Books are weapons in the war of ideas. Poster 20 x 27.9 , 1942. Published by the United States Government Printing Office. In the this installment of In the Stacks we visit the newly launched and much anticipated Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). The opening of DPLA represents a watershed moment in the history of American libraries and will undoubtedly become a seminal resource for our nation in the years ahead. It is safe to say this will be the first of many trips for Book Patrol through the "stacks" of DPLA. We begin with a couple of posters produced by the Unites...
Making Space for Reading
Reading HideawayReading can be an escape or an education or both at once. It can challenge, comfort, exasperate or delight but in this busy world the main problem can be finding space for it all - Rachel Van Riel, Director of Opening the BookBrodart, a leading library supply company, has partnered with Opening the Book to bring their designs to the North American market.95% of UK libraries already use Opening the Book products and their work has been shown to increase circulation and enhance patron satisfaction.To celebrate the release of the Opening The Book product line on this side of...
It’s a Wrap! The Elena Garro Cultural Centre
Now I have to put Mexico City on the "go to" list.Look at what Mexican architects Fernanda Canales and arquitectura 911sc have come up with for the design of the Elena Garro Cultural Centre. They wrapped the front of the old house with a concrete and glass frame to create an 'open' library space. They then incorporated not only the brick porch of the old house but also the huge tree that sits in front. More at:Denzeenarch daily
Library in a Shipping Container
Welcome to The Amin Library in Batu, Indonesia, a new eight-room public library and clinic designed by dpavilion architects and made entirely out of recycled shipping containers!Eight containers in all were used with each color corresponding to a different function.Green - main lobbyBlue - entertainment and popular booksRed - extends out as a canopy over an open-air circular reading terrace, and holds the science and technology booksYellow - women's reading room.images © ganny gozaly - all images courtesy of dpavilion architects h/t and more at designboom
Beware of Unemployed Librarians!
"I believe passionately in libraries and have been horrified by the prospect of closures throughout the system as part of local government cuts. I tried to make a useful comic to help..." - John Alison