In 1949 noted photographer Walker Evans visited the New York Library and began shooting. When he was done 68 images where in the bag. Now thanks to the recent release of a treasure trove of hundreds of thousands of digital images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art we get a front seat. The library acquired Walker Evans archive in 1994. See the entire shoot here: Walker Evans | [68 Views of New Y rk Public Library...The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Books Win! NYPL drops makeover, Freakonomics on Libraries
Books Win! Books Win! In what will be remembered as one of the biggest victories for the printed book in the digital age. The New York Public Library has reversed direction on the proposed renovation of its mothership, the Bryant Park branch in mid-town Manhattan. The New York Times called it "a striking about-face" and added: "Library officials had heralded the renovation as part of a significant effort to rethink the flagship building in preparation for a digital future in which public access to computers would become as important as books." The plan was suspect from the beginning. "A Bloomberg-era scheme...
A Peek into Sigmund Freud’s Life
Sigmund Freud was born on this day in 1856. Trained as a neurologist Freud was the founding father of psychoanalysis and left one of the larger footprints on 20th century thought and culture. His "innovative treatment of human actions, dreams, and indeed of cultural artifacts as invariably possessing implicit symbolic significance has proven to be extraordinarily fruitful, and has had massive implications for a wide variety of fields including psychology, anthropology, semiotics, and artistic creativity and appreciation." "Massive implications," a huge public impact. Well, what about the his private life? In 1975 The Sigmund Freud Society published a catalog, Sigmund Freud=House, listing...
Library Cheat Sheet
Every wonder how they do it? How libraries big and small organize all that material. With this handy visual we get a peek into the brain of a librarian. It's Dewey Decimal vs. Library of Congress. I think Covers by Chip Kidd is misshelved. graphic by newhousemaps.
Still Looks Pretty Good: A map of bookstores and libraries in the U.S.
Here's a gem from Google Maps - a look at all the public libraries and bookstores across the country as of Summer 2013. h\t Chicago Public Library