510 Items Tagged

Libraries

Parties where playwrights like Moliere read aloud were precursors to rowdy book clubs.

Even in the 1700s, Book Clubs Were Really About Drinking and Socializing

And "a considerable element of boisterous good humor."

Sarah Laskow June 26, 2017

Charlotte Serber, Los Alamos ID photo .

The Librarian Who Guarded the Manhattan Project's Secrets

While dodging accusations of communism, Charlotte Serber made the nuclear bomb possible.

Michael Waters June 23, 2017

Entrance to the Secret Room

Rochester, New York

Central Library's Secret Room

A room hidden behind a swinging shelf in the children's section.

Pages from the 1766 book Moretti discovered.

Found: The Earliest-Known Kids' Book Adapting a Classic of Japanese Literature

This 1766 picture book of the Tales of Ise was hiding in the British Library.

Sarah Laskow June 14, 2017

Scissorman attacks.

The 19th-Century Book of Horrors That Scared German Kids Into Behaving

Original illustrations from the book that inspired Edward Scissorhands.

Sarah Laskow June 14, 2017

The entrance to the Story Museum

Oxford, England

The Story Museum

An Oxford museum where visitors can have tea with the Mad Hatter and climb through the wardrobe to a fantasy land.

Bookmobile in Staten Island, New York, undated.

Vintage Photos of Traveling Libraries

When bookmobiles brought literature to your doorstep.

Anika Burgess June 9, 2017

Shelves at the Brautigan Library

Vancouver, Washington

The Brautigan Library

A library of only unpublished manuscripts.

An uncut sheet of cards from the Conjuring Arts' own line of playing cards.

Inside the Magic Library at the Conjuring Arts Research Center

Need to read up on a 17th-century card trick? Come here.

Luke Spencer June 2, 2017

A tree that will become an anthology in 100 years

Forest of the Future Library

One thousand trees were planted in Norway to be used to print books a century from now.

Libraries have long played an important role in rock 'n' roll consciousness, as in the Tears for Fears video for "Head Over Heels."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Is Looking for a Librarian

For those about to apply—we salute you.

Cara Giaimo May 8, 2017

The digitizing setup.

How to Digitize a 357-Year-Old Atlas That's Nearly 6 Feet Tall

It's not going to fit in a scanner.

Kelsey Kennedy May 8, 2017

Womyn holding a banner for the Lesbian Herstory Archives during the 2007 LGBT Pride March in New York

Brooklyn, New York

Lesbian Herstory Archives

The world's largest collection of materials relating to lesbian history is housed in a Brooklyn townhouse.

Animatronic LBJ tells stories and makes jokes

Animatronic Lyndon Baines Johnson

Just like the real 36th president of the United States, animatronic LBJ amuses visitors with jokes and stories.

Even books need a bath sometimes.

The Boston Public Library Has a 'Car Wash' for Books

And it's very satisfying to watch in action.

Eric Grundhauser April 26, 2017

Pages from the manuscripts.

Found: Medieval Manuscripts Stolen From Italy, Hiding in the Boston Public Library

The library obtained them legitimately, but they were never meant to be in America.

Sarah Laskow April 20, 2017

Al Hirschfeld's drawing desk and chair

New York, New York

Al Hirschfeld's Desk and Chair

From this desk Al Hirschfeld drew his influential caricatures of the 20th century's Broadway stars.

Fishing poles, available for checkout from the Albany Public Library.

From Fine Art to Fishing Poles, the Most Surprising Things Libraries Are Lending Now

Books are so passé.

Cara Giaimo April 7, 2017