News about Libraries

March 10, 2010

Rare Book Collection for Cardiff University

"The collection includes 175 incunabula (early printed books before 1500), around 500 rare Bibles, Restoration and Quarto drama volumes, including a rare collection of early Shakespeare volumes, and a large quantity of high quality, limited edition British 19th and 20th century private presses."

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March 08, 2010

Rare Books for Cardiff University

"The 14,000 books, which include rare bibles and atlases, will be bought for £1.2 million by the University with help from the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government."

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March 04, 2010

Biblical Manuscripts Reunited

"Two parts of an ancient biblical manuscript separated across centuries and continents were reunited for the first time in a joint display Friday, thanks to an accidental discovery that is helping illuminate a dark period in the history of the Hebrew Bible."

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Yale's Beinecke Library Expands Online Presence

"The Beinecke’s online exhibitions garnered more than 321,000 hits in 2009, as compared to the roughly 75,000 visitors to the building, according to statistics compiled by the Beinecke."

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February 25, 2010

$4.25 Million Donated to U. of Penn for Rare Books

"The gift, in addition to other donations, will be used to turn the sixth floor of Van Pelt — where the Rare Book and Manuscript Library is housed — into a Special Collections Center that creates a more functional and user-friendly environment, Assistant Director of Management Information Services and Communication for Penn Libraries Joseph Zucca said."

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February 22, 2010

New York's Remington Museum Setting Up Library

"For the past few weeks, Mrs. Jaunzems has been classifying and labeling books, magazines, exhibit catalogues and professional journals by and about the artist and the period to set up the museum's first reference library."

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February 16, 2010

Free eBooks at the British Library

"The British Library has announced that users of Amazon's Kindle e-reader will be able to download more than 65,000 19th century classics for free this coming spring in a special format that will have the look of a genuine first edition."

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February 13, 2010

British Library Works with Microsoft

"Hosted via Microsoft's open source Codeplex project and based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Platform, the "virtual research environment" allows researchers to create and share content and also work on specific issues such as funding proposals, the organisations claim."

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February 10, 2010

New Publication: "The World of the Book"

"The World of the Book is a stunning book itself. Beautifully illustrated, it contains an illuminated manuscript created for the Medici family of Florence in 1479; masterpieces of early printing, such as Gutenberg’s Bible and Aldus Manutius’s Hypnerortomachia Poliphili; books recording the scientific discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton; works by the great botanical and natural history artists, the woodblock books of Japanese artist Hokusai; the productions of William Morris and the Kelmscott Press; literary greats from William Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf; children’s books, beat literature and pulp fiction, graphic novels, artists’ books and contemporary graphic design."

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Google to Scan Books from France's Lyon Library

"France's Lyon Library and Google have signed an agreement to scan more then 500,000 books in 10 years and put them online. The French government believes this will promote their cultural globally. But the French public is a little apprehensive."

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January 28, 2010

Huntingdon Library Acquires Charles Dickens' Letters

"The letters by Charles Dickens that will join The Huntington’s holdings were written from about 1838 to 1869 and are addressed to a variety of individuals, including Hablot Knight Browne (Dickens’ best-known illustrator, affectionately called “Phiz”), John Leech (another of Dickens’ illustrators), Robert Lytton (a poet, and son of novelist Edward George Bulwer-Lytton), Charles Ollier (a publisher of earlier writers, including the poets Keats and Shelley) and Mary Nichols (an American author who was published by Dickens in his weekly periodical, All the Year Round). "

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Searching for Rare Books for Yale University

"As the Africana Collections Curator for the Yale Library, Woodson has traveled from Johannesburg to Timbuktu in search of new materials — ranging from books to microfilm to “ephemera” like T-shirts and posters — to add to the Library’s 13 million volumes."

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Delhi Public Library Turns 60

"The Delhi Public Library (DPL) has turned 60 and will showcase in an exhibition India’s growth trajectory through rare books, newspapers and gramophone records over the past six decades."

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January 25, 2010

University of Chicago Receives Medical Book Collection

"More than 3,700 rare medical books from the Rush University Medical Center will join the library collection of the University of Chicago as part of the school's dedication to the history of medicine."

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Treasures at the Boston Public Library

"There’s only one place you can leaf through a copy of William Shakespeare’s “First Folio” from 1623 and also touch President John Adams’ personal copy of “Common Sense” - and do it for free."

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January 14, 2010

Digitizing Rare Books in India

"An effective way to preserve old and fragile books is to digitize them. The National Library has started the process of digitization since 1999, but according to a library employee, the process is moving at snail’s pace. He said that while funding is not the issue, the absence of a clear-cut policy is."

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January 08, 2010

Medical Book Collection Goes to University of Chicago

"In November 2008, Frank, acting on a recommendation of an appraiser who looked over the Rush collection a few years earlier, put in a call to the University of Chicago. Would they be interested in purchasing the collection?"

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Restoration of Punjab Library

"LAHORE: The renovation of the Punjab Public Library (PPL), which includes the repairing and preservation of old books and database has been halted due to a shortage of funds, Daily Times has learnt."

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January 01, 2010

University Libraries in Bangalore

"University Libraries in Karnataka will be connected through 'UNI-LINK' network for which a Task Force under Bangalore University Vice Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev's Chairmanship had been formed."

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December 19, 2009

Rare Books at Bucknell University

"Just as a laser-scanning microscope assists biologists examining cell structure or a flume helps geologists measure characteristics of sediment flow, items in the special collections are part of the academic equipment to support teaching and classroom work and to enhance the learning experience at Bucknell, O'Neill noted."

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December 14, 2009

Banglaore University to Digitize Rare Books

"All rare books, publications, theses and dissertations of the varsity would be digitalised. A scanning centre will be established in collaboration with Digital Library of India under the ‘Million books digitalisation project’ of Carnegie Mellon University of United States."

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Miniature Gospel of Mark Determined to be Not Authentic

"The McCrone Group, Inc. today announced their microanalytical examination of an illustrated miniature manuscript (or codex) of the Gospel of Mark, termed the "Archaic Mark," helped identify the manuscript as a forgery."

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December 03, 2009

North Carolina Workshop on Preserving Historical Artifacts

"Rare books, precious quilts, and historic documents are among the many materials in libraries, archives and museums that are too valuable to loose. Yet when disaster strikes, that sometimes happens."

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November 23, 2009

Rare Book in Monastery: Erfurt, Germany

"After the Reformation, many monasteries were abandoned, but Erfurt's Augustinerkloster functions today as a Lutheran church and cloister with regular services. It also houses 60,000 volumes of rare books in its library."

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November 06, 2009

Islamic Texts Online at Walters Art Museum

"In a quiet, windowless room deep inside the Walters Art Museum, a digitization specialist places a 900-year-old Quran into the cradle of the Stokes Imaging System."

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November 02, 2009

Dante's Comedy in Mumbai

"Very few people know that within the high security vaults of the Asiatic Library are priceless Italian and Latin books stored with great care. The rarest of the lot is the richly illustrated edition of Dante's Comedia Divina (Divine Comedy) (1757)."

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Rare Books in Kansas City

"Standing among the 10,000 rare books in the stacks of the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Bruce Bradley, the director of the history of science special collections, pulls out a copy of "The Starry Messenger," the revelatory book in which Galileo detailed his astronomical observations made with his own "spyglass" -- the instrument that would later be known as the telescope."

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October 23, 2009

HP vs. Google in Digital Rare Books

"Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has partnered with the University of Michigan in making more than half a million rare and hard-to-find books from the school's library available for sale over the Web."

"The offering is through HP's BookPrep online service that lets people search for out-of-print books in HP's repository of scanned books."

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October 22, 2009

HP Offers Rare Books on Demand

"In a bid to save part of our classical heritage, major libraries are partnering with technology companies like HP to scan previously hard-to-find works using high-resolution photography. These scans are then cleaned up to remove any blemishes caused by wear and tear."

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October 11, 2009

African Art at the World Digital Library

"The digital library features unique cultural materials — including manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs — collected from libraries and archives around the world."

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Harvard to Digitize Rare Chinese Books

"One of the biggest collections of rare Chinese books outside China is to become freely available as Harvard University has agreed to digitise the titles."

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October 05, 2009

Water Sprinkler Accident in Missouri Library

"Damage was confined to multiple, backup copies of state documents, primarily Missouri state agency reports from the 1970s to early 1990s, the historical society reported in a prepared statement."

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October 02, 2009

Rare Children's Books at Indiana's Anderson University

"The dedication is part of a day-long celebration, the Elizabeth York Children’s Literature Festival, which will feature a number of speakers, including author and illustrator David Slonim, authors Valiska Gregory and Linda Vieira, and rare-book dealers Jett Whitehead and Rob Hittel."

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Rare Books Going to Canada's University of Alberta

"The exhibit’s first stop will be at the University of Alberta on September 1, 2010 and will consist of a four-month display. Kicking off the event will be live readings from eight GG Award winning-authors. Meier has partnered with the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library and the Canadian Literature Centre, for the exhibit — both located on the U of A’s campus."

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September 29, 2009

Naughty Books Lecture at the Colphon Club

"Colophons will be swollen and printer slugs tumescent when Bruce Whiteman, Head Librarian at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library of U.C.L.A. in Los Angeles, presents an address to The Colophon Club of San Francisco on October 13, 2009..."

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September 24, 2009

Yale's "Most Mysterious Manuscript of the World"

"What has been called “the most mysterious manuscript in the world” is held within the vaults of Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Its name – the Voynich Manuscript."

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Rare Franklin Book Goes to University of Illinois

"A guy who wears bifocals understands what aging is all about, so when he printed a classic treatise on the woes and benefits of becoming a codger, he also printed the first large-print edition in this hemisphere."

"And now it is the University of Illinois' 11 millionth acquisition."

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September 21, 2009

Churchill Collection Goes to University of South Carolina

"Dr. O’Bryan has donated his collection of magazines and books on World War II and Winston Churchill to the University of South Carolina. It will be on display in the Thomas Cooper library through October 26."

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University of Massachusetts Opens Portuguese-American Archive

"The living memory of the Portuguese-American experience has a new home at UMass Dartmouth, where on Friday university officials welcomed community leaders and elected officials to celebrate the grand opening of the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives."

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University of Penn's Digital Book Project

"Penn's libraries are busy making thousands of hard-to-find books and publications available online in a multifaceted effort intended to make rare literature more available to academics at Penn and around the world."

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September 11, 2009

Michigan Library Collection to be Preserved

"An executive order issued by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Wednesday hopes to ensure that come Oct. 1, Michigan's state library collections will be safe."

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September 05, 2009

Azusa Pacific University Acquires Dead Sea Scroll Fragments

"Joining Princeton University and the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, APU becomes only the third institution of higher education to own original Dead Sea Scroll fragments. These earliest known texts of the Hebrew Bible, dating back to roughly 150 B.C., were discovered in the caves of Qumran, east of Jerusalem, between 1947-56."

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August 31, 2009

New Leader for South Carolina Library Society

"The Charleston Library Society has named local historian, teacher and writer Anne Walker Cleveland as its new executive director."

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August 24, 2009

Rare Maps on Exhibit in Columbus, Georgia

"He borrowed maps from the University of Alabama’s W.S. Hoole Special Collections’ map collection. Slowly and quietly, the University of Alabama has been collecting not only maps, but manuscripts, photography, rare books relating to American music, popular culture and Southern culture. The collection is named for Hoole, who was the librarian who organized the collection."

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A New Book about the National Library of Ireland

"Established in 1877, the collections which formed the basis of the new library came from the Royal Dublin Society, then its neighbour and a sister institution. Thus in one fell swoop the library acquired more than 70,000 items, including manuscripts, maps, topographical prints, music, pamphlets and rare books."

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August 19, 2009

Book Sale at Tennessee's Franklin Library

"The Friends of the Williamson County Public Library are holding a book sale on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 20, 21 and 22 at the Main Library in Franklin."

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August 12, 2009

Treasures at the New York Public Library

"Books don't simply blend in to the shelves here in the Rare Books Division. Each one has its own special history, and Curator Michael Inman shared some of those stories with us Thursday in a behind-the-scenes look at the collection."

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August 10, 2009

The World's Most Expensive Book arrives in NY

"Costing well over $100,000, a 62-pound handmade tome depicting the life and work of Michelangelo has arrived at the New York Public Library, fresh from publication in Italy."

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August 06, 2009

Librarian Wants her Tweets Back

"This debate over who owns digital content isn’t new. Back when my co-workers and I at the Boston Public Library began digitizing rare books, we ran into similar issues: is the owner the original copyright holder of the intellectual property itself, the creator of the digital version, or the recipient of the digital content? "

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August 03, 2009

Cambridge University to Digitize More Books

"To celebrate the 475th anniversary of the founding of the press (and 425 years printing books) Cambridge will scan 475 volumes from the library's collection of rare materials, including works by Darwin, Shakespeare, and Charles Babbage."

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Ohio State University Reopens

"Ohio State University's main library has undergone more nips, tucks and enhancements than an aging beauty queen trying to hang on to her youth."

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July 22, 2009

John Rylands Library Receives Rare Boook Collection

"The John Rylands University Library has acquired a priceless collection of books, some of which date back 500 years. St Mary's Church in Nantwich housed the library, however its location, which could only be reached via a narrow spiral staircase, meant that it was all but inaccessible."

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July 17, 2009

Digital Archives at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

"The program was a response to a 2005 study sponsored by IMLS that found 190 million objects held by U.S. libraries and museums needed conservation treatment, and that 40 percent of the institutions did not have enough in their annual budgets to do so."

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July 16, 2009

University of Mancaster Acquires an Important Library

"The library includes one of only three known copies of a 1502 hymn book printed by Wynkyn de Worde - the first printer to set up a printing press in Fleet Street, later the home of the newspaper industry."

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July 13, 2009

Preserving History at Manassas Museum

"Treasured objects and artifacts held by the Manassas Museum will be preserved for future generations with a donation of a core set of conservation books and online resources."

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July 10, 2009

Library of Rutgers Law School Receives Grant

"The law school library is one of only 907 libraries in the country to receive the Bookshelf grant. The IMLS Bookshelf focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries’ special collections."

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Preservation of Rare Books at Mumbai University

"The rare books dating from 1550 A D onwards have been undertaken for preservation and the conservation team has already digitised over 100 rare books of the University Library since January this year, Rathod said. "

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July 09, 2009

Chabad Tries Court to Get Rabbis' Books Back From Russia

"At issue is an irreplaceable library of some 12,000 rare books, 381 manuscripts and 25,000 pages of handwritten rabbinical teachings that were once held by the Chabad-Lubavitch head rabbis but were left behind when the rabbis fled for safety during the world wars."

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Rare Istanbul Manuscripts Online

"Thousands of manuscripts and other resources at the library will be offered to the international community within the scope of a project jointly carried out by the İstanbul-based Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation, which also runs the Pera Museum, and the Los Angeles-based Getty Foundation."

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July 06, 2009

Ex-Libris: Library Management Services

"Ex Libris® Group is pleased to announce the first academic institutions to begin collaborating with the Company as development partners for its groundbreaking Unified Resource Management (URM™) framework — the next-generation framework for library management services."

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July 01, 2009

Princeton Seminary Scales Back Library Plans

"Princeton Theological Seminary, a school with one of the largest col lections of theological books in the world, has scaled back its proposed plan for a new library to replace the aging Speer Library on campus be cause of neighbors' concerns and project costs."

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June 29, 2009

Ancient Indonesian Manuscripts in the Digital Age

"Jeans Kupferschmidt, an ancient manuscript researcher from Leipzig University in Germany, demonstrated the digitalization process at the workshop, which was attended by participants from Aceh, Solo, Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, Bandung, Batam, Denpasar, Jakarta, Kendari, Makassar, Mataram, Padang, Palembang, Pekanbaru, Pontianak, Yogya, Semarang and Surabaya."

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Indianapolis' Central Library

"Most couples interested in having a wedding here are not from Indianapolis; one inquiry came from Belgium."

"Central will also host a high school graduation and many corporate events. Standing in the Rare Books room, one can look out on the cityscape and the East Garden."

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June 25, 2009

New Exhibit on Diaghilev at the New York Public Library

"Diaghilev's Theater of Marvels: The Ballets Russes and Its Aftermath, on view June 26 through September 12, 2009, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Ballets Russes and explores the company's historical and cultural context and international influences."

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The Harry Ranson Center at the University of Texas

"Depending on how geeky your social circle is, you either regard the University Of Texas' Harry Ransom Center as the home to a world of untold cultural riches, or that ugly slab of international-style limestone across the street from the Dobie Center. I clearly fall in the former category."

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20th Century Stage Design on Exhibit at Morgan Library

"A new exhibit of modern stage design, Creating the Modern Stage: Designs for Theater and Opera, opened last month and is behind held through August 16 at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York."

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June 22, 2009

Renovation of the Sassoon Reading Room in India

"it’s doubled capacity to accommodate readers at 120 seats, better lighting and modern facilities-which will see most of its nearly 5,000 members spending several languid hours in the company of a tome."

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June 19, 2009

Rare Books at West Virginia University

"In a tiny room on the sixth floor of the Wise Library, on the downtown campus of West Virginia University, is a stash of stuff that would set the hearts of literary scholars aflutter."

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June 17, 2009

New Library for Islamabad

"In second phase, not only newspapers and books in the NLP but also rare books and manuscripts across the county would be digitized in order to preserve the national heritage for future generations, they said."

"They said online access to these books and manuscripts would be provided to the researchers and scholars both at national and international level."

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June 15, 2009

Auburn University Receives General Lee's Surrender Letter

"Auburn University has acquired an extremely rare artifact from the Civil War era; General Robert E. Lee's letter of surrender."

"The University says it accepted the document as a donation from a very generous donor on April 10, 2009. That donor was identified as James L. Starr, a 1971 Auburn graduate. "

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David Sassoon Library Reopens in Mumbai

"The birth of this library is attributed to a few young mechanics working in the Royal Mint and the Bombay Dockyard in 1847. They formed a study group to share and promote knowledge."

"Their objectives at that time were to set up a library and a museum of mechanical models and architectural designs, as well as to organise lectures and discussions on science and technology, thus was born the Sassoon Mechanics Institute."

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June 12, 2009

Newly Reopened Library in Istanbul

"Some 70,000 volumes of books, 10,000 other types of published material including reports, articles and brochures written in 140 different languages fill this very spacious building, whose equivalents can be seen across Europe. "

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Rare Thai Books to the University of California

"It's a virtual archive of Thai culture, taking in the full sweep of the nation's history, religious lore, art and anthropology. There's even a book on Abraham Lincoln, written in Thai."

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June 10, 2009

Cultural Exchange Between Poland and Iran Libraries

"Authorities from the National Library of Poland and Iran National Library and Archives arrange several meetings to strength mutual cooperation."

"An agreement between the two libraries was signed in Warsaw last week to help in the exchange of books, collections, scientific achievements, as well as to help raise information on how to collect and preserve rare collections."

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Rare Chinese Books Get National Recognition

"Last weekend, the second "Catalog of Chinese Rare Books" was unveiled. A total of 19 volumes from the East China city of Yangzhou were included on the prominent list."

"The Catalog of Chinese Rare Books is a compilation of books produced prior to the year 1912, which marks the end of the country's dynastic history. "

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Vandals Damage Books at University of Kansas

"Thieves have been stealing or damaging rare books housed at the Watson Library on the University of Kansas campus."

"Police say books filled with ancient and expensive artwork have been torn apart or stolen, causing thousands of dollars in losses."

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June 08, 2009

Columbia University Digitizes Rare Books

"A copy of the Gutenberg Bible and the first printed edition of Homer's works are among ancient books being published online by Cambridge University Library."

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June 06, 2009

Reading Room in Antwerp

"The Nottebohm Room is everything you'd imagine a traditional reading room should be, all dark wood paneling, inviting desks, and two stories of books that will bring a respectful hush over any book lover."

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June 03, 2009

Universities Digitizing their Libraries

"Universities are opening up their research and rare archives to the world by allowing access over the internet. "

"University College London, UCL, today announced it would place all its research online and make it accesible to all."

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May 29, 2009

Vintage Autos Showcased at Indiana Library

"To kick off the summer traveling season, the Lilly Library at Indiana University's Bloomington campus opened an exhibition Tuesday featuring collections relating to early automobiles and motor cars. 'Are We There Yet? The Age of the Automobile' showcases vintage catalogs, books and materials featuring topics ranging from luxury roadsters to the first Indianapolis 500."

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Library in "Shambles" in India

"A unique and a precious library housing highly significant literature and manuscripts of medieval period, remains in a shambles due to authorities' apathy, in Uttar Pradesh."

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May 28, 2009

50 Research Fellowships Awarded by the Harry Ransom Center in Texas

"The Harry Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin, has awarded more than 50 research fellowships for 2009-10. These fellowships support research projects in the humanities that require substantial use of the Center's collections of manuscripts, rare books, film, photography, art and performing arts materials."

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Two More Libraries to Open is Islamabad, Pakistan

"National Library of Pakistan (NLP) has finalized arrangements to open two new community libraries in sectors I -10 and G-11 to provide reading more facilities to the residents of the capital."

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Library Revovation Plans in Amesbury, Massachusetts

"Four years after a multimillion-dollar public library renovation project was defeated by public referendum, library trustees are resurrecting the idea of bringing Amesbury's aging library system into the 21st century."

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May 26, 2009

Pakistan's National Library Digitizing Rare Books

"Islamabad: National Library of Pakistan (NLP) has digitised over 300 rare books and manuscripts so far with a view to preserving the national literary heritage for the next generations."

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More Conversation about the World Digital Library

"The venture seeks to promote intercultural understanding while narrowing the digital divide between nations, and its collection of rare books, maps, musical scores and recordings, photographs, and other cultural materials makes it a pretty amazing resource."

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May 21, 2009

Jesuit School to Sell Rare Books

"Some faculty members at the Jesuit-run University of San Francisco are up in arms over economic contingency plans that include selling some of the university’s rare books collection and auctioning off pieces of valuable art owned by the school, the Foghorn, USF’s official student newspaper reports."

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May 11, 2009

Rare Books at the Costen Children's Library

"Walk into Firestone, meander to the right short of the place where the librarians keep important stuff for adults, and one will stumble across the gem that is the Cotsen Children's Library. The rare books, shelved in a three-floor glass case to the right of the entrance, were donated to the University in 1997 by Lloyd E. Cotsen '50 - former chairman and CEO of Neutrogena."

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Beeghly Libraries in Ohio

"Beeghly Library, a circular building at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio. Built in 1967, the circular shape of the three story, open stacks Beeghly Library makes it a distinct presence on Heidelberg's campus and in Tiffin. The library was named to honor a gift from Leon A. Beeghly, an alumnus."

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May 07, 2009

Book Restoration in Beijing, China

"A specialist in the Chinese capital is working on restoring ancient images of a different kind -- words, not pictures. Sixty-year-old Du Weisheng works as a researcher at the rare book division of China's National Library in Beijing. Over the years, he's been racing against time to rescue ancient tomes and scripts that have been damaged by water, moulding from improper storage and chewed on by rats."

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April 30, 2009

All Countries Invited to World Digital Library

"Now that the World Digital Library has been launched on the Internet, its creators want to add new partners and content from every country in the world."

"Inaugurated April 21 at the headquarters of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, the World Digital Library (WDL) includes about 1,200 documents from more than two dozen libraries and institutions in 19 countries."

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April 29, 2009

University of California Acquires Thailand Book Collection

"Justin McDaniel, a UC Riverside associate professor of religious studies, finalized the deal in 2006: $68,000 for more than 12,000 Thai-language books from a private collector's five-story house-turned-library in Bangkok. "

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April 27, 2009

Treasures of the National Library of Australia

"The National Library of Australia has unveiled a special preview of its greatest treasures, which will be on show until 19 July."

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April 24, 2009

Oldest Book Jacket Found in Oxford's Library

"A librarian at Oxford's Bodleian Library has unearthed the earliest-known book dust jacket. Dating from 1830, the jacket wrapped a silk-covered gift book, Friendship's Offering."

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April 22, 2009

Yale Participates in the World Digital Library

"So far, Yale has uploaded 27 items from collections unique to the University. The contribution includes 22 pencil drawings of Amistad slave ship prisoners, a primer in Arabic calligraphy and a journal kept by a member of Ferdinand Magellan’s 1522 circumnavigation of the globe. "

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April 20, 2009

Auction at Boston Public Library

"So far, the library's collections committee has discussed parting with three items, according to minutes from meetings: a Crehore piano, a series of large-scale Audubon prints, and a collection of Tichnor glass printing plates that were once used to make postcards. The library has had the Aububon prints since the mid-1800s, while the piano and glass plates were acquired in the last several years."

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April 17, 2009

Library Book Returns Home after 145 Years

"Turns out the book, a family heirloom, was taken by a soldier during Hunter's Raid on VMI in 1864. The soldiers name was C.S. Gates. He thought he was getting revenge on VMI by stealing the book during the fiasco. He unknowingly stole it from Washington College or as it's now called Washington & Lee."

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April 15, 2009

Digitizing Rare Books at the University of Illinois

""'The (UI) has been digitizing books for 10 years, but only in the last three years have we done it on a really large scale,' said Betsy Kruger, the librarian who heads the UI's digitizing work.

"The UI effort is up to 15,000 volumes now."

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April 13, 2009

Stage Design on Exhibit at the Morgan Library

"This extraordinary period of innovation in modern scenic design is the subject of a new exhibition at The Morgan Library & Museum entitled Creating the Modern Stage: Designs for Theater and Opera. On view from May 22 through August 16, 2009, the exhibition features over fifty drawings derived entirely from the Morgan’s holdings, principally from the collection formed by the celebrated American set designer Donald Oenslager (1902–1975). "

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Fuller Seminary Nears Completion of Library

"With completion of the new $28-million, 47,000-square-foot David Allan Hubbard Library, and the total renovation of the 1962-vintage McAlister Library, there is room for 1.4 million items - double the present capacity."

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April 10, 2009

Vintage School Books in Idaho

"The school librarians say that although the books are no longer being checked out by students, they may still have value and interest to antique book collectors or others who love old books."

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April 08, 2009

Library of Congress and the World Digital Library

"The largest library in the world, which currently touts nearly 142 million items in its collections, will launch a Web site on April 21 featuring unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world."

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April 06, 2009

New Collections Library for the University of Georgia

"A 110,000-square-foot building planned for Waddell Street will give librarians state-of-the art rooms to store and preserve UGA's special collections - an ever-expanding vault of rare books, manuscripts and films."

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Rare Books at University of Mary Washington

"The peek at UMW's rare collection was one of dozens of stops Lecat and Christine Ortuno, both librarians from Frejus, made during their visit to Fredericksburg in the last week of March."

"Frejus and Fredericksburg have been sister cities for nearly 30 years, and plenty of residents--artists, archaeologists, teachers, students and elected officials--have exchanged visits."

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Restoring Rare Books in Ireland

"Rare and historic books currently being conserved by an international team of specialists at the University of Ulster's Magee campus give a fascinating insight into life in the North West hundreds of years ago."

Read this article.


April 03, 2009

Aberdeen University Receives Grant for Library & Archives

"The Recognition Fund, which is managed by Museum Galleries Scotland, awarded the money to 12 projects designed to increase the number of visitors to collections which have been recognised as being of national significance."

"Aberdeen University has been given £40,000 of funding for its project to promote seven museum collections and its rare books and archives."

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April 01, 2009

Rare Books for Students at Kansas State University

"Students have relatively open access to the special collection, and can benefit from the extensive research opportunities within the 90,000 volumes of books and other manuscripts."

"'You can find just about anything and satisfy any interest here, and many classes are integrating projects to encourage student use of the department,'" Adams said.

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Unesco and Library of Congress to Promote World Digital Library

"UNESCO and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library, a Web site that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world, at UNESCO Headquarters on 21 April."

"The site will include manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, and prints and photographs. It will provide unrestricted public access, free of charge, to this material. "

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March 30, 2009

The Library of Congress on Examiner.com

"One of the benefits of living in the Washington, D.C. area is the wealth of cultural and educational institutions. As National Library Week approaches, plan a family literacy field trip to one of the largest institutions on Capitol Hill - The Library of Congress. "

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March 27, 2009

Rare Book Conservation at the University of Ulster

"Rare and historic books currently being conserved by an international team of specialists at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus give a fascinating insight into life in the North-West hundreds of years ago. The books are part of the Church of Ireland Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Collection, which dates back to the 15th century."

Read this article.


March 25, 2009

Texas A&M University Acquires 4 Millionth Volume

"Acquisition of the 4 millionth volume for the Texas A&M University libraries will be commemorated Thursday (March 26) marking a major milestone for the state's oldest public university."

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Oxford's Bodleian Library Purchases New Site

"The Bodleian's struggle to store its vast collection of books may finally be at an end, as the library has bought a new site in Swindon."

"Up to 8 million books will be stored at the new site, 28 miles away from Oxford."

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March 23, 2009

Islamic Manuscripts Online

"Princeton University has placed a new digital library of 200 Islamic manuscripts online for scholars to consult and study."

"These manuscripts were selected from some 9,500 volumes of Islamic manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and other languages of the Muslim world in the University Library's Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. Princeton's extraordinary holdings constitute the premier collection in the Western Hemisphere and among the finest in the world, according to Don Skemer, curator of manuscripts."

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March 18, 2009

Taiwan and Latvia Create a Database of Chinese Books

"Taiwan's National Central Library (NCL) and the National Library of Latvia signed a cooperative agreement Monday to establish bibliographies and indexes of Chinese literature and ancient Chinese books, a NCL official said Tuesday."

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Sibley Music Library Receives Grant for Digitization Program

"The NEH has awarded the Sibley Music Library a two-year $273,820 grant to digitize approximately 10,000 to 12,000 musical scores which are in the public domain, reside in the Library’s general collections, and are held by not more than two other libraries in the world."

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March 16, 2009

First Editon Catesby Donated to University of South Carolina

"About half of the first-edition printing of nearly 200 survive intact, including about 70 in libraries worldwide, said Leslie Overstreet, curator of natural history collections at Smithsonian Institution Libraries."

"An unknown number remain in private hands, several likely in South Carolina, where rich planters were among Catesby’s original fans. The Charleston Museum and Middleton Place have first-edition sets."

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Digitizing Rare Books in India

"Digitalising about 16,000 manuscripts and 5,000 rare books in different languages will be taken up by a hi-tech resource centre, which was opened in the Aligarh Muslim University on Monday."

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March 13, 2009

Bryce Dessner to Perform at Rosenbach Museum & Library

"Rock musician and composer Bryce Dessner, of the band The National, will perform at the Rosenbach Museum & Library on Thursday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. Dessner and a group of instrumentalists will share the results of a project called "Lincoln Shuffle' - commissioned by the Rosenbach for 21stCenturyAbe.org, an interactive website celebrating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. "

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March 11, 2009

New Hampshire's Haverhill History Collection

"Local historians will get their way at the public library — sort of."

"By shifting personnel around, the library director said she can keep the special collections room open. But library patrons can use the room only by appointment, and for only three hours one day a week."

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15th Century Scrolls in Aberdeen, Scotland

"Priceless scrolls that are believed to date back to the 15th century were unveiled in Aberdeen yesterday in celebration of a Jewish festival."

"The scrolls were the centrepieces at Aberdeen University’s annual event to celebrate the Festival of Purim..."

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March 06, 2009

Japanese Fairy Tales at the Horniman Museum

"Takejiro Hasegawa made a bundle in the late 19th and early 20th centuries selling exotic crêpe paper storybooks to European travellers in Japan. Always the completist, Frederick John Horniman bought the whole series between 1885 and 1889 and had the slim stories bound into a set of four volumes."

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March 05, 2009

Fire Codes vs. Rare Books in North Carolina

"The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that the state fire marshal's office nearly shut down Wilson Library a year ago. But the regulators allowed the 80-year-old building to stay open with restrictions."

"The primary problems are the lack of exits and the need for a sprinkler system, all of which would cost nearly $12 million."

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Bucknell University to Celebrate Samuel Johnson

"'Johnson is one of the great writers of 18th-century England,' said Greg Clingham, professor of English at Bucknell and director of the Bucknell University Press."

"'He is also, along with Montaigne, Shakespeare, Rousseau, Goethe, Tolstoy and Borges, one of a handful of humanists in the European tradition whose writings in a variety of genres continue to challenge and extend our philosophical, moral and literary experiences,' he said."

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German Archives Building Collapses

"The archives also contained the personal papers of almost 800 prominent German authors, politicians and composers, including Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war chancellor of Germany. The manuscripts and letters of Nobel Prize winner Heinrich Böll and Jacques Offenbach, a 19th century cellist and opera composer, were stored at the archive. Weimar Republic politician Wilhelm Marx and German-Jewish composer Ferdinand Hiller were among the other notables whose collections have been buried under tons of concrete. 'These are fragile papers, that are now ground to dust,' Illner told the daily."

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March 04, 2009

Google Reinvents the Library

"The road to universal online information access hasn't been an easy one. In September 2005, the Authors Guild launched a lawsuit against Google for copyright infringement. In October, five major members of the Association of American Publishers-McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, Penguin Group, John Wiley & Sons, and Simon & Schuster-filed another lawsuit that challenged Google's digitization and dissemination of copyrighted materials without permission. "

Read this article.


March 02, 2009

Sprinkler Pipe Flooding Threatens Edinburgh Library

"Around 1,000 books were damaged in the main library building in Edinburgh, after the failure of a sprinkler pipe on the top storey caused 5,000 litres of water to run through all 12 floors. The potentially catastrophic incident late on Thursday evening forced 30 library staff to work through the night to clear standing water, and to spend the day beginning the task of drying out the affected volumes. "

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February 27, 2009

Baltimore's Evergreen Musuem and Library

"While living at Evergreen, the Garretts amassed a large collection of art, books, and objets d'artes from all over the world, much of it collected during John Work's tenure as a diplomat for the US government. Over 50,000 artifacts remain in the residence. The Garrett family has been a major contributor to philanthropic causes for over a hundred years, and they remain both a charitable organization as well as patrons of the arts."

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February 25, 2009

Tulane Library Recovery Center Marks One Year Anniversary

"Library Associates Companies and Tulane University Libraries are pleased to report the completion of several major milestones by the Tulane Libraries Recovery Center, established one year ago in response to the devastation of library materials by Hurricane Katrina. Now operating with a staff of 22 segmented into four teams, the Recovery Center has excelled in its ability to process and catalog materials quickly and accurately, and return these materials to the Tulane University community. More than 30,000 restored items and 17,000 donated items have been processed and delivered to Howard-Tilton Memorial Library since the opening of the Recovery Center in February 2008. "

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February 23, 2009

New Website Brings Together Museum Libraries

"The holdings of three New York art libraries — the Frick Art Reference Library, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art — are now available through a Web site run by the New York Art Resources Consortium, the New York Times reports."

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February 19, 2009

Library Expansion in Williamson County, Tennessee

"BRENTWOOD — Brentwood will have the largest library in Williamson County once construction on an 11,000-square-foot expansion is completed in the fall."

"When all is said and done, the Brentwood Library will measure in at 54,000 square feet, or 4,225 square feet larger than the Williamson County Library in Franklin."

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February 16, 2009

Rare Books for Undergraduates at University of Iowa

"Until recently, college students only had contact with old, rare texts in the form of anthologies, reprints or photocopies, but times are changing. More and more, students at UI and around the country are gaining access to once-restricted texts housed at their universities."

Read this article.


February 13, 2009

Oregon History on Exhibit

"'The Original Copy of the Constitution of the State of Oregon,' as it says on the leather-bound cover, is kept inside a cardboard box made of acid-free materials and designed especially for rare books and antiquated papers. The box, stored in a room where fixtures point to the ceiling to prevent direct light from ever touching any of the records, is moved occasionally to prevent theft."

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February 06, 2009

Preserving a Book Collection in Louisville, Kentucky

"Leaders of the foundation that raised $4 million to restore the Jeffersonville Carnegie Library to house a valuable, rare book collection will make a pitch to the trust's board next week to keep the collection."

Read this article.


February 03, 2009

Library of Cogress Scanning Books for Online

"Ten scanning units, called scribe stations, have been set up. In each one, a book sits on a V-shaped cradle. Two high-resolution digital cameras overhead point separately at the left and right pages of the open book. An operator sits in front, using a foot pedal to operate a V-shaped glass cover that comes down to flatten the pages being photographed or goes up so the page can be turned. A pair of pages is scanned every six seconds."

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January 26, 2009

Buying Rare Books from British Public Libraries

"Gloucestershire County Council is giving specialist collectors the chance to buy spare and unused books and texts that are gathering dust in the county’s libraries."

"The items going on sale are either duplicates, unused and/or in poor and deteriorating condition. None of them directly relate to the county’s history or heritage. The money raised from the sale will be used to maintain and improve Gloucestershire’s library service. "

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Digitizing Library of Congress Books

"Like many other great research libraries, the Library of Congress has been moving into the digital world."

"One way they're doing it is through a scanning project that has so far put 25,000 books online for anyone to read or download. "

Read this article.


January 21, 2009

University of Missouri's Mercantile Library Featured Online

"Buried deep below the ground here at the University of Missouri-St. Louis is a time machine. This machine has the capability to take students and researchers alike back in time to the St. Louis 1904 World's Fair, or any and all presidential elections of the 19th century, and it is available for public use every day of the week. The time machine even has a name: The St. Louis Mercantile Library."

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January 19, 2009

Rare Books Added to Chicago's Newberry Library

"Chicago's Newberry Library recently got a collection of nearly 5,000 books from a seminary. It features some rare items."

"The Newberry is cataloging the books from the McCormick Theological Seminary. The books were sitting in a locked room, and some had never been studied. The library's curator of rare books, Paul Saenger, says it's like going on an archeological dig."

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New Library Built in Hanoi, Vietnam

"A project to build a library to store and preserve one thousand years of Thang Long culture has been built by Ha Noi Publishing House, said its director, Nguyen Khac Oanh."

"The library will store rare books, manuscripts and documents about Thang Long- Ha Noi, as well as act as a depository for long-term research on Hanoi’s history."

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January 16, 2009

Boston Libraries Digitizing Rare Books

"The digitized books will be hosted by the Internet Archive and available to be indexed by any search engine, or at openlibrary.org. Internet Archive is a nonprofit company that is working on building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts. It provides free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public. "

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January 13, 2009

Princeton University Acquires Papers of Former 'Time' Magazine Editor

"The Princeton University Library has acquired the papers of the American journalist, editor and author T.S. (Thomas Stanley) Matthews, a member of Princeton's class of 1922 who spent much of his long and distinguished professional career at Time magazine. "

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January 09, 2009

Archive Week in India

"RAJKOT: An exhibition of rare photographs, documents and records of erstwhile princely states of Saurashtra-Kutch region is being organised at archives office on Shrof Road to mark archives week."

Read this article.


January 07, 2009

Rare Book Library May Leave Jefersonville, Indiana

"A library that holds about 1,000 rare books and historical documents may be forced to move from its Jeffersonville building because temperature and humidity controls haven't worked reliably. "

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St. Norbert College Receives Grant for Library

" The long history between St. Norbert College and St. Norbert Abbey has been recorded through photographs, correspondence, books, journals and institutional records, creating a rich source of 19th and 20th century Catholic missionary activity among the native and immigrant peoples of Wisconsin."

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Brooklyn Historical Society Cuts Back Hours

"In a cost-saving measure, the Brooklyn Historical Society says it must end Saturday access to its archive, effective immediately."

"The so-called Othmer Library will still be open 12 hours per week — on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 5 pm — but the loss of Saturday hours will remain in place until at least July, said Society President Deborah Schwartz."

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January 05, 2009

State Library of North Carolina: Digital Project

"A big chunk of African-American history, in Wilmington and elsewhere, can now be studied online, thanks to an effort by the State Library of North Carolina."

"The Raleigh-based state agency has put digital images of a 1910 reference book, An Era of Progress and Promise online as part of its Digital Repository."

Read this article.


January 03, 2009

Gotham Book Mark Books Going to University of Pennsylvania

"About 200,000 items from the Gotham Book Mart, which closed in 2007 after 87 years as a New York literary haven of international stature, have been donated to the University of Pennsylvania."

Read this article.


January 01, 2009

Princeton's Rare Books Showcased in New Books

"A new book, Biblio by photographer Natasha D'Schommer, offers a rare close-up look at many of the exceptional books and manuscripts that belong to the Scheide Library, one of the most significant private book collections in the United States, which is housed in Princeton's Firestone Library. "

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"Romance of the Rose" Manuscripts to Go Online

"The online collection will contain full digital reproductions of 150 Romance of the Rose manuscripts from the above libraries as well as the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Completion of the digital library is slated for late 2009. In the meantime, visitors to the Walters can access the collection through internet kiosks in the museum’s manuscripts gallery and leaf through medieval books, zoom in on intriguing details, and compare illuminated manuscripts from around the world. "

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December 29, 2008

Rare Middle East Book Re-Discovered in British Library

"Books containing the first detailed colour pictures of Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem to be published in the west have been unearthed at a museum in York."
"A complete version of The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt And Nubia by David Roberts was found by volunteers at the Yorkshire Museum."

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Obama will use Lincoln's Bible

"According to the Library of Congress, the Lincoln Inaugural Bible has not been used in any other inauguration. It is a powerful symbol of Lincoln's strength and wisdom during a time when the survival of the United States of America was at stake."

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December 27, 2008

The Lincoln Bible

"This Bible is not distinguished unto itself. It's not a rare-edition Bible. An 1853 Oxford Bible with no historical associations would get $30 or $40 today. But by association, it becomes priceless. There is no way to put a dollar sign on it."

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Incunabula Explained in the Philippines

"“Incunabula” was one of the first complicated words I learned as a boy. It was imprinted in my mind because it was always confused with “incubus,” a demon or spirit that enjoyed sexual intercourse with humans."

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Lincoln Museum Collection to Go Online

"But these scribes aren’t people – they’re state-of-the-art scanning machines from non-profit Internet Archive, the library basement’s out-of-sight secret. The basement lab will play a vital role in digitizing the former Lincoln Museum collection for public access."

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December 20, 2008

A Letterpress Broadside: "Martyrs' Mirror Manifesto"

The Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley is publishing a letterpress broadside, today, in tribute to the printers who printed the Martyrs' MIrror book in the 1740s.

The Martyrs' Mirror book was printed at the Ephrata Cloister, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. The Historical Society is also located in Ephrata, Lancaster County.

The Martyrs' Mirroris the largest book printed in colonial North America, and is often considered the most ambitious printing project of that era.

The book records the stories of Anabapatist martyrs in Europe, who were the ancestors of many Amish and Mennonite families here in the United States.

The broadside commemorates the beheading of Anabaptist martyr Hans Haslibacher, who was beheaded in Switzerland in 1571.

The Historical Society is home to the William and Jemima Brossman Library and Research Center, and to the Theodore R. Sprecher Museum.

The "Martyrs' Mirror Manifesto" broadside is Here.

The Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley is Here.


December 19, 2008

University of Pennsylvania Libraries Receive Gotham Book Mart Collection

" A landmark cultural institution in New York City, the Gotham Book Mart was the epitome of all that is engaging and inspiring about an independent bookstore. It was an oasis where poets, writers, and lovers of literature could gather for readings, discuss and discover authors and their works, and while away hours poring over the store's eclectic and often unique inventory. "

Read this article.


Cultural Center & Library Opens in Bahrain

"The imposing Shaikh Isa National Library will operate under the umbrella of the cultural centre and is part of a regional push to celebrate Arab culture."

"A grand foyer fitted with a magnificent chandelier and patterned marble floors are an impressive reminder of the 7,000 square metres of sprawling library space and its accompanying facility. The library comprises five floors, two of which are in the basement."

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December 16, 2008

Trevor Summons does the Huntington

"I have visited The Huntington on a few occasions and roamed around most of the place - it truly is one of the jewels of the Southland - so I have seen the art and many of the other delights. This trip, however, I spent some time in the library having initially survived Mrs. Huntington's frosty gaze."

Read this article.


December 12, 2008

Hardin-Simmons University Accepts Collection of Rare Bibles

"Only about 50 known copies of the first edition 1611 King James Version of the Bible exist."

"Hardin-Simmons University now has one of them."

Read this article.


December 11, 2008

Socorro Public Library Celebrates its 84th Year

"The Socorro Public Library started in 1924, as an oak book cabinet housed at a local drug store. The modest collection of books was loaned out using an honor system in which users would contribute or exchange books they had finished reading for newly contributed books from other users."

Read this article.


December 08, 2008

New Zealand's First Free Library is 100 Years Old

"Mrs Frame said Dunedin's lucky break came in 1903 when Andrew Carnegie offered £10,000 to build a library, as long as certain conditions were observed."

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Emory University Receives 700 Editions of "Robinson Crusoe"

"The collection written by Daniel Dafoe was donated to the university's manuscripts, archives and rare books library by Emory alumnus Robert Lovett and his wife, Miriam."

Read this article.


December 04, 2008

The $126,000.00 Coffee Table Book

"O.K.: it’s more than a coffee-table book. The rare, 61-pound book, made recently by hand, was toiled over by scholars, artists and artisans. Called “Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano” (“Michelangelo: The Learned Hand”), the book, an Italian language celebration of his work, cost 100,000 euros (about $126,864) to make in Italy and was donated on Monday to the library, where it will be on view through Monday."

Read this article.


December 01, 2008

Calgary's 15th Century Breviarium Ratisponense

"It has survived wars, pestilence, religious reformation and the scribbled notes of unknown priests. Yet, the five-century-old Breviarium Ratisponense remains remarkably intact on the 12th floor of the University of Calgary's MacKimmie Library. The 15thcentury calf binding is original, as is the metal clasp that holds it together. Inside the back cover, two handwritten obituaries-- barely more than the names of the deceased--have been attached."

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Library Fund Created by Canada / Connecticut Socialite

"Julia Timmins Santry was a cultivated Montreal-born Connecticut socialite and a member of the United States Chapter of the Friends of McGill University who last year established a scholarship that will be awarded annually to an outstanding student entering a full-time undergraduate degree program in the Faculty of Science."

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November 28, 2008

The World's Most Expensive New Book Arrives in New York

"It’s billed as the world’s most expensive, most beautiful new book."

"Costing well over $100,000, a 62-pound handmade tome depicting the life and work of Michelangelo has arrived at the New York Public Library, fresh from publication in Italy."

Read this article.


November 26, 2008

University of Calgary's Prayer Book

"So how valuable is it? "

"Try $25,000 -- enough to buy 1,600 copies of Ken Follett's latest paperback, or to almost pay off your student loan, after graduating with a major in Medieval Studies."

Read this article.


November 24, 2008

The Spaniers Contribute to Penn State Libraries

"Established by the Spaniers in 1998, the Philip Young Special Collections Endowment for the Libraries supports the purchase of rare books, manuscripts and other materials for the University Libraries' Rare Books Room and Special Collections. The Spaniers created the fund in memory of Young, a world-renowned Ernest Hemingway scholar and Penn State faculty member who was Sandra Spanier’s dissertation director and a great influence on her own career."

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A Landmark Library Being Built in Kotturpuram, India

"Mr. Thennarasu said the library would have eight floors, with a plinth area of 3,04,745 sq. ft. and would be of international standards. The ground floor, spanning nearly 35,000 square feet, would house a lobby, reception, a Braille and talking book section, two conference halls, the administrative wing’s office, a cyber café, the deposit counter and the security room."

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November 19, 2008

Digitizing Rare Books in Pakistan

"National Library of Pakistan (NLP) is digitising rare books and manuscripts to preserve the national literary heritage for the next generations."

“'About 70 rare books and manuscripts have already been digitised so far,' sources told APP here Tuesday adding that this step would not only help preserve the national heritage but also facilitate researchers and scholars."

Read this article.


November 14, 2008

Azerbaijan Books in Leiden University Library

"Kurt De Belder, the director of the library, spoke about the University founded in 1575 in Leiden, the Netherlands, which is one of the 20 leading education institutions in Europe, as well as delivered true information about the library. De Belder praised the initiative of Azerbaijan embassy, voiced satisfaction with the cooperation with Azerbaijan. "

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November 10, 2008

New Zealand College Sells Rare Books to Cover Costs

"One of New Zealand's oldest schools is selling rare New Zealand books and artwork dating back to the 18th century to help fund repairs for their ageing buildings."

"The collection includes first editions of Captain Cook's voyages and books signed by former student, Noble Prize winning scientist, Ernest Rutherford."

Read this article.


November 05, 2008

The Book of Mormon in Hawaii

"The Brigham Young University Hawaii Archives will put a rare copy of the original 1855 Ka Buke a Moramona — the Hawaiian language translation of the Book of Mormon — on permanent display at the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center, starting with an unveiling ceremony on Friday, November 7, at 7 p.m."

Read this article.


November 03, 2008

Digital Library Projects at U. of Penn

"The Daily Pennsylvanian and Penn Libraries' Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image are partnering to archive and digitize every edition of the paper, which has been published since 1885."

Read this article.


Louis Braille's Birthday Party

"Louis Braille was one of the movers and shakers of the blind community, a man who was far ahead of his time. He revolutionized the way blind people had access to written information, as well as giving us an alphabet of our own. "

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Rare Books for Undergraduates at U. of Penn

"Rare books and manuscripts, once restricted to scholars and graduate students in white gloves, are being incorporated into undergraduate courses at institutions like the University of Iowa, Smith College, the University of Washington and Harvard. Last academic year, almost 200 classes and student tours visited the rare-books collection of the University of Pennsylvania. That’s almost three times the number of visitors five years ago, according to Mr. Pollack. "

Read this article.


October 31, 2008

Digitizing Sikh Books in India

"The Panjāb Digital Library initiative of the Nānakshāhī Trust, while being the first such endeavour by a non-governmental organization to work without a grant, has so far digitized 8,50,000 folios of manuscripts, rare books, pictures, magazines and newspapers."

Read this article.


October 29, 2008

Hip Hop at Cornell University Library

"Thanks to a one-of-a-kind donation, the foremost collection of hip-hop's birth -- a lodestone of primary materials -- is now housed at Cornell University's Rare Books and Manuscripts division. Hip-hop is a cultural movement that includes emceeing (popularly known as rapping), djaying, graffiti writing and breakdancing."

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Robert Jackson: The Future of the Printed Book

"While Jackson said he expects some form of the printed book to always exist, especially in the children's book genre, he is not as optimistic for the future of the library. He noticed students studying printed textbooks in the Kent State Library, which he noted as an anomaly when compared to most universities he speaks at, where students seem to be more focused on the "technological aspect" of research."

Read this article.


October 17, 2008

The Oldest Welsh Book

"THE Bishop of Wrexham was given a rare privilege this week when he was allowed to hold a copy of Wales' oldest printed book."

"Bishop Edwin Regan got his hands on Drych Cristianogawl (Christian Mirror), one of the cornerstone treasures of The National Library of Wales, "

Read this article.


October 16, 2008

Ohio State University Treasures on Exhibit

"'Objects of Wonder' displays items borrowed from 34 different departments and compilations housed at OSU. More than 700 items are on loan from collections such as the Historic Costume and Textiles Collection to lesser-known assortments from the Museum of Biological Diversity."

Read this article.


October 13, 2008

Comic Book Treasures at Northern Illinois University

"The fourth-floor of Founders Memorial Library houses the Rare Books and Special Collections department. Except for a couple of students each year, its treasure remains hidden."

"The cluttered room is home to about 10,000 single-issue comic books and graphic novels that are owned by the library."

Read this article.


October 09, 2008

David Baum: A Visiting Scholar at Remnant Trust Library

"During the next several months one of Baum’s goals is to make sure the collection is being utilized. He’s setting up partnerships with educational institutions and doing outreach activities like giving talks for local groups, such as the Alexander Hamilton Society of Kentucky."

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Emory University Purchases Papers of Southern Journalist Marshall Frady

"Emory University has purchased the papers of Marshall Frady, a journalist known for documenting the lives of prominent Southerners."

Read this article.


Rare Antiquarian Books to American High Schools

"Concerned that his students weren't seeing some of the area's most interesting history, Jeffersonville High School teacher Ken Miller went to The Remnant Trust with an idea."

"Bring some of the trust's rare and valuable books to his classes, Miller proposed."

Read this article.


September 30, 2008

Historical Documents Get New Life at Louisisan State University Library

"The photos and documents are from a donation made by Richard Johnson Jr. and are part of LSUA's latest historical collection -- the Manning Compton collection."

"The collection comes from materials from the lives of Thomas Courtland Manning and John Compton, both of Rapides Parish."

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September 24, 2008

Morgan Library and an Elephant Named Babar

"In 2004, the Morgan Library, which is known for its collection of rare books and manuscripts, acquired nearly all the working drafts for Jean de Brunhoff's first book, as well as drawings for the first book written by his son, "Babar's Cousin: That Rascal Arthur," published in 1946. "

Read this article.


September 23, 2008

Hip Hop at Cornell University Library

"Afrika Bambaataa and other pioneers of hip hop are scheduled to travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to speak at a two-day conference celebrating Cornell University Library’s acquisition of Born in the Bronx: The Legacy and Evolution of Hip Hop, a collection that documents the early days of hip hop with recordings, photographs, posters and more."

Read this article.


September 22, 2008

University of South Carolina Library to Honor Sen. Fritz Hollings

"COLUMBIA — The University of South Carolina's new library of special collections will bear the name of former U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, university President Harris Pastides announced Friday."

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Launch of International Campaign about Sikh Library

"London, UK - Narinderjit Singh, General Secretary of the Sikh Federation (UK), announced at the Annual International Sikh Convention that an international campaign concerning the Sikh Reference Library would be launched on the 300th anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib Ji."

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September 19, 2008

Michigan Library Will Sell its Book of Mormon

"MUSKEGON, Mich. (WZZM) - The Hackley Library in Muskegon is selling its' most valuable book - a rare first edition 'Book of Mormon.'"

"5,000 books were printed in 1830 by Joseph Smith, the Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Book collectors think only 1,000 first editions still exist. "

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September 15, 2008

OAS joins the World Digital Library

"The Organization of American States (OAS) has agreed to join with the Library of Congress in developing the World Digital Library, which will open to the public at its formal launch in Paris next year. "

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September 13, 2008

Renovated Maly Library Dedicated in Cincinnati

"Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk formally dedicated the newly renovated Eugene H. Maly Memorial Library at the Athenaeum of Ohio during ceremonies Sept. 4."

"As part of the dedication, the library’s rare book collection was named in the archbishop’s honor, recognizing him for his support and his many contributions to the collection."

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Bibles on Exhibit at the Library of Congress

"The Library of Congress actually has thousands of Bibles in more than 150 languages, about 1,500 of which are considered significant editions for their rare or historic value, said Mark Dimunation, chief of the library's Rare Book and Special Collections Division."

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September 11, 2008

Cardiff Libraries go Self-Service

"CARDIFF’S libraries are to become self-service in the biggest revolution in their 150-year history."

"The project, which will cost up to £1m and see all branch libraries close for a week at a time over the coming months, is designed to free up staff and improve the service to library users."

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Museum Book Conservation in Indonesia

"Unknown to the general public, the Conservation Institute -- established as the municipal conservation lab in 1997 -- has been handling conservation and restoration at the seven museums under within Jakarta's jurisdiction since 2002. "

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Fire at Plympton Library in England

"FIRE investigators probing the blaze which destroyed Plympton Library say the exact cause may never be known."

"Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service chiefs say last month's fire was so severe it destroyed any clue as to whether it was arson or not."

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September 08, 2008

Man Buys Rare Book at Library Clearance Sale

"A Shawano, Wisconsin man bought a book for a dollar at the Shawano City County Library Annual book sale, only to find out it's worth thousands."

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Somerville Massachusetts Library Receives Federal Grant

"The library got a $2,500 federal grant through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to hire a conservation specialist who will examine the collection and recommend improvements."

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September 01, 2008

Marion H. Skidmore Library Receives Grant

"A $7,500 grant recently was awarded by the Buffalo-based Western New York Library Resource Council to the Lily Dale Assembly for library system improvements."

"One of the projects planned will provide Internet access to the library's collection of rare books and other valuable publications."

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Huntington Library to Open Permanent Exhibiton on Science History

"The Huntington Library will open a new permanent exhibition on Nov. 1, showcasing some of science's greatest achievements, from Ptolemy to Copernicus, Newton to Einstein. The 2,800-square-foot Dibner Hall of the History of Science comes as a result of the marriage of The Huntington's history of science materials with the Burndy Library, a 67,000-volume collection of rare books and manuscripts donated to The Huntington in 2006 by the Dibner family of Connecticut."

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August 29, 2008

McGill University Library Scanning Rare Books

"McGill University Library in Montreal will be using a Kirtas Technologies APT BookScan 2400RA to digitize its collections. The company said that the 2400RA is capable of acquiring page images at the rate of 2,400 pages per hour. The library will be working with Ristech, a Canadian reseller, to implement the digitization solution."

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August 27, 2008

Restoring Ancient Texts in China

"Hu Yuqing and her 29 colleagues at the Rare Books Restoration Center of the National Library have repaired 5,000m, or half of the Dunhuang scrolls in the library over the past 18 years."

"Hu is one of fewer than 200 professionals in China who can restore ancient texts."

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August 25, 2008

Rare Books at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, Scotland

"A darkened room in a quiet corner of a city library is showcasing a vital part of Scotland's cultural heritage that is usually kept under lock and key. As Scotland celebrates the 500th anniversary of printing, the Mitchell Library in Glasgow has put a representative sample of its extensive holdings of antiquarian and rare books on show to mark the occasion."

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August 22, 2008

Hip Hop Conference at Cornell University Library

"Afrika Bambaataa and other pioneers of hip hop will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to speak at a two-day conference celebrating Cornell University Library's acquisition of Born in the Bronx: The Legacy and Evolution of Hip Hop, a collection that documents the early days of hip hop with recordings, photographs, posters and more."

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Fall Festival of the Book in California

"The University of California, San Diego Libraries and San Diego Book Arts are co-sponsoring a Fall Festival of the Book: a series of exhibitions, lectures, and a film screening to celebrate the artistry and craftsmanship of handmade and rare books. The events, which will be held from September through October, are all free and open to the public."

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August 18, 2008

Athletics Department Funds Ohio State University's Library

"Thanks to another multimillion dollar gift from the Athletics Department, the $108.7 million renovation of Ohio State University's main library is now fully funded."

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August 15, 2008

Smithsonian Institution Libraries Celebrate 40th Anniversary

"The guest speaker at the Ruby Gala will be author David Baldacci. Baldacci
has written 14 best-selling novels and recently released his 15th novel, "The
Whole Truth." More than 50 million of his books have been sold in more than 40
languages."

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First Mega Public Library in Kotturpuram, India

"The eight-storied library complex with a plinth area of 3,33,140 sq ft will come up on 8 acres of land adjacent to the government data centre in Kotturpuram where the earlier Jayalalithaa government planned to construct a new secretariat complex."

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McGill University Library Works on Digitization Project

"Among the 300,000 titles housed in Rare Books and Special Collections at McGill University Library are collections of art and architecture, Canadiana, history, literature, philosophy (including an outstanding David Hume Collection), travel and exploration, and the history of the book. It is a true discovery library, actively supporting the teaching, learning and research needs of McGill students and faculty from all disciplines, as well as the wider scholarly community."

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August 13, 2008

Minnesota Law Libraries offer Help

"Dakota County's law libraries, in Hastings and Apple Valley, offer reams of electronic and hard copy information, covering common issues such as property lines and neighbors' pesky pets. "

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UCLA Receives Mellon Grant to Catalog Rare Books

"The UCLA Library has received a generous $750,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to catalog more than 55,000 rare books and make them more accessible to users."

"'It will promote learning, research and the creation of new knowledge by greatly improving online access to information about our rare and unique books, which will make them more visible and useful to scholars both at UCLA and around the world,' said University Librarian Gary E. Strong."

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August 11, 2008

Pop-Up Books in Bowdoin College Special Collections

"Wondrous treasures are unfolding within the Bowdoin College Library's George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives. Pop-up books — 1,900 of them — have been donated by collector Harry Goralnick '71. "

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August 08, 2008

Woodrow Wilson Library Receives Special Award

"STAUNTON – Treasured objects and artifacts held by the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum will be preserved for future generations with help from an award from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the top source of federal funding for the nation’s museums and libraries."

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Future Uncertain for Alaskan Library

"When Sitka’s Sheldon Jackson College closed a year ago, so did the Stratton Library, which houses nearly 7,000 rare books and photographs."

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August 06, 2008

1909 German-American Sports Festival on Exhibit in Cincinnati

" A health movement led by Cincinnati’s German-Americans, first launched in 1848, became the stage for a fitness festival that was a show of Cincinnati’s own Olympics. UC’s Archives and Rare Books Library presents the photos and history of the 1909 Turner Festival that drew more than 50,000 fans to a special-built stadium for the event."

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August 04, 2008

Egypt Sends Rare Books to Kuwait

"CAIRO: Kuwait and Egypt have a long cultural history of cooperation, with both Arab countries recently attending and holding several joint cultural activities that reflected these strong ties."

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India's Historic Khuda Baksh Library Goes Online

"Bihar Governor R. L. Bhatia, in Patna on Saturday, during his visit to the state's historical Khuda Baksh Library, inaugurated the online catalogue of the books, manuscripts, and periodicals housed in the institute saying the facility was a huge step in the age of Internet and globalization."

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August 01, 2008

"Turning the Pages" Software at the British Library

"Turning the Pages is a unique piece of software designed to allow readers to look at rare books in a natural way. With Turning the Pages, users can read the books in their original format, almost exactly as they were intended to be read by their original audience."

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July 25, 2008

Are Canadian Archives being Neglected?

"Efforts have been made to prevent water damage at the main headquarters, including installing water-detection sensors and moving rare documents off-site. But judging from the building's soggy history, these measures may not be enough. "

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July 23, 2008

The 25 Most Modern Libraries in the World

"Det Kongelige Bibliotek: The Danish Royal Library, or the Black Diamond as it's often called due to the shape of the building, is a modern facility inside and out. Featuring cutting edge design by Danish architects schmidt hammer lassen, it employs marble and glass to create a distinctive form on the outside. "

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July 21, 2008

Water Pipes Threaten Canada Archives

"Canada's national archives building is so prone to leaks that it sprang another one last month just as workers were cleaning up the mess from a flood days earlier."

"The showcase building near Parliament Hill was given a second soaking June 1 when a cold-water valve in a women's washroom failed, internal documents show."

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July 11, 2008

Pacific Map Exhibition at New Zealand Library

"A new Dunedin Public Library exhibition, 'Charting the Peaceful Sea - Maps of the Pacific 1642-1846', looks back in time to explore the world as we knew it hundreds of years ago."

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July 09, 2008

Duke University Libraries Showcases China Photos Online

"The Duke University Libraries has launched a digital collection of about 5,000 photographs shot primarily in China between 1917 and 1932 by Sidney Gamble, grandson of Proctor and Gamble co-founder James Gamble. The searchable collection is online at library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/gamble/."

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Fort Worth, Texas, wants to Buy Iowa Library's Rare Books

" A museum in Texas is offering the Dubuque's Carnegie-Stout Public Library 1.1 million dollars
The Fort Worth museum wants to buy a valuable collection from them, and the money would be just enough to help the library begin its renovation project."

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July 07, 2008

Rare Books at Texas Tech

"More than 750,000 pictures have been cataloged for historical preservation. "The Southwest Collection itself is 23 million leaves of manuscript materials relating to the history, culture and economy of this place. Our rare books component is the largest academic rare books library within a 96,000 square miles of this place," said Monte Monroe with the Southwest Collection."

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July 03, 2008

Historic India Library in Shambles

"The biggest library of Hyderabad boasting of majestic architecture of the Nizam's times now greets its over 700 daily visitors with crumbling walls, dust-laden books, rickety chairs with seats hanging loose and book shelves with broken glass panes that make a mockery of the locks guarding them."

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June 30, 2008

Canada: McMaster Library Rare Books Put Online

"Anyone with access to a computer and the Internet will be able to look at the university's 376-year-old copy of Galileo's Dialogue, for example, or to flip through books that once belonged to philosopher Bertrand Russell, including the notes he made in the margins. "

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Controversy over India Books and U. S. Congress Library

"THE micro-films of 1238 rare books from the library of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi were taken and sent to the US Congress library without the approval of the general council or the executive committee of the Akademi."

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June 26, 2008

Oregon Festival Raises $95,000 for Library

"The Mount Angel Abbey hosted its second annual Festival of Art and Wine Tasting on Saturday and raised more than $95,000 for the Abbey Library."

"The event gave visitors a chance to see some of the rarest books in in the world."

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June 19, 2008

Canadian Mountie Archives going to University of Alberta

"The Steele archive - thousands of letters, journals, maps and photos - will be handed over in London today in a ceremony at Canada House presided over by Prince Edward. The Prince is the honorary Deputy Commissioner of the RCMP, and Steele was the prototype Mountie, having been the third man to enlist in the North-West Mounted Police."

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McMasters University Library Books going Digital

"Anyone with access to a computer and the Internet will be able to look at the university's 376-year-old copy of Galileo's Dialogue, for example, or to flip through books that once belonged to philosopher Bertrand Russell, including the notes he made in the margins."

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June 16, 2008

Wellesley College Acquires a Masterpiece of Copernicus

"For an undisclosed price, the college purchased a second edition of his groundbreaking 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium' ("On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"), published in 1566, which made the then-heretical claim the sun, not the Earth, was at the center of the universe."

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Rare Books Imperiled in Iowa Flood

"'When I think about moving rare books from the bottom of the library, I weep,' he said. He pulled sandbag duty with a hulking Hawkeye football player."

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June 09, 2008

High Tech Exhibits at the Library of Congress

"Each document has a dedicated, interactive kiosk that allows students and researchers to closely examine the library's treasures and to trace the origins of the country's founding ideas. For example, they might learn that the Bill of Rights was initially created as a diversion to prevent the anti-Federalists from rehashing the entire Constitution."

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Vault Protects Rare Books in Pennsylvania

"There are 423 of them, including the first seven law books purchased by Benjamin Franklin for the library -- a 1734 set of "Statutes-at-Large," a collection of the laws of England -- and a book by British philosopher John Locke that declares that man has a right to "life, liberty and estate."

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June 05, 2008

Humboldt Collection Goes to Yale Library

"Photographer, collector, author, publisher, archivist, and researcher Peter Palmquist assembled an astonishing collection of a quarter-million photographs during his lifetime, many of them documenting the history of Humboldt County. He was killed by a hit and run driver in January 2003 at the age of 66. "

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Microsoft Changes Mind About Scanning Books in Fort Wayne

"Microsoft has backed out of its plan to digitize tens of thousands of volumes at the Allen County Public Library, but the library is still likely to benefit from its brief involvement in the project."

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June 02, 2008

Restoring Books at the Library of Alexandria

"Cairo – The restoration laboratory at the Library of Alexandria's Centre of Manuscripts and Rare Books, in Egypt, is now considered one of the most modern sites in the world for recovery and preservation of antique documents. The organisation has already worked on over 2,000 rare books, 500 manuscripts and 120 maps."

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Old Norse Bible Donated to Brigham Young University

"A Bible written in Old Norse nearly 400 years ago has been donated to Brigham Young University's library by a Provo resident."

"Thor Leifson, the honorary consul of Iceland emeritus, says the Bible was given to his family by a missionary who converted Leifson's relatives to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints four generations ago."

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May 28, 2008

President of the Huntington Library Featured in L. A. Press

"At the Huntington, Koblik's colleagues describe him as a people person with a big smile and an ear for ideas and contrary opinions. With a jampacked calendar and a residence on the grounds -- where he lives with his wife, Kerstein, an urban planner -- he's the face of the institution. But he is never happier than when he's poking around in the bowels of the Munger Research Center, where tens of thousands of books and manuscripts reside on metal shelves in a compact storage system."

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May 27, 2008

Mary Dockray-Miller Researches Book of Hours

"Dockray-Miller, who teaches English literature at Lesley University in Cambridge, is publishing a paper that prints, for the first time, three prayers from a 122-page medieval manuscript secreted in the Boston Public Library's rare books collection."

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Dartmouth Library's Special Collections are Teaching Tools

"Far from gathering dust, Rauner Special Collections Library's massive collection—100,000 rare books, six and a half million unique manuscripts, the Dartmouth College archives, and a range of other materials—is being increasingly used by professors and students to inform and complement their teaching and research. More than 70 undergraduate classes are scheduled to visit Rauner this academic year, while five years ago there were only eight."

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May 23, 2008

Rare Books in New Delhi

"Started by Vijay Bisht and Ajay Bisht in 1998, the shop has been catering to the DU students. But how did the collection begin? "

“'Students place orders for photocopying books from the rare books section of different libraries. But some forget to collect them or leave them behind once they are through with exams. That is how this collection grew,' says Bisht."

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May 21, 2008

McMaster University Library Digitizes Rare Books

"With the support of Kirtas' Canadian reseller Ristech, McMaster
University will be using the Kirtas APT BookScan 2400RA to digitize rare,
out-of-print books. Once the books are digitized and processed, files will
be made available to the world on the Internet through the university
library and for sale as print-on-demand books on Lulu.com."

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May 19, 2008

Rare Bible Returns to Nova Scotia

"LUNENBURG, N.S.–Richard Luckett knew he had a problem when a water pipe burst in his college room where 10,000 books – some dating back 400 years – lined the walls from one end to the other."

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May 16, 2008

Google Adds Another Library to Its Roster

"The University of Texas library in Austin Texas has better than one million written works, and Google intends to convert them all into digital format and add them to the Google Library Project. Some of the university's collection includes some rare books and manuscripts from early Latin American history. "

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May 15, 2008

Digitizing Rare Manuscripts in Kashmir

"“In Jammu and Kashmir, we have a glorious history of 5000 years at our back. That is why the oldest manuscripts India presently possesses are a set of sixth century Buddhist texts, which were found buried in the hills of Kashmir 60 years ago. Our researchers have found rare ancient Sanskrit, Tibetan, Arabic and Persian treatises on number of subjects including ayurveda, diabetes, astrophysics, interpretation of dreams, surgical instruments, concepts of time and war techniques. We want to catalog and preserve all the precious subjects for the generations to come,” Zafar said."

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May 12, 2008

Former Lenin State Library Reopens to Public

"In a city where architectural monuments are readily torn down or gaudily renovated beyond recognition, Pashkov House, which reopened in October after an $80 million renovation, is one of the few restoration projects lauded by preservationists."

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University of Texas Law Library in the News

"Roy Mersky was a giant in his field who made the University of Texas law library one of the best in the nation, friends and colleagues said. Along the way, he taught worldwide, wrote prolifically and compiled a résumé more than 40 pages long. "

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Philadelphia Book Festival at the Free Library

"WITH THE return of the Philadelphia Book Festival this weekend, and a grand expansion project for the Central Library in early stages, the corridors of the Free Library are abuzz with excitement. But beyond the library's mile-high stacks of journals, encyclopedias and novels, there are underappreciated treasures that even the most fervent book lovers don't know about. "

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May 07, 2008

Early Editions of Yale Newspaper Go Online

"The Yale Daily News (YDN) is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States, and has been covering student life at Yale and in New Haven for 130 years. The Library has now digitized key periods from the YDN including January 1878 to June 1879, the first year of the YDN's publication; the period covering the two World Wars; the era of civil unrest, coeducation, and the Black Panther trials from 1967 to 1970; and the early years of President A. Bartlett Giamatti's administration from 1978 to 1981."

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May 05, 2008

Audubon on Exhibit in Greenville, South Carolina

"'Audubon’s Birds of Americais the most important illustrated book ever published, I think most people would agree,' said Scott."

"The University of South Carolina was one of the first subscribers to the book in 1831, he said. Now, only 125 copies survive worldwide. "

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May 02, 2008

High-Tech Exhibits at the Library of Congress

"Edits such as this are captured in a new exhibit at the Library of Congress that allows visitors to literally zoom in on the specific words and phrases that formed the basis of the American republic. They can see different versions of historic documents and examine them line by line, using interactive, touch-activated computer screens that show the library's first high-definition scanned images of the drafts."

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Scanning Rare Books at the University of Michigan

"Mitchel is among hundreds of librarians from Minnesota to England making digital versions of the most fragile of the books to be included in Google Inc.'s Book Search, a portal that will eventually lead users to all the estimated 50 million to 100 million books in the world. "

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April 30, 2008

University of Texas Acquires a Rare Bible

"AUSTIN, Texas -- The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin has acquired a rare Plantin Polyglot Bible, containing parallel texts in Hebrew, Greek, Syriac and Aramaic with translations and commentary in Latin."

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April 28, 2008

Google Wants to Scan all the Books in the World

"Mitchel, 24, is among hundreds of librarians worldwide who are making digital versions of the most fragile of the books to be included in Google Inc.'s Book Search, a portal that will eventually lead users to all of the estimated 50 million to 100 million books in the world."

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April 25, 2008

Rare Books Sold at Wilton, Connecticut Library Sale

"'We will have first edition books, signed books, collectibles and other kinds,' said Bob Russell, a book sale volunteer who will also be running the auction. 'Every collector has (their) specialty.'"

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April 24, 2008

Undergraduates in the British Library

"It is two years since the library opened its doors to undergraduates. Young students now flock to its quiet spaces and pile up on benches and balconies in the high-vaulted front hall, sparking a backlash from the library’s more established residents."

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Searching Libraries for a Hanged Quaker

"Casey’s research included the state archives where she found documents including a preserved letter from Dyer’s husband, William, pleading the court not to hang her. In the letter, Dyer’s husband, begged the court to consider her 'inconsiderate madness,' from which Casey took the title for her book of poems."

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April 21, 2008

Rare Book Roadshow at the University of North Carolina

"Goldstein and dozens of others brought their could-be treasures to UNCC on Thursday for what the library dubbed the Rare Book Roadshow -- filching from the title of public television's popular antiques show. The judgments came from Sharpe, who spent 30 years as Duke University's curator of rare books."

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April 17, 2008

New Digital Exhibits at the Library of Congress

"Artifacts like the Waldseemüller map (the first to include the name “America”), the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, the Gutenberg Bible and original volumes from Thomas Jefferson’s Library will be virtually at your fingertips. You’ll be able to flip through their pages, magnify sections of interest and access commentary from the Library’s top experts-all on the same touch screen,” the Library of Congress’ website informs the public."

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University of South Carolina Creates New Center for African American Research

"The institute will provide additional research to that done by the university's African American Studies Program, the university said in its announcement, advancing scholarly study and public understanding of race and black life in South Carolina and the Southeast as well as the United States and broader African Diaspora."

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April 16, 2008

Library Makes 1,000 Rare Haggadahs Available Online

"The central Chabad-Lubavitch library in New York made 1,000 Passover Haggadahs, many of them rare, available on the Internet for browsing by the public. The Agudas Chasidei Chabad Library has one of the largest collections of the Passover orders of service in the world."

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Chung Collection Donated to the Library of the University of British Columbia

"The collection includes documents, rare books, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, silver, glass, ceramic ware and other artifacts relating to the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Asian experience in North America, and B.C. history."

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Rare Books Donated to Kashmir Library

"SRINAGAR: A 200-year-old manuscript of the holy quran was among hundreds of rare books and manuscripts donated by people to allama iqbal library of Kashmir university here, a spokesman said here on Wednesday."

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April 11, 2008

Archives and Special Collections Expanding at Emory University

"For decades, Emory has obtained the literary archives of high-profile donors like Danowski, who bequeathed his literary archives to Emory’s Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Library (MARBL) in 2003. Of the donors include author and poet Alice Walker, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Salman Rushdie, world-renowned author and Emory distinguished writer-in-residence."

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April 09, 2008

Morgan Library Acquires Important Book of Hours

"The only known copy of the first Book of Hours printed in France, a tiny volume nearly 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide, has been acquired by the Morgan Library & Museum. Designed to fit into the palm of a woman’s hand, the book of prayers and devotional readings is illustrated by more than 40 woodcuts depicting religious figures and the life of Jesus."

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April 07, 2008

New Gettysburg Visitors' Center to Include Rare Book Reading Room

"To better preserve the collection of more than 300,000 artifacts and 700,000 documents, maps and photographs, the facility has a new climate-controlled storage area."

"And for hardcore historians, a library and reading room containing 6,800 volumes, including 800 rare books, will be open by appointment. "

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April 03, 2008

Wilfrid Laurier University Purchases Medieval Manuscript

"Wilfrid Laurier University has bought its first rare manuscript, a sheepskin hymnal made 500 years ago by monks and nuns in northern Italy."

"Laurier's archives have hundreds of rare books, but this is the first manuscript."

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Santa Clara University Opens New Library

"On Monday, March 31, Santa Clara University opened the doors of its newest building, the Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library. The 194,000-square-foot building merges the age-old components of liberal arts education with modern information technologies to form what is expected to become the intellectual heart of the Mission campus."

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Pakistan is Digitising its Rare Books

"ISLAMABAD • The National Library of Pakistan (NLP) has started digitising rare books and manuscripts with a view to preserving the national literary heritage for the next generations. "

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March 31, 2008

Adopt a Rare Book at Princeton

"Diana Garrett, who serves on the Program Committee of Friends of the Princeton University Library, adopted a natural history book for her husband’s birthday, saying that she was particularly taken with an illustration of a black squirrel in the book. "

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March 28, 2008

India: 300-Year-Old Library Reopens

"The library housing manuscripts and other precious and rare books like the Holy Quran written by the last Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, was thrown open recently to the public. "

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March 24, 2008

300-Year-Old Library Reopened in India

"The library housing manuscripts and other precious and rare books like the Holy Quran written by the last Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, was thrown open recently to the public. "

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March 21, 2008

The Meader Family of Philanthropy

"In addition, the W.H. Upjohn Rotunda, the entrance to WMU's main library, was named for Mary Meader's father, an early Upjohn Co. executive, in recognition of the Meaders' a $1 million leadership gift for the expansion and complete renovation of that facility in the early 1990s. The library's Meader Rare Books Room was named in honor of the Meaders' continued support of the University libraries."

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How to Be a Genealogy Librarian

"The very beginnings of the genealogy library were some rare books stored in a janitor’s closet at the Carnegie Library, she said. Eventually, the Odom Gift Committee was formed to allocate money from the estate of Ellen Ashby Payne Odom, a trustee of the library. Its purppose was to help build a genealogy library and purchase the Emmett Lucas collection, which is the “core” of the Odom Library. Godwin said the committee included Van Platter, Eva Rice, Merle Baker, Bert Harsh, Campbell Ansley, James Kirk, Jack Short, Bill McIntosh, Jestina Lewis, and Melody Jenkins. "

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March 17, 2008

East Asia Library Opens at University of California-Berkeley

"A new $46.4 million, four-story East Asian Library opens today at the University of California-Berkeley, with 450,000 items in Chinese, Japanese and Korean under one roof for students, scholars and members of the public alike."

"The university says it is the first freestanding structure at a U.S. university built solely for East Asian collections."

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The Salem Athenaeum Featured on "Wicked Local Salem"

"The Salem Athenaeum is one of those treasures you can drive or walk past every day, perhaps admiring the view, but never really exploring. Members of this venerable organization hope to change all that, bringing more and more people into one of Salem’s loveliest and most storied buildings."

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March 13, 2008

Erik Ohlander to Research Arabic Manuscripts at Princeton

"Hitting the books will be part of Erik Ohlander's summer plans thanks to a recent grant from the Purdue University Libraries. The Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) assistant professor of religious studies was awarded the Purdue University Library Scholars Grant, which will allow him to travel to conduct research for his current book project."

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March 08, 2008

"The Queen who Read Too Much"

"At his suggestion, Her Majesty became a member of the mobile library and started borrowing books to read at her leisure. She had Norman elevated from a dish-washer to a page boy so that he could be near at hand. She had to keep her new hobby a secret from her staff as heads of state are not really expected to spend their time reading books. "

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Oxford's Bodelian Library to be Opened to Public

"Julian Blackwell, head of the Blackwell's bookstore chain and publishing company, is behind the gift to the vast, 400-year-old academic library. The money will go towards building a new exhibition hall where rare volumes will be put on rotating display for the public."

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Norse Bible Donated to Brigham Young University

"Thor Leifson is the honorary consul of Iceland emeritus and said the Bible was given to his father, J. Victor Leifson, by the family of a missionary who converted Leifson's relatives to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they lived in Iceland four generations ago. "

Read this article.


Norse Bible Donated to Brigham Young University

"Thor Leifson is the honorary consul of Iceland emeritus and said the Bible was given to his father, J. Victor Leifson, by the family of a missionary who converted Leifson's relatives to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they lived in Iceland four generations ago. "

Read this article.


March 03, 2008

Rare Botanical Book in Bentonville Arkansas Library

"Only about 200 copies of the Victoria Regia were made using chromolithography in the mid-1800 s, and many collectors disassembled the books to showcase the illustrations, chief curator Chris Crosman said. A chromolithograph is an image that is produced using a series of colored plates, rather than being hand-drawn. "

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Dusty and Fragile Rare Books in Calcutta

"Cobwebbed and coated in a thick layer of dust, Chaucer, Shakespeare and Shelley are struggling to survive on the shelves of Chaitanya Library. Bankim Chandra and Rabindranath Tagore fare no better, musty and fragile from neglect. "

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February 29, 2008

"los Angeles Times" Explains how to Build a Library Room

"Paper and paint: One way to depart from the traditional men's-club vibe of a paneled wood bookcase is to line the back and side walls with fabric, grass cloth or wallpaper, designer Jay Jeffers says. Designer Judson Rothschild silver-leafed a client's illuminated bookcase, which 'looks like a million dollars at night,' he says."

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February 23, 2008

Exhibition Commemorates Architect of the British Library

"The most haunting of all images for Colin St John Wilson, architect of many libraries, was that of Saint Jerome, the patron saint of scholars. In the well-known painting by Antonello da Messina, now in the National Gallery, the scholar-saint sits reading in the ideal conditions of a purpose-designed, self-contained, small study room..."

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February 20, 2008

Rare Book Collection Goes to University of North Carolina

"Today, 100 of Chason's books -- valued at $45,000 -- have a new home at UNC Charlotte in the Mary & Harry L. Dalton Rare Book & Manuscript Reading Room. Along with works by Walt Whitman, Phillis Wheatley and Mark Twain, they'll be available to readers in a controlled setting.Robin Brabham, UNCC rare books librarian and archivist, says the school's collection has featured American literature since 1971, when Harry Dalton donated a first edition of Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass.'"

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University of Rochester to Digitize Abraham Lincoln Items

"The University of Rochester will soon share original papers from the pen of Abraham Lincoln online, through an innovative program that puts students in touch—literally—with history. "

"Through the program, letters and other Lincoln documents will be scanned and posted online with typed transcriptions for easier reading. For some documents, graduate students will write contextual essays and lesson plans for teachers to facilitate the use of the documents as learning tools in their classrooms. "

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February 16, 2008

Tornado Damages Rare Books at Union University

"JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--The Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University lost approximately 10 percent of its holdings when the EF-4 tornado swept through the Jackson, Tenn., campus Feb. 5."

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The Remnant Trust Loans a Rare Book of Enoch

"Now one of the world's oldest manuscripts of Enoch has found at least a temporary a home in Jeffersonville. The Remnant Trust -- a private collection of rare books and documents aimed at increasing public interest in culture-shaping works -- unveiled the Ethiopian-language manuscript this week at its East Court Avenue building."

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February 12, 2008

The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript

"In 1912 Wilfrid Voynich, an American rare-book dealer, made the find of a lifetime in the library of a Jesuit college near Rome: a manuscript some 230 pages long, written in an unusual script and richly illustrated with bizarre images of plants, heavenly spheres and bathing women. "

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February 11, 2008

Collections of the Kentucky University Archives

"EKU Archives, a department of the EKU Libraries, is lined with books and file cabinets containing letters and other historical documents from politicians, sports figures, entertainers, scientists, historians and the “average” citizen. They include a personal letter from John F. Kennedy to Carl Perkins, pages from the handwritten draft of Noah Webster’s first dictionary of the American English language, and the oldest document in the collections – a papal document written in 1319 during the reign of Pope John XXII."

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February 08, 2008

Mold Hits University of Illinois Rare Book Library

"The gem of the University of Illinois' world-renowned library -- its Rare Book & Manuscript Library -- is infested with mold and will be closed down for several months."

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February 07, 2008

George Washington University Library Acquires Important French Law Books

"This collection of 269 titles represented in nearly 600 volumes comprises the classic legal works of France from the 16th through the 19th centuries, and augments the Jacob Burns Law Library's noted French Collection. Customary law, civil law, royal ordonnances, all elucidated by the celebrated French jurisconsults, are found in the New York City Bar Library's rich gathering of French legal historical works."

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February 05, 2008

College of William and Mary's Special Collections Library Featured Online

"Swem also happens to house the country’s second-largest collection of dog books, the largest belonging to the American Kennel Club. The Chapin and Horowitz Collection includes an edition of the first dog book written in English, classified as a rare book, meaning that fewer than 100 institutions have a copy. The collection is one of the primary locations in Swem shown to tourists who visit. "

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January 30, 2008

Danish Library to Keep Muhammed Cartoons

"Denmark's Royal Library is risking the wrath of Muslims with plans to display controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that sparked violent protest throughout the Islamic world two years ago. "

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Pipes Burst Again in Montana Library

"Montana State University's Renne Library flooded for the second time in a week after a water pipe burst -- this time soaking reference books and causing thousands of dollars in damage."

Read this article.


January 28, 2008

University of Alabama Historical Library Celebrates 50 Years

"Fifty years ago next month, Dr. Lawrence Reynolds turned over to Alabama his most prized possession, a collection of 6,000 rare medical books, manuscripts and artifacts. "

Read this article.


January 22, 2008

ABC Discusses Google Digitizing Library Collections

"The nearly five million books in at UC's satellite library in Richmond contain valuable knowledge and history. However, scholars no longer have to search through 28 miles of shelves. "
"'This is huge. This is huge for scholarship and students,' says Jo Guldi, a UC doctoral candidate. "

Read this article.


January 18, 2008

New York's Academy of Medicine Library

"The New York Academy of Medicine Library is one of the largest medical libraries in the country collecting in public health and clinical medicine. This class is for anyone who is looking to learn how to use the Academy Library to access information regarding health and medicine. "

The Library is Here.


January 16, 2008

The New York Academy of Medicine Library

"Included are brief tours of the public areas of the Library and the extraordinary Malloch Rare Book Room, which contains over 35,000 rare books and manuscripts, including a 9th century manuscript copy of the oldest known cookbook..."

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January 11, 2008

A Bookworm's Holiday in New York City

"Though noteworthy libraries dot the five boroughs, including the new Bronx Library Center and historic branches financed by Andrew Carnegie, the natural place to start is at the famous lions on Fifth Avenue, at what is officially the Humanities and Social Sciences Library."

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Morgan Library Acquires an Important Book of Hours

"The only known copy of the first Book of Hours printed in France, a tiny volume nearly 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide, has been acquired by the Morgan Library & Museum. Designed to fit into the palm of a woman’s hand, the book of prayers and devotional readings is illustrated by more than 40 woodcuts depicting religious figures and the life of Jesus."

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January 09, 2008

University of Ulster: Book Restoration Project


"Over 5,000 volumes in the historic Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Library are to be restored and their contents made available to the public. The unique University of Ulster conservation and outreach initiative - funded by a grant of £500,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund - will take three and a half years to complete."

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January 03, 2008

University of Windsor Archives Featured in Local Press

"Locked away in rooms accessible only by swipe key card in the Leddy Library at the University of Windsor are irreplaceable and invaluable rare documents and books that tell the social history of Windsor and Southwestern Ontario."

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January 01, 2008

Columbia Univesity Libraries Join Google Book Search

"Columbia University Libraries and Google, Inc. have signed an agreement to digitize a large number of the Libraries’ books in the public domain and make them available online. The project, which is one of several collaborations between Google and major research libraries, will evaluate and review hundreds of thousands of volumes from the Libraries’ collections over the next six years. "

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December 26, 2007

Rare Books in Ontario Library

"Locked away in rooms accessible only by swipe key card in the Leddy Library at the University of Windsor are irreplaceable and invaluable rare documents and books that tell the social history of Windsor and Southwestern Ontario."

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Research Library Opens to Public In Micronesia

"Belau National Museum on Tuesday opened its new research library at the newly refurbished building used by the Japanese government when it still administered Palau."

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December 21, 2007

Christmas Cards in Southern Methodist University Library

"'This is known as the first Christmas card,' said Eric White, a curator for the collection. "

"Sir Henry Cole, a British narrative painter, printed the first Christmas card in 1843. Before that, people simply wrote letters. "

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Studying Canadian Christmas Cards at the Library

"Ms. Catchpole recently combed through a number of the archives' special collections to prepare a history of the Christmas card in Canada."

"Her research reveals that commercial Christmas cards became established as an institution in Canada in the 1860s -- two decades after the first commercial card was printed in London, England."

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A New Virginia Room at the Fairfax Virginia Library

"The final touches are being made to the new City of Fairfax Regional Library for its Jan. 26, 2008 official opening, and perhaps one word that best describes the interior of the red-brick building at the corner of North Street and Old Lee Highway is 'cavernous.'"

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December 20, 2007

Newark Public Library Featured in "The New York Times"

"NEWARK — It is difficult to say which is more surprising: that the Newark Public Library owns prints by Picasso and Rauschenberg, a page of the Gutenberg Bible and a 1493 handwritten tome known as the Nuremberg Chronicles, or that William J. Dane, a dapper, refreshingly irreverent art scholar from New Hampshire, has been tending to this astounding collection for six decades."

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December 17, 2007

Swiss Abbey Library in St. Gallen

"The vast collection actually dates to the ninth century, when the abbey established a scriptorium, a large room in the monastery where scribes or copyists of the community created ornate manuscripts. St. Gallen became the reading room of Europe."

"Texts are preserved today in its fascinating library, the Stiftsbibliothek, constructed between 1758-67, and viewed by more than 100,000 visitors every year."

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December 12, 2007

A Romanian Literature Museum in Bucharest

"Near the impressive buildings of the Romanian Academy Library, considered to be the best in the country, you can also find the beautiful Romanian Literature Museum, on 12 Dacia Boulevard, one of the main streets of Bucharest."

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December 10, 2007

UCLA and Getty Instititue Study a Once-Taboo Literary Work

"In the 18th century world of religious literature, there was a special place reserved for a collection of engravings and treatises called "Ceremonies and Religious Customs of All the Peoples of the World": It was on the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum"-- the Vatican's list of prohibited books."

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December 06, 2007

The Early Americas on Exhibit at the Library of Congress

"'Exploring the Early Americas,' which features items from the Jay I. Kislak Collection and Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 World Map–the first document of any kind of use the word 'America'–focuses on the history and legacies of the Americas and the impact of European contact, culture and conquest."

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December 03, 2007

Jewish Theological Seminary Receives Gift for Purchasing Rare Books

"The Jewish Theological Seminary received a $500,000 gift from the estate of Tres Levinsohn of New York."

"The bequest includes $200,000 for the acquisition of rare books and manuscripts..."

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India's "The Hindu" Newspaper Discusses Rare Books in Philadelphia

"This is the home of one of the world’s best libraries. It is called the Free Library of Philadelphia — a 120-year-old institution. You can find almost anything about everything that has been written or recorded ever. "

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November 28, 2007

Civil War Photography at Yale Library

"An antiquated photo of a nineteenth-century American soldier clad in gray has the power to breathe new life into a long-gone era by personalizing the past, Civil War photography scholar Alan Trachtenberg said in a workshop at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library Tuesday. "

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November 24, 2007

Collegeville Minnesota Acquires 2 Rare Tomes

"The library recently acquired two books for its collection of rare books and manuscripts: one of the most significant Bibles of all time and the first edition of a major Benedictine text. "

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November 21, 2007

Illuminated Manuscripts at the University of Sydney

"The illuminated manuscript is the literary equivalent of stained glass. The inclusion of gold or silver in the intricate decorations was designed to make each page leap out at the viewer - much as the sun shining through a church window."

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Rare Jewish Books in Chicago

"The structure was built expressly to accommodate the institute's main functions, including a museum that displays both fine art and objects from its world-class collection of Jewish-related artifacts. It provides an expanded, state-of-the-art Asher Library, one of North America's largest Jewish libraries with 120,000 volumes, 250,000 periodicals, films, videocassettes, DVDs and documents. A climate-controlled room will house 4,000 rare books and maps."

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November 19, 2007

Rare Books in the Milwaukee Public Library

"Sealed behind thick panes of glass in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room where no direct sunlight gets in, this second floor wing holds the Central Art Rarities Collection -- containing some of Milwaukee's most fascinating and precious items that citizens rarely see. "

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November 09, 2007

University of Texas Home to De Niro Collection and Other Rare Works

"With 36 million manuscript pages, more than one million rare books, five million photographs and an extensive film collection, it is no surprise that some UT students bypass the center's entrance, never to take advantage of the experience that goes with handling an original movie script or reading authors' letters."

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University of Hawaii Library Damaged in Rain Storm

"The recent heavy rains caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the University of Hawaii's Hamilton library, officials said."

"Librarians are scrambling to deal with water damage and the threat of mold after a weekend of torrential rain."

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November 07, 2007

China: Race against Time to Preserve Ancient Publications

"Among the collection is what the library staff refer to as the famous "four treasures", namely the Dunhuang Manuscripts, Siku Quanshu (Emperor's Four Treasures), Yongle Canon and Zhaocheng Tripitaka."

Read this article.


November 01, 2007

Microsoft Partners with Yale

"Readers around the world will soon have online access to thousands of rare books in Yale’s Library thanks to an agreement between the University and Microsoft Corp to digitize many volumes found only in the Yale collections."

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Lafayette College Acquires an Important 1833 Slavery Book

"In August, while sorting through boxes of books for an upcoming sale, volunteers at the Bethlehem Area Public Library came across a rare find. It is a find that has now made its way into the Rare Book Collection at Lafayette and will be on display as part of the For Captive Africa exhibit opening Oct. 11."

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Eastern Mennonite University Acquires Rare Book by Anabaptist Printer

"the thick tome was printed on the very press that is featured in Yoder's novel, "Margaret's Print Shop," published in 2005 by Herald Press, Scottdale, Pa."

"His book tells the story of Margaret and Balthaser Beck, who ran a 16th century printing business in Strasbourg and both joined the early Anabaptist movement."

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October 24, 2007

Oktoberfest Book Goes to Indiana University

"Indiana University's Lilly Library has acquired an extremely rare copy of a book detailing the origins of the well known Bavarian tradition of Oktoberfest. One of only a few copies worldwide, the book was published in 1811 and describes the harvest festival first held to celebrate the 1810 wedding of the crown prince Ludwig to princess Theresa von Sachsen-Hildurghausen."

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Hill Museum Acquires an Important Bible and a Benedictine Text

"The Ostrih Bible, sometimes known as the “Slavonic Gutenberg,” is the first complete printed Bible in Church Slavonic, the common liturgical language of Slavic Christianity. Printed in the Ukraine in 1581, this was in its day by far the largest Cyrillic printing project ever undertaken. Edited and printed under Orthodox auspices, the Ostrih Bible (sometimes called Ostrog after the Russian form of the place name) seems to have been deliberately designed for both Orthodox and Catholic readers, as its arrangements of the biblical books has features of both traditions."

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October 22, 2007

New Library Opens at University of California, Berkeley

"A treasure trove of East Asian scholarship will be moving from storage to center stage with the opening of a new library at the University of California, Berkeley. "
"The collection includes more than 900,000 volumes – from woodblock editions and Buddhist scriptures to Cultural Revolution-era political posters. "

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October 18, 2007

Google Scans Books at Harvard

"Instead of meandering through Widener’s labyrinthine stacks, Harvard students are now beginning to use a digital alternative: scanned books, courtesy of the Harvard-Google Project. "

"More than 3,000 users accessed Google Book Search through the online HOLLIS catalog in September, Suzanne Kriegsman, the project’s manager, announced to a library staff e-mail list last week. "

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Haunted Library in Cassapolis, Missouri?

"CASSOPOLIS - Cass County Historical Society received information Tuesday night from new member Taras Lyssenko about a home he owns at 26351 Hospital St. built during the Depression to house The Order of Book Fellows library."

"'I was told it was haunted,' the Chicagoan said. 'Cool. Ghosts don't eat much.'"

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October 15, 2007

Rare Books at the Yale Center for British Art

"There is some corner of Connecticut that is forever England. Opposite the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven is the tastefully unobtrusive steel façade of the Yale Centre for British Art. Now celebrating its 30th birthday, it houses the largest collection of British art outside the UK – 2,000 paintings, 50,000 prints and drawings and 35,000 rare books and manuscripts, all amassed by one man – the philanthropist Paul Mellon."

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Rare Book Page Scans in Library of Congress' Online Game

"The PSAs direct young readers to visit www.Literacy.gov, where they can connect to "The Storybook Adventure," a dynamic new online activity that takes them on a series of expeditions through fantasy realms, each inspired by a classic work of children's fiction. In each realm players answer questions about the story and get the chance to collect treasures from the stories as the game unfolds."

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October 10, 2007

A Memorial Library in Bangkok

"The library project, he said, was an initiative of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who wanted the life and works of M.R. Kukrit to be studied and understood by new generations. "

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October 08, 2007

Edinburgh Library Festival

"Talks have been organised on the history of the book, Robert Louis Stevenson, the John Murray Archive and rare books in Scotland and there's demonstrations of bookbinding. "

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Engineer / Poet Donates Rare Books to University of Penn

"Mr. Baron made hundreds of recordings of the readings and donated them to the Kelly Writers House at the University of Pennsylvania. He also donated hundreds of poetry books, many signed, to Penn's rare-books collection."

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October 05, 2007

Stones River National Battlefield Purchases Rare Book

"It stands as one of a few first-hand accounts of the Battle of Stones River published during the war. The Friends of Stones River National Battlefield purchased this rare book and are donating it to the National
Park Service. This copy is even more valuable to the park because a Civil War soldier, Corporal Dewitt C. Markle, of the 57th Indiana Infantry owned it, and wrote extensive notes inside the covers of the book.
Markle’s regiment helped secure the Federal left against several Confederate attacks on Dec. 31, 1862."

Read this article.


Lafayette College Purchases Rare Abolitionist Book

"Lafayette College purchased a rare abolitionist book at the Bethlehem Area Public Library's book sale last week."

"The college purchased the book for its upcoming exhibit about the end of the slave trade in the United States and England, said Diane Shaw, special collections librarian at Lafayette."

Read this article.


Knights Templar Revealed in the Vatican

" On October 25 in the Vatican's Old Synod Hall, the presentation will take place of the "Processus contra Templarios," a book published by the Vatican Secret Archives on the subject of the Knights Templar, the medieval military-religious order founded in Jerusalem in 1118 and suppressed by Pope Clement V (1305-1314)."

Read this article.


October 02, 2007

Ornithology on Exhibit at Lehigh University Library

"Linderman Library premiered its first special collections exhibition, “Home to Roost: Ornithological Collections at Lehigh University” on Wednesday."

"Lois Fisher Black, curator of Special Collections, spoke about John James Audubon’s life, how Audubon acquired and posed his birds and the publication process. "

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Library Renaissance in New Bedford, Massachusetts

"Four years ago, former Mayor Fred Kalisz — in the wake of the cataclysmic 2003 loss of state aid to New Bedford — targeted the city library for more than a quarter of a $2.3 budget shortfall, way out of proportion to its share of the budget. That didn't sit well with Mayor Scott Lang, who is now set to restore the two special collections librarians."

Read this article.


October 01, 2007

India: "Of Rare Books and Old World Treasures"

"The Asiatic Society of Mumbai is located in this building. It was established in the year 1804 by James Mackintosh, who was the the Recorder (chief judge) of Bombay . Mackintosh was fascinated with India and soon after arriving in Bombay he and other like-minded Britishers established the Literary Society of Bombay. The purpose was the ‘promotion of literary and scientific investigations connected with India and the study of literature, antiquities, arts and sciences of the East, generally’. The Literary Society of Bombay is considered the second oldest institution of its kind in existence anywhere in the world, only preceded by the Bengal Asiatic Society. "

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Napier University Celebrates the History of the Written Word in Scotland

"2008 will mark 500 years since the first book was printed in Scotland and celebrations are being co-ordinated by the National Library of Scotland, the Scottish Printing Archival Trust and the Scottish Print Employers’ Federation, endorsed by the Scottish Government. Napier is hosting its exhibition as part of a range of events and initiatives to mark this important anniversary"

Read this article.


September 26, 2007

Festival of Libraries in Edinburgh

"THE first Festival of Libraries to be held in the Capital is set to see the Assembly Rooms transformed into a massive library for a day. "

"The event is being organised by the Edinburgh Libraries and Information Services Agency (Elisa), and representatives of more than 40 Edinburgh-based library and information services are expected to take part."

Read this article.


September 24, 2007

Slave Memoir Found in Pennsylvania Library Sale

"BETHLEHEM, Pa. --Volunteers sorting through donated books for a book sale found an abolitionist text and a slave's memoir, both dating back to the 1800s."

"The books were discovered together last month in a single leather-bound volume that was clearly an unusual find, said Liza Holzinger, coordinator of the Bethlehem Area Public Library's book sale."

Read this article.


September 10, 2007

Iowa Library to Publish Mark Twain Book

"The book was “The Adventures of Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass” by Mark Twain, edited by Charles Honce, with a foreword by Vincent Starrett and a note on “A Celebrated Village Idiot” by James O'Donnell Bennett."

Read this article.


Canada to Return Rare Document to Australia

"CANBERRA, Australia -- It's the oldest object of its kind in Australia's history, but up until this past summer it was buried in the bowels of the Canada's national archives collection."

"On Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will bring it home, handing it to his Australian counterpart over lunch in the country's capital as he wraps up a week-long trip."

Read this article.


September 06, 2007

Antiquarian Books in Moorseville, Ohio

"Based entirely on community donations, Special Collections oozes history. It houses materials dating back to 1732 – the year its oldest book, written in Italian, was published – including a rare book collection, maps, photographs, letters and other “materials worth saving,” said Andy Poore, curator of Special Collections."

Read this article.


September 04, 2007

New Libraries Being Built in the Ukraine

"The Premier attended an exhibition of rare and priceless books of the library and its facilities. Construction of the library started in 1991; however, it was suspended in 1997 due to the lack of funds."

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How to Take a Bookish Vacation in New York

"NEW YORK – Question: If a bibliophile were to book a vacation and not care to stray but a few feet after arrival, where would he go? "

Read this article.


August 27, 2007

Controversy about "Alms for Jihad"

"At the urging of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), a scholarly book pulped by its British publisher is maintaining a safe haven in U.S. libraries. Alms for Jihad was the target of a potential libel suit in England by Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz, whose charitable activities have reportedly been linked to terrorist activities, as conveyed in the book."

Read this article.


August 23, 2007

Historical Jewish Books in Prague

"'How high the culture of Prague Jewry must have been then at the beginning of the 16th century if it could already produce such unrivalled printed creations.' The writer Sholem Asch arrived at this conclusion in 1936, upon a visit to the Library of the Jewish Religious Community in Prague. "

Read this article.


August 21, 2007

Old Yearbooks Housed in Ozarks Library

"The almost 600 yearbooks that are housed on compact shelving in the rare book collection are essential for reunion planners and those who are searching their memories for that special teacher or classmate. But Local History Librarian Michael Glenn says they are a 'wonderful resource for a variety of other reasons.'"

Read this article.


New Center for Poetry and Rare Books in Arizona

"After breaking ground more than a year ago, the UA is ready to open a new building to house one of the largest poetry collections in the nation, university officials said."

Read this article.


August 16, 2007

University of Pennsylvania Digitizing Rare Books

"Pennsylvania Libraries chose Olive to digitize rare and special collections into a fully indexed and searchable online archive. This effort will allow scholars worldwide access to this material which has only been available via mail or fax, or in digital images as opposed to direct content."

Read this article.


Poetry and Rare Books in Tucson, Arizona

"A unique building at 1508 E. Helen St. will be the permanent home of the University of Arizona Poetry Center, which began moving in Wednesday. It will take some time to relocate the more than 60,000 items in the collection, one of the largest in the country, Executive Director Gail Browne said."

Read this article.


August 13, 2007

Missouri's Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology

"If you haven't been to Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering & Technology, you are missing out on one of this city's most beautiful places. This world-renowned science, engineering and technology library sits on the University of Missouri-Kansas City campus..."

Read this article.


August 09, 2007

Rare Book Collections in Boston Libraries

"I did get a welcoming, casual vibe from the equally beautiful Boston Public Library, another of Fodor's recommended visits, which boasts some of its own exciting collections (and a cafe and a courtyard). I particularly enjoyed their miniature books exhibit..."

Read this article.


July 27, 2007

Vatican Library Closed for a 3-Year Renovation

"The Vatican Library in Rome is closing for a three-year renovation. The closure will make Saint Louis University's renowned Vatican Film Library even more important for the world's leading scholars and researchers. "

Read this article.


Rare Books and More Stuff at Redondo Beach, California

Go see: "Linnaeus in the Garden": "An exhibition of rare books related to the Swedish botanist who is credited with creating the first system for naming plants. The show coincides with the 300th birthday of Carl Linnaeus."

Read this article.


July 26, 2007

Rare Manuscripts in Istanbul

"Sabancı Museum: Since 1884 the grounds of today’s Sabancı Museum have been both a private and royal residence. Opened as the Sabancı University Sakip Sabancı Museum in 2002, it now hosts world-class exhibitions in a state-of-the-art environment. "

Read this article.


Kahmir University Digitized Rare Persian Manuscripts

"Hundreds of rare manuscripts in Persian and Arabic languages, some dating back to 16th century, housed in Kashmir university have been digitalized and are now available online in that version, the university officials said Thursday. "

Read this article.


July 25, 2007

Vatican Library Manuscripts in St. Louis

"Thanks to a project that began in the 1950s, Saint Louis University, a Jesuit school, has microfilm copies of nearly half of the Vatican library's medieval and Renaissance manuscripts."

Read this article.


July 23, 2007

The London "Times": In Defense of Libraries

"THE FIRST LIBRARY I KNEW was my father’s bookshop in the then cosmopolitan community of Cairo; it was burnt down in l952, in the first significant insurgency of Arab nationalists under the future president Nasser, during the last complacent period of the British Empire. "

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Important Congregational Manuscript Book found in Massachusetts

"Inside the bag was a fragile leather-bound book stuffed with hundreds of pages of cramped handwritten notes. To all appearances, the book contained records of the First Congregational Church of Rowley dating to the mid-1600s -- and missing for decades."

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Literary Gems in Chico, California

"On the third floor of Meriam Library Thursday, Special Collections' staff member Debbie Besnard brought out from the back room four historical pieces from the rare book collection and two pairs of white cotton gloves so she and E-R staff could handle the artifacts. "

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July 19, 2007

Miniature Books at the Boston Public Library

"Edward Gorey’s Abecedarium is a cult favorite among miniature book collectors, Bromer explains. Many customers ask for his work at Bromer’s Booksellers, the shop on the corner of Dartmouth and Boylston that Bromer owns and runs with her husband. "

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Chicago Botanic Garden Gets a "Temple of Flora"

"The June Price Reedy Library Endowment for the Rare Book Collection and the Woman's Board of the Chicago Horticultural Society purchased a first edition volume of Robert Thornton's famous flower anthology, Temple of Flora for the Lenhardt Library in the Regenstein Center, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe..."

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July 16, 2007

13th Century Cistertian Book in South Carolina

"Now, Scott Gwara has cleared the way for USC’s Thomas Cooper Library to acquire a 1269 manuscript written by the Order of Cistercians in Italy. The purchase was funded by a $46,229.67 grant from the B.H. Breslauer Foundation of New York."

Read this article.


July 12, 2007

Rare Books in Boston

"I did get a welcoming, casual vibe from the equally beautiful Boston Public Library, another of Fodor's recommended visits, which boasts some of its own exciting collections (and a cafe and a courtyard). I particularly enjoyed their miniature books exhibit..."

Read this article.


July 11, 2007

Southern Rebel on Exhibit at Louisiana Tech University

"RUSTON — The public can get a glimpse into the life of a Civil War soldier in Louisiana Tech University's department of special collections, manuscripts and archives."

"The display 'The Robert Patrick Collection: 1861-1865' features the personal diary of Robert Patrick, of Clinton, who served in Louisiana's Fourth Infantry for four years."

Read this article.


Henkel Family Reunion at Duke University Library

"Durham, NC -- Last month, more than 60 Henkel family members from around the country reunited at Duke’s Perkins Library where the family printing press, acquired by the library in 1931, is on permanent display."

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July 02, 2007

Libraries Fight Budget to Preserve Rare Documents

"The Frankfort library and other libraries and museums in small towns across the country are treasure troves of historical documents, ranging from mundane marriage records to rare artifacts and artwork. But preservation can be a low priority for cash-strapped facilities, which often function more like community centers than museums."

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June 29, 2007

University of Virginia's Rare Book School Featured in "The Cavalier Daily"

"There are countless hidden treasures and gems in the many libraries around Grounds, but Alderman Library houses one of the University's best-kept secrets. Since 1992, the library has been home to the Rare Book School, an independent non-profit educational establishment furthering the study of the history of books and other related topics. At various times throughout the year, this school attracts not only internationally recognized specialists in the field but also a group of competitive and dedicated scholars who make the pilgrimage to Charlottesville to study under their expertise. "

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June 27, 2007

San Francisco Chronicle: "Libraries Struggle to Preserve the Past"

"At the Frankfort Community Library, paintings, bronze sculptures and Asian art share space with thousands of books. But one of the library's rarest pieces — a 1776 newsprint copy of the Declaration of Independence — is tucked away in a vault."

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June 22, 2007

Polish Libraries Join WorldCat

"Eight Polish academic libraries are subscribing to WorldCat and FirstSearch following a successful pilot. The libraries all contribute to NUKAT (Narodowy Uniwersalny Katalog Centralny), Poland’s national union catalogue which serves around 60 academic and research libraries and 900 librarians. NUKAT records were added to WorldCat last year for the first time."

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June 21, 2007

Rare Book School Featurd in "The Cavalier Daily"

"In the early 1970s, Terry Belanger founded the Book Arts Press, an organization that would later produce the Rare Book School, at Columbia University's School of Library Service. When the School of Library Service closed in 1992, Belanger moved the program, its equipment and special collections to the University. "

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June 15, 2007

Rare Books at a Connecticut Library Sale

"The title of the most mysterious book donated this year is Greek to him - literally and figuratively. 'The art book seems to be about the life of artist Spyros Vassilou,"'Mr Renjilian. What he finds intriguing are the numerous autographs in various languages that fill the inside cover of the book. 'Nobody knows anything about this book,' he said. 'We have no idea if these are the autographs of other famous artists, friends, or who it could be.'"

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June 12, 2007

North Carolina's Belmont Abbey Library Featured in Local Press

"In the basement, there's a section full of items on Southern history and literature, with special emphasis on the Carolinas. That's where I turned up a copy of William Gilmore Simm's 'Sack and Destruction of the City of Columbia, S.C.'"

"It's an account by one of South Carolina's foremost writers about the torching of the capital when Sherman's army came through in February 1865. "

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British Library Donates Books to Baghdad

"According to Dr Eskander, the full extent of the INLA's losses is as follows: archival materials - 60% lost; rare books - 95% lost; manuscripts - 25% lost."

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June 07, 2007

Google to Digitize Books from American Midwest Libraries

"EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University is one of 12 Midwest universities that are part of a new agreement with computer search engine giant Google to digitize the most distinctive collections of the universities’ libraries."


"As part of the Google Book Search project, the agreement could result in the digitization of as many as 10 million volumes."

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May 31, 2007

Rare Scotland Images to be Preserved in Glasgow Library

"A rare archive of images of Scotland's past will be safeguarded for future generations at Glasgow University.
The specially designed facility will store a series of collections by the pioneers of photography."

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May 30, 2007

Treasures of the Asiatic Society in Mumbai

"Case in point is a copy of the first edition of Diologo di Galileo Galilei Linew Matematico sopra ordinario (Dialogues on the two chief systems of the world) published in 1632 AD in Florence. The book was banned by the Church and later led to Galileo’s house arrest. "

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May 28, 2007

University of Pittsburgh to Receive EU Documents

"The University Library System (ULS) of the University of Pittsburgh will receive the entire European Union depository collection-the most extensive collection of public European Community/European Union documents and publications in North America-from the Delegation of the European Commission to the USA in Washington, D.C., and make it available intact to patrons of Pitt's Hillman Library."

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University of Louisville Launches Digital Collections

"The University of Louisville Libraries has launched a Digital Collections website to provide educational and research access to digital versions of selected materials from University Archives and Records Center, Special Collections and other units."

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May 24, 2007

Morgan Library Gets New Director

"After less than two years as director of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, William Griswold has announced he is leaving his post to become director of the Morgan Library and Museum in New York. Griswold's move puts the MIA back in the hunt for a new leader at a time when several other museums around the country are doing the same thing. "

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Episcopal Special Collections

"Seabury-Western's special collections include the Hibbard Egyptian Library and the Hale Rare Book Collection with exemplars of early prayer books. Garrett-Evangelical's special collections include the Wesleyana Collection and the Keen Bible Collection of English editions of the Bible."

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May 23, 2007

James Thurber Revealed in Columbus, Ohio

"Before her death in 2001, Nora Sayre arranged to leave a special gift to Ohio State University."

"The essayist and critic promised the director of the OSU Rare Books and Manuscripts Library all the James Thurber drawings in her possession."

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May 22, 2007

University of Iowa Researcher Receives Grant to Study Western Paper

"Thanks to a special impact grant of $184,740 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a University of Iowa researcher will undertake a new analytical survey of western paper made between the 14th and the 19th centuries. "

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Mrs "Dr Seuss" Donates $1 Million to California Library

"Audrey Geisel, philanthropist and widow of the late Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel, has continued her long-running support of the UCSD Libraries with a $1-million donation - the largest the system has received in its history. "

"The gift will inaugurate the Audrey Geisel University Librarianship, a position for which Geisel handpicked UCSD's current chief librarian, Brian E.C. Schottlaender."

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The President of India Does Rare Books

"But the library authorities have claimed that readers will not suffer. “The police have been instructed to allow everyone with a valid membership card and so there shouldn’t be any problem. But there could be some restrictions between 5.45pm and 6.15pm,” said Sudhendu Mandal, director of the National Library."

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May 17, 2007

New Hampshire Institute of Art Receives Collection of Rare Photography Books

"The private photography library of photographer John Teti was donated to the institute. It consists of 2,000 books dating to the early days of photography."

"'At the time John Teti told me that he was going to give us the library, I thought, 'I'm going to have a heart attack right now to have this tremendous asset that I can now share with my students on a daily basis,' said Gary Samson, chairman of the photography department."

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National Library of Scotland to Digitize Archive

"The National Library of Scotland has kicked off a $3.6 million project to digitize its archive and make it available online. "

"The NLS, established in 1925, holds copies of every publication in the U.K., dating from the Middle Ages right up to the latest novels. "

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Princeton Library Acquires Papers of Sir Frank Kermode

"Kermode, who is best known for his celebrated studies on D.H. Lawrence and Shakespeare, also achieved some notoriety in the 1960s when he resigned from a literary magazine he discovered was funded by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency."

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May 16, 2007

UCLA Online: Historic Newspaper Photos of Los Angeles

"The UCLA Library has launched "Changing Times: Los Angeles in Photographs, 1920–90," an online collection of more than 5,000 photographs from the Los Angeles Daily News and the Los Angeles Times. "

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University of Pittsburgh to Spend $52 Million to Revitalize Library

"The idea of the college library functioning as the heart of the campus might seem out of date, now that students can do research on their laptops without leaving their dorm rooms. But fears of library obsolescence have never panned out, said Robert L. Horrell, dean of libraries at Dartmouth College and a former librarian at Harvard and Syracuse universities."

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Kashmir: Thousands of Rare Books & Manuscripts Lost

"AHMEDABAD: Years of turmoil in the Kashmir valley has not only cost hundreds of human lives but also eroded the ancient historical and cultural ethos of the state in the form of thousands of rare books and manuscripts that have been burnt or destroyed by religious hardliners."

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May 15, 2007

Digitizing Rare Books in India

"Some of the incunabula and journals which will be available by clicking a mouse include The Platonic Dialogues for English Readers published in 1589, Calendar or state papers and manuscripts relating to English affairs from 1607-1610, The History Of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, by Edward Hyde, published in 1888, and others."

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May 11, 2007

University of British Columbia Opens Digital Library

"'We're particularly eyeballing rare books and special collections in terms of having our more important and valuable material available to a wider audience,' said Chris Hives, the UBC archivist behind this growing paperless library."

"'What we have focused on most recently are smaller but important collections, like the [Charles] Darwin letters and Florence Nightingale letters.'"

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Hawaii Botanical Gardens to Have Rare Books Library

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office has awarded $300,000 to Kaua'i Island Utility Co-op, which in turn will loan it to the National Tropical Botanical Garden to help pay for its new library and research center."

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May 08, 2007

UCLA Library Receives Grant for Islamic Manuscripts

"The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the UCLA Library a grant for a project to catalog, digitize and provide online access to the Caro Minasian Collection of Near Eastern manuscripts. "

"The collection forms a rich repository of Islamic learning and contains more than 1,500 manuscripts in Arabic and Persian dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries on astronomy, government, history, language and grammar, law, literature, philosophy, religious practice, and science."

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Rare Manuscripts "Gathering Dust" in Patna, India

"PATNA: More than 5,000 rare manuscripts in different languages are decaying in the Patna University (PU) Central Library for want of proper upkeep and preservation. "

"Even as the library was linked with the Information and Library Networking programme of the UGC several years back, these valuable manuscripts are yet to be transformed into digital and electronic forms. "

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May 01, 2007

Confederate Constitution on Exhibit at University of Georgia Library

"The University of Georgia owns the only known final copy of the Constitution of the Confederate States of America. "

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Wi-Fi in the Cambridge University Rare Book Room

"Every day I spend long hours in the Rare Book Room of the Cambridge University Library, reading books so obscure that even Firestone doesn't have them. But the Rare Book Room has wi-fi; and the splendid room where I work has DSL; so this year, the world and New Jersey are never very far away, as this column shows."

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April 30, 2007

Canada: The New Saanich Centennial Library

"Saanich council approved $430,000 in this year’s budget to move the archives from the building outside Saanich municipal hall to the new library under construction adjacent to Pearkes Arena."

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April 26, 2007

Huntington Library Celebrates the Birthday of Carl Linnaeus

"To mark the 300th anniversary of Carl Linnaeus' birth, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens are mounting a small exhibition of rare books drawn from its own remarkable history of science collections and from the Torbjörn Lindell collection of Sweden."

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April 24, 2007

Penrose Library: A Favorite Building in the Pikes Peak Area