We can't let National Poetry Month go by without a taste of some of the poetry goodness that lives within the confines of the Digital Public Library of America. From the postcard above featuring an excerpt from a poem by Alex Caldero proclaiming 'Poetry is wanted here!' to a sampling of dust jackets, to a lunch poem from second graders, poetry is alive and well at DPLA. The First book of poetry [Title-page]. 1811 The pleasures of poetry. (Vol. 2) 1947 Poetry as a means of grace. The poetry of the Bible, a new anthology Poetry Week at Miss Duckett Monroe School Washington,...
A book-of-the-month club for the infants and toddlers of Washington D.C.
By the time kids reach the third grade in the public schools of Washington D.C. less than half are reading at grade level! I repeat, less then half. We know the equation pretty well and we know that the long term consequences lean severe. Low literacy = higher chance of unemployment and incarceration. Ward 6 DC Councilmember Charles Allen has introduced legislation that would send a book a month to all 41,000 children under 5 that live in the district. “We have households in the District that have hundreds of books and households where the only book in the house may be the phone...
Seattle Public Library launches the Pike Place Market Digital Collection
"We believe handmade, homegrown and face-to-face are still the best ways of doing things." It was an August day in 1907 when "crowds of shoppers seeking fresh produce and bargains descended...The first farmer sold out of produce within minutes. Within a week, 70 wagons were gathering daily to sell along the newly named Pike Place, a wooden roadway that connected First St. to Western Ave." The Pike Place Market rests just under the Space Needle when it comes to Seattle's prominent landmarks. It is both a tourist mecca and community hub. In all, the Pike Place Market Historic District comprises 9 acres. It is...
The challenge is on: How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities?
The Good Food and Bookmobile This project will take a traditional bookmobile and add kitchen components to bring core community services to people in rural areas, building community, increasing community capacity, and ensuring access for all. The mission of the Knight Foundation is simple: To support "transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged." One way they do this is to pose a challenge to the community at large, sift through the responses and then fund the winners. The latest challenge is: How might...
Transforming Moscow’s Libraries; All 448 of them!
Dostoyevsky Library Interior Before and After Renovation. Image © Frans Parthesius A beautiful thing is happening to the public libraries of Moscow. Armed with extensive research on the benefits of a vibrant public library system a group comprised of the architectural firm SVESMI, lead by Sverdlov, urban designer Paola Viganò, and the Muscovite bookseller Boris Kupriyanov got the ear of Moscow’s Culture Minister. In a nutshell: the number of libraries per capita in Moscow rivals other European cultural capitals yet, prior to the inception of this project, were unpopular and disproportionately underpopulated public places. The vast majority of them remain dense with unfulfilled potential...