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...
A Library Without Fiction: The Public Library of U.S. Diplomacy
Imagine a library without fiction. One where everything in it really happened.Introducing The WIKILEAKS Public Library of US Diplomacy (PlusD).Providing users with the world's largest "searchable collection of United States confidential, or formerly confidential, diplomatic communications...The collection covers US involvements in, and diplomatic or intelligence reporting on, every country on earth. It is the single most significant body of geopolitical material ever published."For its grand opening its racks are filled with 1,707,500 diplomatic documents from 1973 to 1976 ( The Kissinger Cables) and 251,287 diplomatic cables, mostly from 2003 to 2010 (Cablegate)."The PlusD collection, built and curated by WikiLeaks, is updated...
Search Lights
Filament Mind is the brilliant installation that graces the new Teton County Library in Wyoming.It is a real-time visual rendering of the "collective curiosities and questions of Wyoming library patrons". It is composed of over 5 miles of fiber optic cables and has 44 LED illuminators that connect the visual data to 904 text labels with each fiber optic cable corresponding to a Dewey Decimal call number! The 1,000 categories represented by the Dewey Decimal call numbers are displayed on the north and south walls.Here's how it works:When a search is performed by a library patron, the Dewey Decimal call numbers of...
The Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress has an Open House
Main Reading Room - Thomas Jefferson Building - Library of Congress It happens twice a year. The mother of all American libraries, the Library of Congress, opens the doors to its main reading room for a "special public open house." One of the days it is open this year is President's Day. So if you got the book gene and are anywhere near Washington, DC you might want to head on over and have a look. Interior dome of the Main Reading RoomAside from the breathtaking nature of the room you will also have an opportunity to view the initial draft of...
China Cool: The Dalian Public Library
From the facade pictured above to the image below it's not much of a leap to say this library is one of the coolest looking ones out there.It was the winning design in the Dalian Library Design Competition and it comes courtesy of 10 Design who say of the project:The library is intended to be a transformative environment that pulls visitors into a unique landscape. The building weaves into the ground creating a series of courtyards and topographic undulations- rooting itself, and then sweeping up into the air forming a bold urban landmark. The shifting of the mass creates spaces ranging from the intimate...