If you happen to be visiting Lisbon any time soon you might run into this blue book van at one of the cities main attractions. The project is called Tell a Story and was created by the Portuguese advertising agency MSTF Partners. The goal is to expose visitors to a wide array of Portuguese literature in translation, in other words, to tourists that do not speak Portuguese. What visitor to Portugal wouldn't benefit from a little José Saramago, Fernando Pessoa, or Eça de Queiroz ? Luckily, Tell a Story is not a one-way street. "There's no better way to remember a journey than a book. And...
The Evolution of the Little Free Library
The Little Free Library movement has been evolving pretty rapidly. Their mantra is simple - “Take a Book, Return a Book.” When the movement began in 2009 most libraries looked like nothing more than an extra-large painted birdhouse or mailbox. Currently over 10,000 little free libraries grace the land and these days some pretty amazing ones are popping up all over the country. Current map of Little Free Libraries in North America In New York City, The Architectural League of New York and the Pen World Voices Festival are behind some of the latest and greatest that have been appearing on...
McSweeney’s is moving to Texas
not really, but their archive is. The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas (HRC) has acquired the archive of McSweeneys. Founded in 1998 by Dave Eggers, McSweeney’s is easily one of the most influential literary journals and publishing houses of our generation. Aside from the stellar content McSweeney's also boasts some of the highest production and design chops in the trade. This holistic approach to the book has separated them from much of the field. The bulk of the archive includes of manuscripts of books, essays, and short stories; correspondence drawn from the publishing house’s work with hundreds of writers;...
“X” marks the spot for latest Rem Koolhaas library
Building on the phenomenal success of the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library and the recent news that they will design the Qatar National Library Rem Koolhaas and his team at OMA now set their sites on the BMVR (Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale) Library in northern France. Shaped as an “X”, with each of the four wings facing toward one of the city's four landmarks. The library’s 150,000 volumes will be distributed to one of the wings: arts to the northeast, science and technology to the northwest, humanities to the southeast, and literature to the southwest. “This library is a symbol of the lateral...
Living with and sharing 35,000 books
The Johnson family has been collecting and accumulating books since the late 19th century. In 1899 the first family library was built by Thomas Moore Johnson (1851-1919) to house his 8,000 books. It is little wonder that with a library of that size he was known as the “sage of the Osage” (the house and library were built on the Osage River). Now there are two family libraries and 35,000 books.The three generations of Johnsons did it the right way. Collecting “rare books” was never the intention. Collecting books that fell within their diverse areas of interest was the mantra and it...