Rambling Readers

Project Gutenberg

18th-Century Portuguese Library Has Bats That Protect the Priceless Books Housed Inside

By Eva Baron

https://mymodernmet.com/biblioteca-joanina-bats-pest-control/

The Bat, a poem by D.H. Lawrence at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60337/pg60337-images.html#BAT

#books #library

Line art drawing of a bat.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bat_%28PSF%29.jpg

This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Pearson Scott Foresman.

Angela Miller

When your cat comes to visit you at work.

#cat #catsofmastodon #blackcat #library #librarylife

A large black cat lounging on the counter at a small public library.

Anna Anthro

#Trump names new acting head of Institute of Museum and Library Services : NPR

“…members of #DOGE showed up at the Institute of #Museum & #Library Services, which helps to fund libraries and museums across the country and whose elimination #Trump called for in an executive order last week.

They sent employees home, swore in a new acting director in the lobby, and proceeded to cancel its contracts and grants.”

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/20/nx-s1-5335600/library-museum-funding-doge-sonderling

UniversityofGroningenLibrary

Today, #library staff at the #University of #Groningen joined the #strike against the proposed budget cuts to #HigherEducation in the #Netherlands.

We also asked #students to share their thoughts on a whiteboard: Imagine the university without a library. What would that mean to you?

Here's what some of them wrote:
(Photo credits staff: Manuel Reyes @manu)

Whiteboard with handwritten responses to "Imagine the university without the library." The photo depicts a whiteboard filled with multicolored handwritten messages. At the top, in large red letters is the prompt, "IMAGINE THE UNIVERSITY WITHOUT THE LIBRARY..." Below, in teal, is the question, "WHAT WOULD THAT MEAN TO YOU?" Various responses are written in different colors around the board. Key reactions include phrases like "LOWER GRADES" in black, "Less motivation to study," and "Less studying because I can't do it at home" with a sad face drawn beside it. Other contributions mention "no public access to knowledge," "PANIC," and "Less opportunities!" There are comments about socialization, academic performance, and the emotional impact of losing library access.

Library staff protesting on the stairs of the Academy Building of the University of Groningen shortly before joining the strike demonstration

Mark Wyner :vm:

A little library humor to brighten your day. Seen at my local library.

Thank you, mysterious Cathy.

#Library #Libraries #Librarians #Reading #Books #Funny

Library book return box on an external wall. There are two self-printed signs below it. The first one reads “drop box is broken! Please visit Cathy inside to return books.” The second one reads “update! Drop box is not broken! Cathy is just super lonely and wants to talk to you about her nine ferrets.”

Babette Knauer

Hi, I'm Babette. I work in #communications at the University of #Groningen #Library @Bibliothecaris, developing ways to share knowledge across academic and public spaces - hopefully with meaningful impact.

Interested in open and ethical approaches to research communication and how mass #media shape the public sphere.

This Is My Glasgow

Riddrie Public Library on Cumbernauld Road in the east of Glasgow. Built in 1938 to serve the people living in the Riddrie Housing Scheme, which had been establiahed on a greenfield site in the 1920s, it was the first permanent purpose-built library constructed in one of Glasgow's new outlying housing estates.

#glasgow #library #glasgowlibrary #riddrie #architecture #architecturephotography #glasgowbuildings

A brick-built 1930s Glasgow library building.

This Is My Glasgow

Possilpark Library in the north of Glasgow. Built in the 1910s, it was designed by George Simpson.

#glasgow #library #glasgowlibrary #architecture #architecturephotography #possilpark

A red sandstone single storey 1910s library building.

Natalie

My article on the #library of the Sufi brotherhood al-Nāṣiriyya in Tamgrūt, a small village in the far south of #Morocco, has finally been published. Founded in the #seventeenthcentury, with more than 4,700 #manuscripts still in place, it is a fascinating institution. Take a look!

#bookhistory #historyoflibraries #historyofthebook #sufism #maghrebstudies #islamicstudies

https://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1878464X-01601003

@islamicstudies

Map of the Wādī Darʿa from 1879, with Tamgrūt at the bottom, made by French colonial officer Henry de Castries.

The Building of Zāwiya Nāṣiriyya in Tamgrūt in 2021. Photo: Natalie Kraneiß

View of the Atlas mountains in South Morocco

Shelves in the library of the Sufi lodge

Annie

Today I happened to be at the memorial to the #bookburning. I overheard something interesting from the guide of some tour group. The window to the empty #library has two reasons: 1. the #books should not be replaced, the library should not be replenished. The shelves remain empty. What has happened cannot be undone, at most it can be prevented from happening again. 2. everyone should be able to see their own reflection when looking into the empty room - what would I have done?

#Berlin #History

Ein quadratisches, ca. 1x1 m großes Fenster ist fest verankert im Boden und gibt den Blick auf einen Raum mit leeren Bücherregalen frei. Oben stehen und liegen auf dem Kopfsteinpflaster um das Fenster herum bunte Blumen und Kerzen.

A square window measuring approx. 1x1 metre is firmly anchored in the floor and provides a view of a room with empty bookshelves. Above, colourful flowers and candles stand and lie on the cobblestones around the window.

Zwei braune Metallplatten liegen eingelassen in den Boden zwischen grauen Platten und Pflastersteinen.
Darauf steht DAS WAR EIN VORSPIEL NUR DORT WO MAN BÜCHER VERBRENNT VERBRENNT MAN AM ENDE AUCH MENSCHEN HEINRICH HEINE 1820

IN DER MITTE DIESES PLATZES VERBRANNTEN AM 10 ΜΑΙ 1933 NATIONALSOZIALISTISCHE STUDENTEN DIE WERKE HUNDERTER FREIER SCHRIFTSTELLER, PUBLIZISTEN, PHILOSOPHEN UND WISSENSCHAFTLER

VON MICHA ULLMAN

BIBLIOTHEK DENKMAL "DIE BÜCHERVERBRENNUNG VOM 10. MAI 1933"

books

#books #library #reading #paperback #images #ebook #photos #memes #read

Project Gutenberg

A Brief History of the Library of Congress

Today, the Library of Congress holds over 25 million cataloged books, has items in 470 languages, and is home to the papers of 23 presidents, a cuneiform tablet, and a Gutenberg Bible.

By Katie Moench

https://bookriot.com/a-brief-history-of-the-library-of-congress/

More information here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress

#library #history

The Library of Congress, then located in the Capitol Building in 1853.

In 1853, the Library of Congress was housed in the U.S. Capitol Building, before its relocation to the Thomas Jefferson Building in 1897.

The library's space within the Capitol featured high, vaulted ceilings adorned with intricate moldings, grand wooden bookshelves lining the walls, and large windows allowing natural light to illuminate the reading areas.

Ornate columns and decorative railings might have framed the space, lending a neoclassical ambiance characteristic of mid-19th-century design.

Scholars and lawmakers could be seen consulting volumes, while library attendants managed the growing collection of books, maps, and manuscripts.

Global News Canada

‘Grief Library’ helping N.S. woman’s family, kids cope with her cancer diagnosis
Topics of death and grief can be hard to broach, so a Nova Scotia library is hoping to help people navigate the difficult emotions surrounding loss through books.
#grief #death #library #cancer #NovaScotia #Canada
https://globalnews.ca/news/11034055/grief-library-nova-scotia/

Flanakey

Now reading Witchmark by C L Polk. #fantasy #fiction #reading #bookstodon #queer #library

pete sigh

Can anyone point to any articles on libraries and data privacy. I've seen some posts on how many US libraries are careful about what data they hold against individuals. In particular not keeping the personal load history which obviously is now an issue in the US.
I'm in the UK and can see that my library is keeping my full loan history which I don't want them to do for the same reasons, I don't trust the government now and we're on the way to getting our own nazi government

@cstross

#library #librarians