Poetry is Wanted Here! April 29, 2015 – Posted in: Content, In the Stacks, public libraries, Special Collections

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.…

A book-of-the-month club for the infants and toddlers of Washington D.C. January 27, 2015 – Posted in: Content, public libraries, Reading / Literacy

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…

Seattle Public Library launches the Pike Place Market Digital Collection October 21, 2014 – Posted in: In the Stacks, Libraries, public libraries, Special Collections

“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…

The challenge is on: How might we leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities? October 16, 2014 – Posted in: bookmobiles, Books and Technology, Content, Libraries, public libraries

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…

Transforming Moscow’s Libraries; All 448 of them! October 9, 2014 – Posted in: books in design, Content, Libraries, Library Architecture, public libraries

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…

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