Why wait until Banned Books Week starts next week to start celebrating the madness. This time we go to Murphy, Oregon where things got a little heated at the Three Rivers School Board meeting. At issue: Persepolis, an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi about her experiences growing up during the Iranian revolution. The 'problem': the book contains some questionable language and depicts scenes of torture and some parents want to be able to sign off and give their approval before their kids can enjoy it. Apparently, one school board member (a librarian) was a little zealous in defending the...
New technology looks to uncover hidden text on map that influenced Christopher Columbus
The map is referred to as the Martellus map. It is named after its creator, the German cartographer Henricus Martellus, and is thought be have been produced in or around 1491. The only known surviving copy lives at the Beinecke Library at Yale. Being a large wall map, it is 4 by 6.5 feet, and having survived for over 500 years it is understandable that the map has seen better days. The map, which is usually on display by Beinecke’s service desk, has been relatively unexamined following a peak in interest after its acquisition in the 1960s because it is largely illegible. Now thanks to a new...
Get Busy at the Library
September is National Library Card Sign-up Month, a national celebration of public libraries and time to make sure that students have the most important school supply of all -- a free Library card. As a reminder of the plethora of offerings available at most libraries The Seattle Public Library has put out a list packed with opportunities to enrich your life. Here are 30 things you can do for free at The Seattle Public Library: 1. Visit a museum - we've just added the Museum of Flight and the Museum of History and Industry. 2. Learn how to write. 3. Publish your e-book. 4. Watch a...
Little Free Library Love at the Seattle Design Festival
This year's Seattle Design Festival included A Little Free Library Design/Build Competition called Libraries on the Loose! The challenge: To design, build and steward a Little Free Library (LFL) prototype that promotes community and literacy in Seattle’s neighborhoods! The budget was $150 and all entrants had to submit documentation of their efforts including assembly instructions. One goal was to establish an inexpensive prototype that could serve as a template for future LFL builders. Twenty teams entered and the winner was “Spinning Stories” by Johnston Architects. Gotta love the umbrella. From the call for entries: Little Free Libraries are small-scale book shelters that function as “take-a-book, leave a-book” gathering places....
Book Patrol is now offering social media services for the book set
Are you a bookseller who has been helplessly watching your online sales decline while still hoping for that early promise of selling books online to return? Are you a book or arts related organization looking to do more for your members at a reasonable cost? Are you a publisher looking to do more for your authors or a distributor looking to do more for your clients? Are you a library or museum with amazing collections that get very little exposure or interaction? If you answered yes to any of the questions above and are having trouble finding the time or...