January 2012
4 posts
I like big books...
via PamelaFugateDesigns
2 tags
SOPA and Jon Stewart
Support SOPA and “go to the library like a common masturbator.”
Thanks Gothamist!
3 tags
Weeded Books = Storage Decor
On sale @ etsy shop RoadsidePhotographs.
1 tag
King Center Digital Archive
The King Center Digital Archive is amazing! Thanks Swiss Miss.
May 2011
1 post
3 tags
Librarian Infographic
from Master Degree Online.com…
++ Click to Enlarge Image ++ Source: Master Degree Guide
February 2011
2 posts
Happy Valentine's Day!
Since I love all of my friends and followers, I’m giving you a hot tip for last minute e-Valentines via NPR.
3 tags
A Convergence of Two Things I Love: My iPhone and...
Swiss Army Librarian discusses the feasibility of libraries adopting new scanners that read smart phones. With a $30 scanner, Swiss Army Librarian successfully scans a library barcode on his phone’s screen.
But why try to adapt an old technology to fit in with the new technology? Why not a barcode reading attachment for iPhone, similar to credit card readers like this? Can we check out with...
December 2010
3 posts
3 tags
Designing a Library Without Books
I meant to post this ages ago from Fast Company Co.Design:
“At the University of Amsterdam, Dutch designers Studio Roelof Mulder and Bureau Ira Koers converted an existing 27,000-square-foot library into a massive study hall — without any visible books — to accommodate the 1,500 to 2,000 students who visit daily.”
A library without books? Gasp! The photographs show...
2 tags
Book Cover Sweatshirts...
can I have this for Christmas, please? K, thanks.
Do you know these people?
From the Library of Congress flickr:
“In remembrance of the Union and Confederate soldiers who served in the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Liljenquist Family recently donated their rare collection of almost 700 ambrotype and tintype photographs to the Library of Congress. Most of the people and photographers are unidentified, and we’d love to learn more about them. Please let us know...
October 2010
1 post
1 tag
Upside-down Cafe Looks Like a Library, Flipped On...
from co design
September 2010
1 post
3 tags
Dear IDEO
I want to reinvent the book with you!
But seriously, doesn’t this idea sound pretty brilliant!?
“Coupland This concept is the social network of publishing. Designed to help people ‘keep up with the latest must-reads,’ to quote the film, it suggests books based on what people in your company are reading. It also has features for creating book clubs and online reading...
July 2010
4 posts
Walnut Creek PL's 17 Art Installations
How often do you hear about libraries investing in high art? Not so much, which is why I had to write a post about it.
Walnut Creek (CA) Public Library made news when they installed 17 pieces of art for about $300,000. One of the items is this super tall piece (26 feet!) by the artist Christian Moeller, titled “Shh…A Portrait in 12 Volumes of Gray,” made with 3,960 books in 12 shades of gray.
...
2 tags
Drumroll please...
I write like James Joyce
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!
Crave Libraries Advocacy Project
It’s still a semi-secret library promotion project by @theanalogdivide (Toby Greenwalt) et. al., but I love this logo/header at www.cravelibraries.com
It makes me want to see more. Actually, I crave more. You can see some crave buttons on Tame the Web.
1 tag
I just commented on library_grrls. What's wrong...
Library_grrls, for the uninformed, is a live journal group consisting of hopeful library students, mostly asking about applications, the GRE, and so on. I subscribe to the updates, mostly because I keep forgetting to unsubscribe — and I only want to unsubscribe because the content was of little use to me…until today (sorta)!
I think I must be feeling depressed about library school...
June 2010
1 post
Library-themed Father's Day Cards
Whoa, daddy-o. Notice the date due stamp is indeed Father’s Day. This is an elegantly detailed (but manly) card your lib-lovin’ pops will certainly appreciate.
From SIMPLESONG design.
May 2010
11 posts
3 tags
Interactive Map of the Donald Judd Library
This is one of the prettiest library websites I’ve ever seen — and the simplest. Naturally, it’s the Donald Judd Library in Marfa, TX. The interactive map allows the user to actually see each of the shelves. Drag your mouse over the shelves — and bibliographic info pops up about each book! Kudos to the Judd Library for incorporating such a creative -and useful- visual...
Guardian Profiles InfoLadies of Bangladesh
24 year old Luich Akhter is riding around on her bicycle fighting poverty in northern Bangladesh. Her only weapon is information! Armed with a netbook and medical supplies, Akhter is just one of the many InfoLadies of the remote Gaibandha district.
From the Guardian -
“‘Ask me about the pest that’s infecting your crop, common skin diseases, how to seek help if your husband...
Chicagoan Paul Octavious' Stacks Prints
Just a Few Prints by Paul Octavious is selling these lovely Giclée prints here.
I really dig book sculptures.
“…no human being would stack books like this.”
- Dr. Peter Venkman
1 tag
Save Bookmark
You can print one of these cuties here at Stilsucht. Don’t let the Deutsch language intimidate you.
Found on Swiss Miss
Living With Books
My books are everywhere. On my floor, in my closet, on my desk, etc. Apartment Therapy has provided tips for us book hoarders, so we can still look stylish in our small spaces.
3 tags
The L!brary Initiative Book
Cute book! Cute libraries! I want to be a school-aged child in one of these beauties. The green library is adorable…
From the L!brary Intiative Website:
“Since it launched a decade ago, the L!brary Initiative, the program to build or refurbish libraries in New York City public schools, has made books accessible to thousands of kids. Now the initiative has a book of its own....
1 tag
Library School p.1, Finito.
Getting back to school for my MLS was probably the best and worst life decision ever. While it’s a milestone in a library career, it’s been difficult trudging along and consuming precious weekend hours on a program I don’t fully buy into. I’m not talking about my school specifically, which I’ve been happy with, it’s just that damned MLS requirement.
I’ll...
3 tags
Colleen & Eric Bookshelf @ BKLYN Designs
The Hold on Tight bookshelf appeared to be a show stopper at the recent BKLYN Designs 2010 show. It’s such a simple/smart design — would be a great solution for often crazy flimsy library bookends.
My Lovely Birthday Presents
Things change when you become a library student. In my case, my parents took notice of my bookish ways, and got me a card catalog (gasp)!
This is one of the University of Michigan card catalogs I was pining for earlier this year. It has 72 drawers fully loaded with cards. Any creative suggestions for these cards?
I also received some of these lovely pencils I posted about ages ago.
...
Ansel Adams at Work from Wisconsin Historical...
When I think of Ansel Adams, I think: landscapes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a photograph of his face before.The Wisconsin Historical Society has a rare photo collection of the artist at work in the field and at his home office.
Yet another example of awesome librarians giving us normal people a glimpse of the seemingly mundane (but utterly spectacular!).
1 tag
Patrons Looking for Love in Libraries
From Post Secret.
This reminds me of how Max Fisher met Rosemary Cross in Rushmore. Glad to see that romance hasn’t died with circulation receipts.
“We read to know we are not alone.” - C.S. Lewis.
April 2010
7 posts
Gutenberg 2.0 or Librarians as Information Brokers...
A Harvard Magazine’s May/June feature is titled, “Gutenberg 2.0 Harvard’s libraries deal with disruptive change.” This article is lengthy, so I’ll summarize. Shaw discusses Harvard libraries massive digitization project, and asks what this means for the role of librarians. The answer: we should no longer be the gatekeepers of a physical space, but “information...
The Infinite Library Art Project
From The Infinite Library website:
“The Infinite Library is an ongoing project by Daniel Gustav Cramer and Haris Epaminonda. It is primarily an expanding archive of books, each created out of pages of one or more found books and bound anew. The online catalogue serves as an index.” Lovely concept, lovely books, and lovely website.
found via The Silver Lining
4 tags
Karl Lagerfeld's Library
More fashion + books. Something is going on here.
Also, these bookshelves are way sexier than e-readers, even iPads. It’s more than books’ tangibility; it’s about how they line up like trophies on a shelf. Nothing conveys, “I’m hot stuff” better than Das Bauhaus in your personal library.
Marc Jacobs Opens a Bookstore
…and it’s going to be called Book Marc. Favorite fasion designer + books = greatest shop concept ever.
Home Libraries Influence a Kid's Success in School
GOOD posts such…good things! Today, they start a discussion about a study in the journal of Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, which concludes that kids with large home libraries are more likely to go further in academia. I grew up with a 500+ book (and DVD) home library, which, to me, seems like a rare experience. GOOD wonders how the internet and ebooks will impact this...
Jane Mount's Book Paintings
Check out these cool book paintings by artist Jane Mount. This is what she has to say about them on her etsy shop:
“We all show off our books on shelves like merit badges, because we’re proud of the ideas we’ve ingested to make us who we are. We are proud to display what has inspired us, as we should be, and we hope to connect to other people by doing so. When I paint someone else’s...
Dieter Rams And Design Thinking
In the height of iPad noise, Gizmodo wrote up a great little post about Dieter Rams’ 10 Principles for Good Design, a major influence on Apple’s product line. Here’s the list in full:
1. Good design is innovative. 2. Good design makes a product useful. 3. Good design is aesthetic. 4. Good design helps us to understand a product. 5. Good design is unobtrusive. 6. Good design is...
March 2010
18 posts
2 tags
Digitized Drunkards @ Ancestry.co.uk
Ancestry.co.uk compiled the best photo collection I’ve seen in awhile. The blacklist of habitual drunkards in Birmingham, UK. These people were banned from pubs for being disorderly, mostly for dseui (driving steam engines under the influence) and the like. Here are a couple of my favorites…
She’s a polisher AND a prostitute with peculiar tattoos. Nice.
Sandy whiskers and...
Girls Who Wear Glasses: A Tribute
Jezebel wrote up a loving tribute to women and their spectacles. I’ve been wearing them since the fourth grade, and wow, do I need them bad. Good thing I became a librarian.
Any librarians out there who don’t need ocular enhancements?
Paul Trevor Collection @ the London Metro U East...
Teddy Boys!
From VADS. Really captivating photos of East End life.
Your Own Traveling Library
via Readymade
This is Le Bouc by Belgian designer Mathieu Gabiot. Cute as a button!
My Favorite Fictional Librarians
The Desk Set was recently asked by Flavorwire about their top 5 favorite fictional librarians. My favorite: Goldie Hawn’s Gloria Mundy from Foul Play.
And even though she’s not a librarian, we can all relate to the bookstore clerk from The Big Sleep (hello!).
Spreading the Word
Just read in Diana’s Our.City.Lights that Scott Douglas has developed in iPhone app for finding the nearest library. Sounds brilliant, and I’m looking forward to installing it. You can buy it here.
McNally Jackson Books, NYC
via Walking Paper
McNally Jackson Books’ cafe is fly. I haven’t been to a lot of library cafés, but I know you can get a tamale at Oak Park Public Library and a really good cup of tea at the British Library. I tend to scoff at library cafés, believing there are better ways to replicate the bookstore model and better uses of library funds — like helping kids learn how to read...
Improve Your Library Website →
If your library website needs improving, and you haven’t looked at INFLUX’s blog posts about improving library websites — you should go do that really soon.
3 tags
Books Alphabet
by Hanna Nilsson and Sofia Østerhus
From Swiss Miss
You know how Rhoda Morgenstern made a living making window displays for Hemple’s department store? I would like to do the same thing, only make displays for libraries. They would be, dare I say, epic!
Michelbergerhotel in Berlin Book Display
from Design Milk
A wall of books? Yes please. Almost as good as the library hotel, almost.
The Future of the Library: Urban Mediaspace
“You’d think that with the advent of ubiquitous digital media, the old brick-and-mortar library would go the way of the video rental store. But it looks like many cities are instead turning libraries into ‘urban mediaspaces’—multipurpose facilities for learning, creativity, and culture.”
- From GOOD
Libraries reinventing themselves as the cultural center of a...
Print Your Own Bookplates!
@ Design Sponge
Wish I had time to personalize all of my books.
Man Gets Naked and Steals Children's Books @ My...
I knew it would happen sooner or later.