#State library

[ancientsstudies]

Vorarlberger Landesbibliothek by eskimo.

[curiouscatalog]

Richmond, Virginia, in 1897, including an early State Library!

From: Scott, W. W. (William Wallace). Art Work of Richmond. Chicago: W.H. Parish Pub. Co., 1897

F233.3 .A8

[luminouscrow]

[ 03.01.2024 ]

📍 south australian state library

i absolutely adore this place, and every time i’m here it feels like a dream… ☁️☁️☁️

[85tigerphotog]

Iowa State Capital Library, Des Moines

[half-orq]

Gonna rant for a second I've been anti-audible for a while --well over a decade, though it wasn't always a position of "Fuck Amazon" --I didn't see the point of paying for access to 1-3 audiobooks per month when I was reading that in a week for free from my library. Did I have to wait sometimes? Sure. but also I was reading 1-3 audiobooks in a week. There were other audiobooks to listen to in the week while I waited --and so I listened to my less popular series while waiting for the more popular series. (for context, the time I'm taking about I was working at a bakery that allowed me to have headphones in, as there were never customers (we worked in a warehouse and shipped to stores and restaurants) so I was listening to 40 hrs a week plus commute times, plus times when I was playing the sims) But what I especially hate is audible exclusives. I had (wrongly) assumed that if a book was audible exclusive, there would be no way to get the book in other formats elsewhere. I run a book club. We democratically select the books for the next year, as long as they are within a few guidelines (we have length requirements within the founding guidelines, we must be able to source them through the public library with the help of the ILL specialist, and I research each book for things like content, pacing, heaviness --so we don't have two slow somber books in a row, mostly, but also so I don't have more than one horror novel in a year type thing. Keeps the books interesting, and keeps the choices balanced.)

One book, requested last year by three members and so very much quickly made the list, ended up being an audible exclusive. I did not check for audible exclusivity when I was making the list --my club wanted to read a book, and I could see that we could get copies of the book, confirmed by the ILL specialist. Great!

Except!!! Except this is an accessibility issue. If someone, for any given reason, needs an audiobook to access this book club (as I often do as someone with adhd for ease but do not need need. I can get by with no audiobook if I must, but if someone has vision issues, well.). If someone needs it and does not want to or have the ability to pay for an audible subscription, they are locked out of that month's book club.

And man that fucking sucks.

[reimenaashelyee]

The Creator's Guide to Comics Devices is OPEN!!! comicsdevices.com

An online library of visual-narrative devices that are used in the medium of comics and other sequential art.

Happy Halloween! I'm really excited to be finally launching* what is maybe one of my most ambitious, largest work yet. This online library is the next phase of a research project that began in May 2020, when I first mused on how comics as a field doesn't have a resource that catalogues devices used in the medium. Like, theatre has devices, so does literature, and film! So why shouldn't comics? I always had an interest in comics studies and analysis. I love reading, making and thinking comics. However most of my knowledge was intuitive - I learned comics from osmosis and experience. This is true for many of my peers. Speaking about comics as a creator is hard, because we don't have a robust system of language. When we had to speak, many of us tend to reach for the language developed for film by film practitioners. If there is language specific to comics, it's either scattered in multiple blogs or hidden away in academic journals. The Comics Devices library is meant to aggregate everything and everybody into a single hub! After exploring some multiple resources, alongside some original, independent research, here is the first edition! * The Comics Devices project is still a work-in-progress! It's not final, nor will it ever be. This is why I am seeking contributors to help build this library. Translations, comics examples, etc. There is a lot of work to do! If you are interested, reply to this post or submit an expression of interest on this page.  Have fun everyone!! (Now time for me to melt x_x)

[statelibraryqueensland]

What on earth did we miss in Our Flag Means Death for this to be a spoiler?

Our librarians have decided, without reading any of the 16th century Latin, that this image must be attempting to portray… A monkfish.

Illustration from the Ortus Sanitatis: de herbis & plantis (1511). From the Rare Books Collection, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.

Source

[allanwalshauthor]

A Simple Post on Libraries

Hello Readers, I haven’t done a post that isn’t a book review for some time now, so I thought I would put one together for you. I had a little think about what I could do and came up with this idea, a post on some of the awesome libraries I have visited locally and across the world. So, here are a few of the photos I have taken while on my travels (and one photo I didn’t take). This is the…

[destielmemenews]

"Publishers accused the nonprofit of infringing copyrights in 127 books from authors like Malcolm Gladwell, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger and Elie Wiesel, by making the books freely available through its Free Digital Library.

The archive, which hosts more than 3.2 million copies of copyrighted books on its website, contended that the library was transformative because it made lending more convenient and served the public interest by promoting "access to knowledge.""

source 1

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[livesunique]

Biltmore House, Asheville, New Carolina, United States

[without-ado]

Iowa State Law Library l christosjpalios l U.S.

[curiouscatalog]

Let us practice the ancient skills of our trade.

From: Library Handwriting : A Guide for the Use of Students in the New York State Library School. [Rev. ed.]. Albany: University of the State of New York, 1916.

Z670.Z8 N58 1916

[reasonsforhope]

"In neighborhoods across the globe — yes, even in Antarctica — it is not uncommon to find a Little Free Library, or a book-sharing box filled with a collection of free books to take, share, and enjoy.

If a location on the South Pole wasn’t enough, Little Free Library is celebrating a major milestone: Its 200,000th box. 

The nonprofit that manages these 200,000 mini libraries works to increase access to literacy in urban, suburban, and rural communities all over the world. This includes programming to expand access to books among BIPOC communities, as well as efforts to fight book bans across the United States.

In sticking with this mission, the landmark 200,000th library was donated to and installed at Benjamin E. Mays IB World School, an elementary school in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

The donation also marks the first of 200 Little Free Libraries that will be given to Title I schools across the U.S., in an effort to expand access to books in low-income areas...

The 200,000th library is exclusively for students and is designed to resemble a one-room schoolhouse. This pays homage to the very first Little Free Library, built by the organization’s founder Todd H. Bol in 2009.

“The future where all of us, no matter our age, economic status, or residence, have the opportunity to readily access a book that can inspire, motivate, and empower,” Metzger continued. 

“Working together locally as a community, a community connected through Little Free Libraries, we hope to make this opportunity a reality for all.” 

The worldwide network of Little Free Libraries spans all 50 states, 128 countries, and all seven continents. 

Next, 199 more Little Free Libraries will be installed at Title I elementary schools, and each of these will be stocked with 200 brand-new books.

The donated libraries are sponsored by Books Unbanned and the donated materials come from a 40,000-book donation from Penguin Random House. ..

Schools receiving these libraries and books were selected through an application process, and all students in the schools are welcome to take the books home at no cost.

“Many of our students have little to no books at home, and transportation barriers prevent families from reaching the public library,” a representative from participating school Somerset Lakes Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, said in a statement.

“A Little Free Library will serve as a crucial bridge, providing ongoing access to literature for students, their siblings, parents, and the community.”

Back in St. Paul, the 200,000th library is already set to be well-loved by the 340 students who attend Benjamin E. Mays IB World School. All students received gifted books, and 50 select students who excelled in a recent reading challenge attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“Freedom is the road seldom traveled by the multitudes; however, literacy is the gateway to learn one’s past, present, and shape the future,” said the school’s principal, Dr. Kenneth O. Turner Jr. 

“Through literacy, one can travel the world, reading and learning about historical figures who have shaped the world. Literacy can take you into space and travel the galaxies far away. Through literacy all is obtainable.” 

Anyone interested in joining the “take a book, leave a book” movement of Little Free Library can build or buy their own box and register it online to be part of the official network."

-via GoodGoodGood, March 13, 2025

[sleepyminty]

Certified furioso moment

[jstor]

Be all that you can be: read.

These timeless messages from Senator Claiborne Pell in 1968 resonate with us even today. His address on the importance of libraries and literacy programs highlights how these resources answer the millions of questions we have and why we should utilize them.

Explore the full video.

📽️ : Senator Claiborne Pell. Literacy and Libraries, 1968. University of Rhode Island.

[bloodanddiscoballs]

Texas Residents!

Help us stop HB 3225 in Committee. HB 3225 to be heard by the State Affairs Committee Meeting on Monday, April 14 at 8AM

Provide In-Person Testimony (ATX) or Submit Written Comment (Online) against HB 3225

What does the bill do?

First, it forbids municipal public libraries from allowing anyone under 18 to access “sexually explicit” materials (the quotation marks are important). It also says a public library may not “curate, display, or make available for checkout any sexually explicit material in any minor ’s section of the library.”

The bill also uses an exceptionally broad definition of “sexually explicit.” It defines sexual conduct as “sexual contact, actual or simulated sexual intercourse, deviate sexual intercourse, sexual bestiality, masturbation, sado-masochistic abuse, or lewd exhibition of the genitals, the anus, or any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola.” No, it doesn’t define what “sexual contact” means—does kissing count? Petting?

The bill defines “access” as “the ability to check out “be provided a copy” of a book in either a physical or electronic format. It’s not totally clear to me whether just browsing shelves counts as access or not. But even if not, in order to comply with the law, libraries would have to audit their entire collections for any possible book with any possible description of sexual contact and flag those books as off-limits for checkout by anyone under 18. Which would be a massive undertaking. Practically speaking, the only way a library could comply with this law is to segregate its adult and “minors” sections.

That means two things: First, that libraries would have to restrict anyone under 18 to children’s/teen/YA sections—they could not be allowed into the library’s sections for the general (adult) public, where they might encounter “sexually explicit” books. Second, it would restrict the books that can be made available in those children’s/teen/YA sections. No sex-ed books, no descriptions of “sexual contact” in YA novels meant for older teens. Art books would be at risk, as would innocent books like Eric Carle’s Draw Me a Star and Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen.

How Can You Help?

1.) Written comments (can be submitted remotely and ahead of time): Can't testify in Austin on Monday? Texas residents can submit written comments through the Texas House's Online Public Comment form HERE. Be sure to select HB 3225. State that you are against the bill, and share why. The Committee Meeting Agenda states written comments will be accepted until Monday's hearing is adjourned.

2.) In-person verbal testimony:  Witnesses are usually given 1-2 minutes to make their public comment on the bill they wish to speak about. You will need to declare your name, and whether you are speaking "for" "against" or "on" (neutral) HB 3225. Note, if you have more to say, than can fit in your given time, you can provide both in-person verbal, and online, written public comment. Be prepared to stay all day- bring food, water, chargers, electronics, books, and patience. Find out more about how to register, once you arrive at the Capitol, HERE.

For in-person verbal testimony, witnesses (you!) will need to arrive at the Texas Capitol and make your way to the John H. Reagan Building Room 120 (1400 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701) in time to sign in at a kiosk outside the meeting room before the meeting begins. Paid parking is available at the Capitol Garage found at 1201 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701.

Other Things To Keep In Mind:

The committee members may ask witnesses questions, so be prepared to answer them. It is okay to answer that you do not know and offer to get back to them with more information.

Emotion in your testimony is okay - just be respectful and speak calmly, clearly, and with purpose.

Write down and practice your testimony ahead of time. You can read from it during your turn to speak.

If you hear upsetting or inflammatory comments from other speakers, you need to maintain your composure in the room. Exit quietly if you need to excuse yourself and take a break.

Suggested Talking Points:

Speak from your heart and include short personal anecdotes.

Consider how HB3225 will impact access to books and resources for children, teens, and families in your community.

Consider how HB3225 limits your rights as a parent since there is no opt-in, opt-out requirement for you to decide what books and sections of the public library your minor child may access.

Share how unrestricted access to "adult" sections of the public library helped you grow, develop and learn as a child or teen, or how you have seen unrestricted access meet the needs of children in your life.

Share your thoughts on the government interfering with your rights as a parent to decide what books are not appropriate for your minor children and teens to read.