Students uncover historical oddities at Library of Congress
Besides the 1954 movie of Monroe at a driving range and video of a 13-year-old Jordan shooting hoops, the curiosities include a pair of photos of the 1901 race between a Detroit mechanic named Henry Ford and successful auto builder and racer Alexander Winton.
More than 31 million copyrights have been issued since 1790. Each of the records from before 1978 is recorded on a small card. Since then, copyrights have been recorded electronically.
The cards are securely preserved in 25,675 drawers that occupy 9,354 square feet of office space in the library's James Madison Building, near the Capitol.
It is one of the world's largest remaining card catalogs, and the office is studying how much it would cost to computerize. The library has already computerized its catalog of books and other materials.
The Library of Congress, home to the country's copyright office, has no immediate plans to show the findings publicly because some await clearance from the copyright holders.
However, the students who conducted the treasure hunt recently organized a small private showing of the results. The library eventually hopes to put a selection on its Web site, but for now it is being cautious.