It was during World War I, when soldiers began wanting to have some reading material around for their downtime, that the book light went on in the military. It's also when the American Library Association went to work delivering books and magazines paid for through the war bond program. They raised "a whopping $5 million in public donations, distributing more than 7 million books and magazines, erecting 36 camp libraries and providing library collections to over 500 sites, including military hospitals." The effort became "the foundation for the Defense Department’s first and longest-running morale, welfare and recreation program." Nellie Moffitt, the Navy’s general...
A New Book Domino Record
[youtube]http://youtu.be/jfG3U4HAXJM[/youtube] Well that didn't take long. A mere 3 months after the Seattle Public Library established a new Guinness World Record for Book Dominos with a 2131 book tumble the folks at the Central Library in Cape Town, South Africa and the Open Book Festival have gone and shattered it. 2586 books went down. Congratulations to all involved. Who's next?
A Charles Dickens Death Chart
Just how cruel was Charles Dickens to his characters? Thanks to this handy graphic by Melissa Symanczyk we can now follow death through his major works. In all, 53 people and 2 dogs have succumbed to the ultimate end via Dickens' hand. Symanczyk even awards a prize for best death with the honors going to the spontaneous human combustion event in Bleak House. The two deadliest? Bleak House & David Copperfield with seven fatalities in each. First Edition of Bleak House, in the original 20-in-19 monthly serial parts that were issued from March 1852 through September 1853 . First Edition of David Copperfield, in the original serial...
Graphically Speaking: The Benefits of a Library Card
September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month and the folks at The Pinal County Library District have come up with a novel way to promote the benefits of a library card. They compiled a list of 30 solid benefits offered by the public library and then transformed the list into a visual feast based on the minimalist, and retro design style of Penguin and Pelican classic paperback novels. All graphics were done by Pinal County Library District Emerging Technologies Librarian, Ann Leonard. More images and info: Benefits of a Library Card | Pinal County Reads h/t Boing Boing
Art Made From Books: A “Compelling Art Form” on the Rise
Art Made From Books: Altered, Sculpted, Carved, Transformed. Edited by Laura Heyenga • Preface by Brian Dettmer • Introduction by Alyson Kuhn The latest compilation on the blossoming genre of art made from books comes to us from Chronicle Books. Over 25 artists are featured in this well produced book featuring over 200 photos and a nifty looking exposed sewn spine. detail of a piece left by Anonymous From Doug Beube, an early artist to transform the book, to the Anonymous book artist who began peppering Scotland with beautiful book sculptures in 2011, Art Made From Books is a visual journey through the work...