Category Archives: Libraries

So you’re going to New York City

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Brian D. Butler

Book lovers and bibliophiles who are heading to New York City this year will have an embarrassment of choices when it comes to special exhibitions at some of the city’s premier institutions. The Morgan Library & Museum‘s Come Together: 3,000 Years … Continue reading →

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Alice is back home

Posted on December 27, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Christ Church Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries have become joint owners of an exceptionally rare first edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the most important of only 22 known surviving copies of the first and subsequently withdrawn edition. The book … Continue reading →

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Where in the world is the Republiko of Zendia

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

How do you find a republic that never existed ? During the 1950s Cold War, U.S Army cryptologist Lambros D. Callimahos created the mythical  “Republiko of Zendia” to use in wargaming for U.S. military intelligence codebreakers simulating the invasion of … Continue reading →

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Kyoto Retreat

Posted on June 29, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

During my all too brief week in Kyoto, I was unable to visit one of the city’s best kept secrets due to scheduling conflicts. If find yourself in the old imperial capital and you want to escape the frenetic pace … Continue reading →

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Library Spy

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

You don’t have to be a certified library geek to grok the fun little website called Library Spy. “This is a live, unfiltered look at what books are being checked out of the Seward Park library, a branch of the New … Continue reading →

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Editor Librarian Bookseller

Posted on May 5, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Remarkable Library

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The Netherlands is known for some extraordinary libraries. Among the many beautiful libraries repurposed from historical buildings is the remarkable De Petrus in Vught. The St. Pieter catholic church in Vught was built between 1881 and 1884 to replace a … Continue reading →

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What could be better than a hotel/library

Posted on April 9, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

I’ve visited Amsterdam more often than any other city outside of North America and I only just discovered the Hotel Library. Situated in a beautiful 18th century canal house in the heart of the city on Prins Hendrikkade, the hotel … Continue reading →

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Actual Pictures of Atlantis and more

Posted on April 1, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

Depictions of Atlantis in retro science fiction art. OK, so they’re not actual pictures of Atlantis. It is actually April Fools’ Day. “SomaFM is an independent Internet-only streaming multi-channel radio station, supported entirely with donations from listeners. SomaFM originally started broadcasting out of founder … Continue reading →

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Renaissance Kindle

Posted on March 30, 2025 by Brian D. Butler

The Bookwheel, invented in 1588 by Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli, was a heavy, 600-pound wooden rotating bookcase that let scholars easily use up to eight open books at once. It had a clever gear system to keep the books upright … Continue reading →

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