Dear Students,

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of another semester!  Hope your papers, theses, book reviews, presentations, and other class projects are going well.

We would like to invite you to submit your library history-related projects to LHRT News and Notes, the official blog of ALA’s Library History Round Table.

We’d be quite happy to consider your papers in whatever format you are using in your course.  We can work together to make revisions and edits, if needed, so that we can publish your papers on the blog.

Why submit to LHRT News and Notes?

>Populating the blog supports LHRT’s mission of increasing public awareness of library history.

>Sharing your paper in an open access blog helps fellow library history scholars researching the same topic.

>Submitting to LHRT News and Notes is friendly and non-intimidating with flexible guidelines.

>Publishing in an official ALA blog boosts your resume.

The LHRT News and Notes blog (which has examples of past LIS students’ works) is located at:  https://lhrtnews.wordpress.com/

Please scroll to the bottom of the “How To Submit” page for our special vide​o invitation to LIS students:https://lhrtnews.wordpress.com/how-to-submit/

Good luck on those final projects, and we hope you’ll consider sending them to the blog after you’re done!  All submissions can be emailed to lhrtnewsandnotes@gmail.com   Inquires are welcome.

Best Wishes,
The LHRT News and Notes Blog Team

Brett Spencer

Editor, LHRT News & Notes

Reference Librarian

Thun Library

PO Box 7009

Tulpehocken Road

Reading, PA  19610-6009

Phone: 610-396-6261

Email: dbs21@psu.edu

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the biggest shopping day of the year in the USA, as people begin to buy gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza. At other places around the world, you might be preparing for a holiday season as well. Here’s some gift ideas related to library history!:

If you’d like to inspire a youngster in your family with library history, check out this delightful series of essays about library history in children’s picture books by M. E. Bonds on her blog: Part 1 deals with libraries around the world; Part 2 looks at library “firsts.”; Part 3 looks at libraries and minorities; and Part 4 looks at a variety of other themes.  She highlights books like The Book Boat’s In by Cynthia Cotten, which tells kids the story of floating libraries on the Erie Canal in the early 1800s, and The StoryTeller’s Candle by Lushcia M. Gonzales,  which features New York Public Library’s first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpre.  I had no idea there were so many children’s books about the history of libraries!

What about young adults? One interesting gift could be New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine’s fantasy/alternate history book series about the Library of Alexandria, Ink and Bone. In this version of reality, the Library of Alexandria has survived and opened branches in most of the world’s cities–and uses alchemy, rather than electronic resources, to deliver information.

If you’re looking for gift ideas for a fellow library historian, you might wrap up some of these fantastic photo books that have come out in the last few years:

•  The Library: A World History by Dr. James Campbell offers breathtaking photos of many of the world’s historic libraries–this teaser from the Daily Mail  showcases a sample.
• Another excellent stocking stuffer is The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Jacques Bosser (Author),‎ James H. Billington (Contributor),‎ and Guillaume de Laubier (Photographer).  “The accompanying text by journalist and translator Jacques Bosser traces the history of libraries from the Renaissance to the present day…” (publisher description).
• Any library historian would be happy to find The Card Catalog: Books, Cards, and Literary Treasures  by the Library of Congress under the tree on Christmas morning.  “Featuring more than 200 full-color images of original catalog cards, first edition book covers, and photographs from the library’s magnificent archives, this collection is a visual celebration of the rarely seen treasures in one of the world’s most famous libraries and the brilliant catalog system…” (publisher description).
• The Library: An Illustrated History by Stuart A. P. Murray is likely on many bibliophile’s wish lists.

Know of other great gifts for library history buffs? Email us at the blog lhrtnewsandnotes@milib3073

[This post was adapted from a 2017 post].

A titillating discovery for astronomers as well as library historians: one of the world’s oldest astronomy reference tools, Greek astronomer Hipparchus’s star catalog, has been found!:

The World’s Oldest Map of the Stars, Lost for Thousands of Years, Has Been Found in the Pages of a Medieval Parchment