https://www.nypl.org/blog/2025/04/21/30-women-and-1-man-brief-history-library-school-nypl
30 Women and 1 Man: A Brief History of the Library School at NYPL [Leah Johanson, Library Specialist II]
Palm-leaf manuscripts hold hidden marks of how scribes prepared them, X-rays show [Dario Radley, Archaeology Magazine]
Philly holds many firsts for the nation’s library system [BillyPenn at WHYY]
Historic libraries bring modern comfort to book lovers and history buffs in New England [Kimberlee Kruesi, Leah Willingham, Ocean State Media]
The Conquest of Knowledge: Translation and Civilization from Antiquity to the Renaissance [British Library]
We’re delighted to share details of the 2026 Panizzi Lectures:
The Conquest of Knowledge: Translation and Civilization from Antiquity to the Renaissance
Dimitri Gutas, Prof. Emeritus, Yale University
16, 19 and 20 Nov, 18:30
British Library Knowledge Centre, and online
Booking is free but essential
Arabist and Hellenist Prof. Dimitri Gutas will deliver a survey of the history and impact of the transmission of ancient Greek thinking across the western world, through manuscript books and translation.
The final lecture on 20 Nov will be followed by a reception for in-person attendees.
For more information or to book in-person or online tickets, please use the link above. For any other questions, please contact me: lesley.ruthven@bl.uk.
It promises to be a great series – we hope you will join us.
With best wishes,
Lesley
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| Lesley Ruthven Curator Printed Heritage Collections lesley.ruthven@bl.uk she/her | The British Library 96 Euston Road LONDON NW1 2DB www.bl.uk |
MATTER & MEMORY: The Preservation of Cultural and Material Heritage
Do You Know the UCLA Library Modern Endangered Archives Program?
“The UCLA Library Modern Endangered Archives Program (MEAP), which funds work to document and digitize at-risk archival collections around the world, has awarded 30 grants to its eighth annual cohort. Selected from a record 250 applications, this year’s projects span 21 countries and include human rights archives, photography, Indigenous languages and oral traditions.”
A wonderful expression of social justice in a library and archives context!
Caxton 550 Videos [Bibliographical Society]
Description from YouTube: “2026 is the 550th anniversary of England’s first printer, William Caxton, establishing his printing press in Westminster, London. To celebrate, the Bibliographical Society is hosting a series of videos from libraries in the UK and around the world introducing viewers to items printed by Caxton in their collections, with more videos being released throughout the rest of the anniversary year. Visit @BibliographicalSociety to watch the rest of the videos in the series!”
Philadelphia Library History Event–12th Annual Lecture in Honor of John C. Van Horne, Featuring Michael J. Lewis [The Library Company of Philadelphia]
“Dr. John C. Van Horne served as the Edwin Wolf 2nd Director of the Library Company from 1985 to 2014. Upon his retirement, the Library created an endowed lecture series in his honor to recognize and celebrate his many contributions to the Library Company.
Each year, the Library Company invites a distinguished speaker to present the Lecture in Honor of John C. Van Horne as a free public lecture or as a scholar-in-residence event.
This year, we are pleased to be featuring a conversation with author and historian Michael J. Lewis about the history of Philadelphia’s great libraries.”
Find the full details and registration link for the virtual presentation at https://librarycompany.org/development/support-lecture-jvch/
“From Finding Information to Feeding the Machine: A Brief History of Interfaces for Online Information Search Systems.” [Otlet Lecture: Diane Kelly, Wilson Distinguished Professor, U of Illinois]
“Abstract:
Drawing on search interfaces from the past and present, I will explore the claim that online information search systems have moved through three distinct periods of development. The first period focused on helping people explore, develop, and resolve their information needs through interaction. During this period, many interfaces were modeled after the reference interview and included novel interactive features, such as relevance feedback and search result visualizations. During the second period, a turn was taken towards extracting information from information seekers primarily through implicit techniques such as logging. Search became more passive and people no longer needed to explicitly provide queries or feedback. Instead, systems inferred interests based on large-scale log data and began using aggregate needs and behaviors to standardize search results and homogenize search behaviors. In the current period, the focus has turned towards the hypnotic and transactional where information seekers function as trainers, crawlers, and harvesters for generative AI systems. Rather than viewing information seekers as unique individuals with the capacity for agency, information seekers are viewed as information processors and providers who only need mediated and limited access to information, even if through dialogic interfaces.”
Find full details and online participation option at: