The American Library Association has announced the latest additions to its Celebrity READ poster campaign.Progressive talk show host Rachel Maddow and Saturday Night Live star Seth Myers are the latest big names to be posterized.The posters, which go for $16 a piece, help fund advocacy, awareness and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide while promoting libraries, literacy, lifelong learning, and reading.Maddow and Meyers join a long list of library and reading friendly celebrities and athletes who support the READ campaign. From Yo Ming to Yoda, Bill Gates to Ice Cube, and Tony Hawk to Rachael Ray,the READ poster campaign has...
These Libraries Are Going To The Dogs
A "Reading Dog" Offers A Comforting Paw(Images Courtesy Of Librarydogs.) Library cats have garnered nationwide media coverage recently, including here on Book Patrol. Not wishing to offend canine loving readers, today's post gives library dogs equal time. Libraries across the country from Swampscott, MA. to San Jose, CA. are making exceptions to that arcane "No Dogs Allowed " rule for a program proven to help struggling young readers."I need a little help with my reading, because I'm sometimes a slow reader," said Linda , a 9-year-old New York City girl. She found the perfect tutor at New York Public Library....
Library Cats 45, Bookstore Cats 0
Before She Was Famous: A Rare Unretouched Photo of Stacks The Library Cat.Cats are drawn to quiet, solitary activity. Writers know that putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, is a magnet for Kitty more potent than fresh catnip. Same goes for knitting, sewing, drawing, paying bills, folding laundry, and, of course, reading. So no surprise libraries and bookstores often have felines in residence. Two recent news stories reveal a trend in the area of literary felines: while library cats bask in the spotlight, bookstore cats are an endangered species.The State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois reports that the February...
Fine Art Of Book Destruction On Display At Library
Books Destroyed In The Name Of Art.(Photo Courtesy Of Linda Thompson For The Missoulian.)The University of Montana's Mansfield Library will play host to a controversial art exhibit beginning January 7, 2010. "Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate" is an exhibit based on the deliberate destruction of books. A feature article on the exhibit in the January 3 Missoulian Online generated a firestorm of heated comments, pro and con. Roughly 4,000 books were rendered unreadable by over 100 artists to create the art works represented in the library's gallery. All of the books were donated by one man--known only by the initials "J.R."--in...
A Library At The End Of The World
Abdoul Wahim Abdarahim Tahar of Timbuktu holds a book that has been in his family for generations. ( Photo courtesy of Karin Brulliard, The Washington Post.)According to a 2006 survey conducted by its Ministry of Culture, 34% of Britons thought this city "no longer existed" and the remaining 66% thought it was "a mythical place." They were 100% wrong. Timbuktu is a very real city today, and has been since at least the 10th century. According to a January 5, 2010 article in The Washington Post, the impoverished city may be ripe for an economic renaissance: a rebirth based on...