Exploring "The Source" at the Library of Congress with Kid Reporter Ishara

What happens when kids are given access to the world's knowledge?

In this special episode of Ishara’s Reading Podcast, Ishara visits The Source, the Library of Congress's newest permanent exhibit designed to help children, families, and lifelong learners discover the power of asking questions, investigating evidence, and exploring primary sources.

From historic documents and photographs to films, maps, recordings, and rare artifacts, The Source invites visitors to become researchers and discover how knowledge is created, preserved, and shared. Rather than simply being told the answers, visitors are encouraged to follow their curiosity and learn how to find answers for themselves.

During an exclusive media day, Ishara explores the exhibit, meets the people behind its creation, and learns how the Library of Congress is helping inspire the next generation of readers, thinkers, scientists, historians, and innovators.

This episode is a celebration of curiosity, discovery, and the idea that every great adventure begins with a question.

📍 Recorded at the Library of Congress

You can watch this interview on my YouTube Channel

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Transcript

0:05

Hi, it's Ishara here from Be Shara's Reading Podcast. Right now we're at the Library of Conference. We're going to a new area, a new example, about the research, about the science, about basically aware, and it's called the Source, and its motto is Curiosity Sparks Discovery and the area is for people like me, people like you, people like everywhere around the world thinking of something. Come on. Oh, that's the right reaction. Where's first? Okay. So welcome to the source. Right now I'm with Miss Jessica and Miss Monica. They contributed to the source. The new area of the Library of Congress for kids. And basically it tells you about several things. There's different tables here, like investigation, images. The libraries are going to be clear, right? The idea behind this library was that everybody, including those under 16 who can't get a researcher, would still be able to come in and learn a bit about the great primary sources we have here at the library. It's way more than just books. Um that we're, you know, the world's largest research library, and that you too can use our resources and be a researcher. What about you, Ms. Jessica? I loved getting to work there. Pen and paper and pen and paper, is that you get to use your own mind, your own critical thinking skills, and figuring out what do you think about that argument that someone's making or the perspective they're bringing. Do I agree with it? Maybe I need to look at some other sources. And then analysis only you can make. And then, even better, you can create something new out of me. So, depending on what excites you, if you find some sources that you think are really cool, maybe you hear a story like Maria Marion, and you think, I want to make a play about that woman. You know, then you can look into costumes from that era, you can look into all sorts of other things, beyond or scientific work, to think about that history period. And you could use AI, but that's not going to bring your meaning and your value and your creativity. So that's why I think it's so important to do it yourself. Okay. I love space. Like space is like how black holes actually once a star in the horizon is basically the point of the person. Is there any like station here that you think might have skills? Yeah, we actually have a few different things. Um, the idea here is we can't do everything, right? The library has over 181 million objects and counting, we get thousands every day. But here we have a few examples of different things to get your inspiration started, right? So we have uh the headline of uh walk on the moon, the first uh walk on the moon here. Um we have something written by Carl Stadion that he drew when he was a kid. So he's a famous uh astronomer. Um, but he has something when he was a kid. Um we have a great uh picture drawn by a kid of a girl scientist, they call it scientists, I believe, in the picture, but she's looking at um space. Um and so just thinking about the different ways that you can talk about space in any space and and get interested in that topic. And these are just a you know a few of the many, many, many things we have uh in the case. And then if you find something here that's really interesting, you can go online to the library's website, elusi.gov, and you can keep doing research from your home because millions of our resources are digitized and free for you to get to. Thank you for coming on to my podcast with Justin and Inscription. Thank you. We appreciate it. Yeah, you're doing next episode. What is your favorite exhibit? Why? Why did you decide to help with this big project, this gallery? Well, this big project was part of my job as a program specialist at the Library of Congress, and it's been a long time in the making, actually been planning this whole space for about seven years. So it's been a lot of fun to watch it from the very first drawings of what we wanted it to be and see it come to life. Exactly what you've learned. Um so that's been a great part of our experience. And one of the things I'm most excited about is that when my was happy is going to be working for the scholars who are coming in here Tuesday. The partner experience with last year. And they were embedded in what is now the audio. They do a lot of print angle materials. And they have special players of the 10 or 11-year-old me would say wow. And I actually got to talk to some 10 or 11-year-olds earlier this week, and they said the same thing. They said, Wow, when they listened to some of the sound recordings, they said wow, when they looked at some of the films, and they said wow, when they look at some of the stereographic images over there. So I think 10 or 11-year-old me would love this because I'm the big reader. Very curious. I'm curious kids in this space. I love breathing. I have really software, so I guess kind of stuff. In my podcast that looks involved, it could imagination. Yeah. Kind of clothes, absolutely. That's one of the reasons that we still have books in this space. Right? Although we've got all these other formats of material that the library collects, we still wanted to have a space that's allocated for books because that's how kids really start to do research. Um, and they're still an important part of research. The reason why I want Ash and I and I start figurating is because of a butt report. I grabbed that one I made job at the first last year, female. She's one of my heroes too, right? Well, I'm here in the fifth season of my own. That's awesome. That's a great story of starting out with something just for fun and then developing it into something that really makes use of your talents because you can feel very talented. Thank you. Thank you for coming on to my podcast. Thank you. It's really nice to be right now. Miss Maria, tell me about what was your first idea when you started contributing to well, my part. Well, first of all, thank you so much for inviting me to your podcast and to share my excitement about the gallery. Um, so my share of contributing to the source is by promoting it with news media, you know, journalists like yourself. And because we do want families to come and enjoy and experience the source, it's a brand new gallery, it's a first of its kind gallery. Never been done before at the library. And so we want young visitors to come and learn how to do research with the library's primary resources. So, as you've been able to see, it's divided into four main sections because that's representative of the different collections that we have throughout the library, you know, text, sound, film, image. And you know, we have millions of items, and here we just want to give people an introduction to the library and all the wonderful things they can do here with the front end of the sources. We've got to go back in time, be allowed to like still here. Which exhibit would you run to first? Probably to the point where that someone would say, slow down. It is an unfair question because I love everything about it, but I guess I'm drawing to two areas right now. I love the film section. Uh watching some you know video clips from like historic films that have defined our culture, and also all the way back in the back, the drawers with maps. There's a map, there's a drawer of maps of DC, including a replica of Lamfon's um map. You know, can you design the city? Uh, you're gonna find maps of uh land and sky and the world and and other creations. So that's a wonderful area, too, uh that you know, hopefully more people will get to enjoy. So it's really hard to pick, but I for now, those are the two that I'm drawn to the most right now. And then, of course, the research boxes because it's showing um young visitors how you can do research with primary sources, and there's just a whole bunch of topics, so it's just I love it, and you know, of course, the books. You know, you come to a library, you have to have books. First cat in space, I got to interview Mr. Matt. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that wonderful? So nice and very funny. At one point, he did a belly up during the interview because it was just a really funny voice. Of course, of course, and so we just want you guys to spread the word. You know, the library welcomes everyone. We want them to experience the library, to learn how to do research, to learn that the library has over 180 million items that they can research on, and it's just amazing. I mean, what I tell people all the time is that you never lose your sense of wonder at the Library of Congress. Agreed. In my books unlock the kids' imagination because one of the motto of the source is curiosity unlocks discovery in my congression. Well, in my opinion, so so the full name of the source, as a matter of fact, is the source, Colin, where curiosity um sparks discovery, because it's true, you know, you have to have this passion and this thirst for knowledge, for learning something new for yourself, and and then to share with your friends too. Plus, reading makes you smart. Yeah, well, anyways, so because I speak Spanish too, bienvenida, welcome, and I hope you enjoy it. Did you know the Library of Congress is now officially in the book of Guinness World Records, the largest library in the world. And the when it started was when President John Adams, the second president of our country, approved a large purchasing of books in 1800. And that built a library. You should come check out the source for yourself because technically no amount of AI could be to feel like a real paper and just history underneath your fingertips and you just discovering it for yourself. I had so much fun as a podcaster, and kids like me and people everywhere have been having fun, and I mean researchers, researchers of all kinds explore the library's collections. So people in Congress and public researchers too. Kids, you, me, everyone around the world can be a researcher here, and come to the source. You can get started on that journey right now, today. Bye.