Voracious ReaderWelcome to the world of Kathy Ross; a book-laden adventure through sculpture.The sculptures shown here are part of her "travellers" series. Of the series Ross says, "It seems that for this lifetime I have been loaned a quantity of molecules from the universe's available supply, and it has organized itself into a shape I call me. At the end of my time, I must give back this self, these molecules, to the universe, like returning a book to the library."Treasure Island StorytellerEach sculpture is transformed by the text, exploding with the colorYou are what you read (with linoleum block prints)You Are What...
The ‘Little Library’ in the Big Picture
OK everyone, put on your long read hat and settle in. Shannon Mattern has a must read essay on the Design Observer blog Places titled Marginalia: Little Libraries in the Urban Margins.In it she looks at the recent rise of the mini, pop-up, guerrilla and ad-hoc library and tries "to figure out where they’re coming from, how they relate to existing institutions that perform similar roles, and what impact they’re having on their communities.""Nowadays we have libraries in phone booths and mailboxes, in public parks and train stations, in vacant storefronts and parking lots" says MatternMattern also covers the various mobile...
Introducing LiLi – A Library Cruiser
Right on the heels of National Bookmobile Day comes the launch of the newest library liaison.Meet LiLi – Library Live and On Tour - a new initiative by the Fraser Valley Regional Library in British Columbia. Touted as the first of its kind in the world:Library Live and On Tour will shatter preconceptions about libraries, library services and librarians. Library Live and On Tour will deliver services to people in our communities who do not know about our libraries or have some obstacle to visiting them. Unlike ‘bookmobiles’, Library Live & On Tour will stress service, access to information and...
Have you hugged your bookmobile today?
Today, right smack in the middle of National Library Week, is National Bookmobile Day! It's time to celebrate the more than 900 bookmobiles that roam our communities providing essential services to those facing economic, geographic, or physical challenges that prevent them from being able to visit a brick and mortar library.John Amundsen's piece at American Libraries, Bookmobiles: A Proud History, a Promising Future provides a nice overview of these vital mobile institutions:Bookmobiles have a proud history of service dating back to the late 1850s, when a horse-drawn collection of books began making the rounds in Cumbria, England. Here in the...
The Knowledge Taxis of Cairo
Egyptians on the whole are not big readers. So what's a bookstore to do to try and help shift the cultural attitudes toward books and get people reading? Last year the ALEF Bookstores in Cairo came up with a brilliant idea. Since the streets of Cairo are in an almost continuous state of gridlock why not put books in the back of taxis so people can pass the time reading.The initiative, called “Taxi of Knowledge,” launched with 50 cabs, each carrying 5 books. Here's how it works:All the books for the program have been donated.The bookstore lends each taxi driver 5...