Libraries Without Borders (LWB) thinks so and have unveiled a petition, The Urgency of Reading, to address the need.Over 100 leading figures, most from the world of books, have already signed on.People reach out to catch books, donated by the Cuban government, in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. Photograph: Ramon Espinosa/AP Image viaThe Urgency of Reading states that reading and writing are 'essential to healing and reconstruction' after disasters and holds the:strong belief that books, writing, and learning should not be denied to victims of humanitarian disasters, Libraries Without Borders, through this call to action, seeks to increase awareness about the need for access...
Library Lounge – B2 Boutique Hotel Zurich
You know it is a good start when the parent company of the hotel is called Hotels with a Bookmark. With 8 hotels in Switzerland Hotels with a Bookmark is a:collection of hotels, which retain their independence and identity. These are distinctive, unintrusive and personable hotels, which tell you a memorable story during your stay. Deep roots in the local community, high quality and the Bookmark make our hotels with (hi)story. They are remembered like a good book.At the heart of one of their signature hotels, the B2 Boutique Hotel in Zurich, is the library.The library features over 30,000 books that...
Books for Soldiers: World War I Style
During World War I the American Library Association undertook a massive campaign to get reading material in the hands of our soldiers. One of their initiatives to bolster Army libraries was to set-up camp outside the New York Public Library. These images portray the campaign's efforts and astounding success. The history of these efforts is covered in-depth in the seminal work by Theodore Wesley Koch; Books in the War: The Romance of the Library War Service that was published in 1919 by Houghton Mifflin. cover of Books in War courtesy of book patrol In the upper-left corner of the first image above...
Banned Book Trading Cards
Rabbit, Run by John Updike. Artist: WebmockerThe folks at the Lawrence Public Library are celebrating Banned Books Week by creating a set of trading cards. From the almost 50 illustrations submitted by local artists of all ages they chose 7 to include, one for each day of the week.Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Artist: Kent SmithThe two above made the final cut while the two below didn't. You can see all the submissions hereAnimal Farm by George Orwell. Artist: Anna TaylorA Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Artist: Sophia Palmer
The bookshelf takes over the library!
Here is the redesigned Musashino Art University Library in Tokyo. There are bookshelves everywhere!Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto who based the project on "a series of independent rectilinear book stacks, dispersed to create a field - or forest - of monolithic blocks. Varying in size, with some large enough to contain essential services and ancillary spaces, the blocks promoted what the architect described as ‘an instinct to wander’, recalling how in his experience libraries are places where readers are encouraged to ‘get lost’. Architectural Review looks at the library in this 2010 reviewh/t BOOK RIOT