May 10, 1933 was a bad day for books. The Nazi's designated the day as the one to burn all the "nation-corrupting books and journals" that existed within Germany. The goal was to rid the country of “un-German spirit."Germans view the "pillar of shame" (Schandpfal), a display of "un-German" books and periodicals mounted on a tree stump in the Cathedral Square in Münster. May 6, 1933. "You are doing the right thing at this midnight hour—to consign to the flames the unclean spirit of the past. This is a great, powerful, and symbolic act. . . . Out of these ashes...
In the Stacks: The National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the repository for the documents and materials of the federal government. They only retain about 1-3% of all the material produced by the government but as you can imagine there is some amazing stuff within those walls and, as is the case with all past libraries / collections / archives featured on In The Stacks, one visit is never enough.Poster: "In a War-Torn World, Let Good Books Help You", 1941 - 1945Last week the National Archives announced that they have teamed with five other national archives and five national and international research...
Target brings haiku to the masses
Welcome to Haiku-pons, the latest direct mailing for the Target Corporation.The booklet features coupons from select departments; each adorned with a corresponding haiku.Now for the fun part. As you clip your way through the booklet new haikus are formed. Above is a complete page, below is the page with the middle coupon excisedWhat a great idea though the timing could've been a bit better. Why are these showing up in peoples mailboxes the first week of May when April was National Poetry Month?
Letters for a New Library
To commemorate, celebrate and promote the opening of the new public library in Troy, Michigan in 1971 children's librarian Marguerite Hart sent letters to a slew of notable figures asking them to "write a letter to the children of Troy about the importance of libraries, and their memories of reading and of books."Hart received 97 letters in return "from individuals who spanned the arts, sciences, and politics across the50 states, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, the Mariana Islands, and American Samoa." From Saul Alinsky to Vincent Price, from Isaac Asimov to the Pope, the letters provide a cultural snapshot of...
The Monobookist Invades New York
photo via CNN Doth One Book Make a Store? Everywhere you look in the recently opened Ed's Martian Book in New York City's West Village you'll see the same book. Whether you're in the New and Noteworthy section or the Sale section you will be exposed to one book and one book only, Kessler's recently released, Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days With the Phoenix Mars Mission, an account of his time spend inside NASA's mission control.3000 or so copies of the book make up the entire inventory of the book shop.photo Guy Calaf for The New York...