Category Archives: Libraries

Old Dutch (map) Porn

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Brian D. Butler

The 17th century Dutch cartographer Frederik de Wit created the extraordinary Stedenboek or Book of Cities. With only four copies of the book known to exist, the National Library of the Netherlands has digitized and uploaded two excellent versions to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Europe, History, Libraries, Maps | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

America’s Beautiful Libraries

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

                   

Posted in Architecture, Books, Libraries, USA | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Judge These Books By Their Covers

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Until the early 19th century, most books were purchased in paper covers for the owner to have bound according to his own taste and budget. These books would have been bound by hand in small workshops. During the nineteenth century, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Books, Libraries | 25 Comments

Not Your Local Starbucks

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Located just a block east of the historic New York Public Library at Bryant Park, the new D’Espresso coffee bar takes the comforting library environment and flips it on its side. Anurag Nema and his design team at nemaworkshop created … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books, Libraries, Tourism | Tagged | 2 Comments

The 19th Century Kindle

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

  Lighthouses were often time located in remote areas and as such had no access to city services such as libraries, bookshops, entertainment, etc. that most people enjoyed who lived in a town or city. As light keeping was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Libraries, USA | 4 Comments

Bye-Bye Banned Books Week (til next year)

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Brian D. Butler
Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, Libraries, USA | Leave a comment

Campaign For Real Books

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

Many thanks to contributor Evan Smythe for this post: Over the past year, the media has reported  over-the-top claims for e-book readers sales and the  escalating sales of e-books. Clearly, e-books have a place in the book reading world but … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Bookstore Tourism, Canada, Europe, Freedom of Speech, Libraries, USA, Writing | 2 Comments

BANNED ! … Books Week

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

September 25−October 2, 2010 Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.  Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Freedom of Speech, History, Libraries, USA, Writing | Tagged , | 3 Comments

What’s So Scary About These Books ?

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Brian D. Butler
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Great Idea, But What About The Fines ?

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Brian D. Butler

  Having spent many hours waiting for flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, I was pleased to hear about the recent launch of the brilliant airport library on the Holland Boulevard. Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands officially opened the Airport Library … Continue reading →

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