Within the Smithsonian Libraries’ circulating collections, there are a variety of adhesive bound paperback books in need of rehabilitation. As the text blocks of these items are frequently built of more »
Category: History and Culture
Surprisingly, the first Arbor Day was not held in a heavily forested part of the United States, but in Nebraska, known for its treeless prairies. In 1872, J. Sterling Morton, more »
This post was written by Ariel Macon, a Masters of Library and Information Science student at the University of Kentucky. Ariel interned with the Smithsonian Libraries in March 2019 as more »
Have you ever designed a library space? Whether a home, public, or academic library, they all need a suitable arrangement of bookcases to make use of space in the best possible way. Here are a few ideas for bookcases that a 1907 library designer might have considered.
Music is a funny thing. It may spring from the heart, the soul, or the mind, from a communal cultural or religious experience, from an intensely personal place, a popular more »
Spring is almost here, and flipping through this trade catalog might help you dream of warmer days to come. The catalog is entitled Ranger Bicycles (1921) by Mead Cycle Co. more »
The National Museum of African American History and Culture has in its collections a copy of Twelve Years a Slave: The Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped more »