U.S. Government Resources: Arts & Humanities

See more about this topic in the Dickinson Legal Research Resources:
DSL LegalLinks: Arts & Entertainment
DSL LegalLinks: Intellectual Property
Law of Artistic Persons & Property Research Guide and Bibliography

Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/index.html

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the research arm of Congress. The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. The web site offers access to many online exhibitions and collections, legislative information through THOMAS, and much more for both researchers and the general public.

EDSITEment
http://edsitement.neh.gov/

EDSITEment is a partnership forged in Spring 1997 among the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council of the Great City Schools, MarcoPolo Foundation and the National Trust for the Humanities. EDSITEment offers a treasure trove for teachers, students, and parents searching for high-quality material on the Internet in the subject areas of literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, and history and social studies.

National Foundation of the Arts and the Humanities

The National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities was created as an independent agency by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965.The Foundation consists of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761554862/National_Foundation_on_the_Arts_and_the_Humanities.html Provides a brief description of the responsibilities of the Federal Council and the National Foundation based on the authority provided in the 1965 Act.

Institute of Museum and Library Services
http://www.imls.gov/
Supports all types of museums, from art and history to science and zoos, and all types of libraries and archives, from public and academic to research and schools.

National Endowment for the Arts
http://www.nea.gov/
The National Endowment for the Arts provides national recognition and support to significant projects of artistic excellence, thus preserving and enhancing our nation's diverse cultural heritage. The Endowment was created by Congress and established in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government.

National Endowment for the Humanities
http://www.neh.gov/
NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Created in 1965, the Endowment funds the largest amount of humanities programs in the U.S., which include the preservation and access to cultural resources, education, research, and public programs.

National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965
http://www.arts.gov/about/Legislation/Legislation.pdf
Link to the full-text of the legislation.

National Gallery of Art
http://www.nga.gov/home.htm

The National Gallery of Art houses one of the finest collections in the world illustrating major achievements in painting, sculpture, and graphic arts from the Middle Ages to the present.

Smithsonian Institution
http://www.si.edu/ or http://www.smithsonian.org/

The Smithsonian Instutition is a collection of scienctific and cultural museums, centers, and galleries, which includes the National Air and Space Museum, National Galley of Art, National Museum of Natural History, National Zoological Park, and many more. It was bequeathed to Congress by James Smithson, a British scientist, and was officially estalished in 1846.