Infographic courtesy of H&R Block (not sure what their relationship to libraries is) h/t Electric Literature
Reading Room for One
For the 2013 Lisbon Architecture Triennale artist Marta Wengorovius teamed with architect Francisco Aires Mateus to produce this little slice of paradise; a reading cabin for one. The simple wood structure is fit for one person, holds one bookshelf and has a raised seating area and that's it. It is light by a skylight. The artist populated the bookshelf by asking 20 guests to choose three books each for the library. "Sharing this itinerant project creates a community between people who read the books, the guests who chose the books and the people who will read the books wherever the cabin shall...
Minnesota: Land of 10,000 lakes and 1 floating library
There are lakes everywhere in Minnesota and now one of them has a floating library. Thanks to Sarah Peters the contraption above is open for business on Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. Designed by Molly Reichert the 8 foot structure will hold upwards of 80 books for water travelers to peruse and check out. Canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, skiffs, rowboats, or even inner tubes are invited to paddle up to the Library and browse the shelves from inside their watercraft. The library has both circulating and reference collections of artists’ books contributed by artists nationwide. A staff of friendly floating librarians facilitate the check out process...
The 100th anniversary of the destruction of the University of Leuven Library
On August 19th, 1914 the Germans seized control of the Belgian town of Leuven and began bombarding it. One of the most notable targets was the University of Leuven (Louvain) Library which was soon razed to the ground. An estimated 300,000 books, 1000 manuscripts and 800 incunabula were looted or destroyed! The world was horrified by the wanton destruction and efforts where made to collect books to help replenish the library In 1924 the library was reopened, it was financed by the National Committee of the United States for the Restoration of the University of Louvain. Sadly and unconscionably the library was...
Two sides of the Obama Presidential Library
While the battle for the bragging rights to host the Obama Presidential Library continues to heat up some folks in Newport, Nebraska had a different take on where it should be housed. The most popular float in this years July 4th parade was the one being pulled along by a blue pick up truck. It featured an outhouse titled "Obama Presidential Library" and featured a zombified President Obama. The driver of the float, Dale Remmich, has said that “the float was political satire and an expression of political disgust,”and that “there was no racism involved, no hate for anyone.” No one asked him if he watched FOX News....