In the tangled world of e-books, there are lots of lessons to be learned. Readers are learning: That an e-book you bought this week may not be available for purchase […]
National Parks, Historic Sites, & Monuments
From its beginnings the US government has designated land for public use. In 1790, land for Washington, D.C., was set aside for the building of the country’s capitol. Then, in […]
Celebrate Bloomsday with the Friends of the Libraries
Join the Friends of the Libraries on Saturday, June 16 for our annual Bloomsday celebration at the James Joyce Pub. Every June 16, James Joyce fans around the world observe […]
An Archaeology of Knowledge
What do netsukes, skulls, globes, portable pianos and lab equipment have in common? They are soon to be part of an art installation in the Brody Learning Commons designed by […]
The Tall Ships are Coming! The Tall Ships are Coming!
One of the coolest things about summer in Baltimore is the arrival of the tall ships. There are a number that pass through every year, but this year is bigger […]
Encyclopedias: Dead AND Alive
By now, most of us have heard the news that the venerable Encyclopaedia Britannica will no longer produce a printed set. For those among us who remember leafing through the […]
Why You Should Sign the Open Access Petition
I want you to sign a petition asking the White House to make research articles supported by government funds freely available online. Even though they have reached the magic 25,000 […]
Scandinavia: Beyond Dragon Tattoo
Now that Stieg Larssen’s Millennium-trilogy of Swedish mysteries in English translation has been devoured by the reading public and the Hollywood movie version is in the can, it would be easy for […]
Remembering June Fourth
Today marked the 23rd anniversary of the “Tiananmen Incident,” a brutal crackdown by the Chinese government on students’ protest and demonstration on Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989. China has […]
Baltimore Neighborhood Statistics: Not So Easily Found
Many people come to us asking for raw data or statistics specific to individual Baltimore neighborhoods (Hampden, Charles Village, Mt. Vernon, East Baltimore, etc.). While finding out more about our […]