaves, and free colored persons on the 1830 forms shown above and to the right (larger versions): 

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. 

The 14th Amendment, passed by Congress just after the Civil War, changed this equation substantially. 

Historical census records are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration rather than the Census Bureau itself. Exemplars of past decennial questionnaires (also called schedules or simply forms) can be viewed here.  

New Cohort for National Recording Registry Includes Memphis Minnie, Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick, Selena, Dr. Dre & Colin Currie

Now in its eighteenth year, the National Recording Registry has grown to 550 entries with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden having just announced 25 additional sound recordings as the official entries for 2019, stating: 

“The National Recording Registry is the evolving playlist of the American soundscape. It reflects moments in history captured through the voices and sounds of the time. . . . As genres and formats continue to expand, the Library of Congress is committed to working with our many partners to preserve the sounds that have touched our hearts and shaped our culture.”

Under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, selected recordings must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and at least ten years old.

Spanning the years 1920-2008, the selections for 2019 are as follows:

1. “Whispering” (single), Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (1920)
2. “Protesta per Sacco e Vanzetti,” Compagnia Columbia; “Sacco e Vanzetti,” Raoul Romito
   (1927)
3. “La Chicharronera” (single), Narciso Martinez and Santiago Almeida (1936)
4. “Arch Oboler’s Plays” episode “The Bathysphere” (Nov. 18, 1939)
5. “Me and My Chauffeur Blues” (single), Memphis Minnie (1941)
6. The 1951 National League Tiebreaker: New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers — Russ
   Hodges, announcer (Oct. 3, 1951)
7. Puccini’s “Tosca” (album), Maria Callas, Giuseppe di Stefano, Angelo Mercuriali, Tito Gobbi,
   Melchiorre Luise, Dario Caselli, Victor de Sabata (1953)
8. “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh” (single), Allan Sherman (1963)
9. WGBH broadcast of the Boston Symphony on the day of the John F. Kennedy Assassination,
   Boston Symphony Orchestra (1963)
10. “Fiddler on the Roof” (album), original Broadway cast (1964))
11. “Make the World Go Away” (single), Eddy Arnold (1965)
12. Hiromi Lorraine Sakata Collection of Afghan Traditional Music (1966-67; 1971-73)
13. “Wichita Lineman” (single), Glen Campbell (1968)
14. “Dusty in Memphis” (album), Dusty Springfield (1969)
15. “Mister Rogers Sings 21 Favorite Songs From ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’ ” (album), Fred
    Rogers (1973)
16. “Cheap Trick at Budokan” (album), Cheap Trick (1978)
17. Holst: Suite No. 1 in E-Flat, Suite No. 2 in F / Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks / Bach:
    Fantasia in G (special edition audiophile pressing), Frederick Fennell and the Cleveland
    Symphonic Winds (1978)
18. “Y.M.C.A.” (single), Village People (1978)
19. “A Feather on the Breath of God” (album), Gothic Voices; Christopher Page, conductor;
    Hildegard von Bingen, composer (1982)
20. “Private Dancer” (album), Tina Turner (1984)
21. “Ven Conmigo” (album), Selena (1990)
22. “The Chronic” (album), Dr. Dre (1992)
23. “I Will Always Love You” (single), Whitney Houston (1992)
24. “Concert in the Garden” (album), Maria Schneider Orchestra (2004)
25. “Percussion Concerto” (album), Colin Currie (2008)

The full National Recording Registry can be viewed online here. The Registry solicits nominations annually for inclusion on the registry; further information on the criteria and procedures for making nominations for 2020 is available at the Registry website. Individuals may submit up to 50 nominations per year.