A visual homage to Dr. Shiyali Ranganathan from the folks at USC Marshall School Business
The Libraries of Chinguetti
It was once known as seventh holy city of Islam. It was also called the "City of Libraries" and home to the cultural elite of West Africa. Now Chinguetti is in the process of being swallowed up in its entirety by the desert and will disappear in a few generations. Less than ten libraries and thousands of rare books remain including important Islamic manuscripts on religion, science and literature. I hope an army of conservators and preservationists are on their way. More at Messy Nessy Chic: The Lost Desert Libraries of Chinguetti
Gay Fairy Tale Book in Public Libraries Irks the American Family Association
The book is called The Princes and the Treasure and features two handsome princes who go on a quest to save a princess, but ultimately fall in love with each other. The book is written by Jeffrey A. Miles, a professor at the University of the Pacific, who has been married to his husband for 5 years. The book may be available in a public library near you and that has got the American Family Association in a tizzy. Yes, the same group that claims "a drag queen was behind the USPS Harvey Milk stamp" has come out against the book. Bryan Fischer,...
The McSweeney’s Archive is open for business
Dave Eggers launched Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern from his Brooklyn apartment in 1998. When the the McSweeney's archive was acquired by the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas a mere 15 years later the McSweeney's community had become one of the seminal hubs of literary culture in the 21st century. In addition to the highest quality writing each publication conveys a deep appreciation for design and craft making their publications instantly recognizable and consistently appealing. The archive documents the "evolution of a startup quarterly literary journal into a highly influential small publishing house and creator of several serials, including Timothy McSweeney's...
POTUS in the White House Library
The Eisenhower family during the televised special celebrating the president's birthday, 1958It started as a laundry room. In 1935 it was turned into a library and in 1961 "a committee was appointed to select works representative of a full spectrum of American thought and tradition for the use of the President, his family, and his staff." Here's a look at how some of the past inhabitants of the White House used the library. Richard Nixon delivering a speech,1972 Gerald Ford after delivering a televised speech, 1975 Jimmy Carter delivering his version of FDR's fireside chats, 1977 Ronald Reagan and Russian President Gorbachev,1987 President Barack Obama giving...