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More than 300 (and counting) universities, libraries and individuals in related fields have signed a statement in support of the National Emergency Library.

Covid-19

Why the National Emergency Library Is So Controversial

The Internet Archive describes the downloadable collection of more than one million books as a library, but critics call it piracy

Tomie dePaola signing books at the fourth annual "Scribbles to Novels" gala to benefit Jumpstart in 2008

Children’s Book Author and Illustrator Tomie dePaola Dies at 85

Over his five-decade-plus career, the “Strega Nona” author contributed to more than 270 books

The list includes The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family and The War Queens: Extraordinary Women Who Ruled the Battlefield.

Books of the Month

Five New Nonfiction Books to Read While You’re Stuck at Home

We’re highlighting newly released titles may have been lost in the news as the nation endures the coronavirus pandemic

Education titles are doing particularly well, with sales of children’s nonfiction education, reference and language arts books up 12 percent from the same period last year.

Education During Coronavirus

Children’s Educational Books See Uptick in Sales Amid COVID-19 School Closures

Titles related to “home-life” subjects—like preserving and canning—have also experienced a boost in sales

USS Vincennes in Disappointment Bay, Antarctica, during the Wilkes expedition.

The Forgotten American Explorer Who Discovered Huge Parts of Antarctica

It’s been more than 180 years since Charles Wilkes voyaged to the Antarctic continent and his journey has never been more relevant

Virtual Travel

Ten New Travel Books to Read When You’re Stuck at Home

Don’t let the coronavirus quarantine hold you back from becoming an armchair traveler

This engraving by Paul Revere offered a specific argument about what happened that day in Boston.

A Fresh Look at the Boston Massacre, 250 Years After the Event That Jumpstarted the Revolution

The five deaths may have shook the colonies, but a new book examines the personal relationships forever changed by them too

A family commutes by cargo bike on a rail-and-trail path in Seattle.

Can We Really Combat Climate Change by Consuming Less? Maybe.

In her new book, scientist Hope Jahren talks about the warming planet and what can be done to slow its effects

Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man

Science in the Movies

‘The Invisible Man’ Isn’t Real, but This Invisibility Technology Is

A new take on H.G. Wells’ classic novel is in theaters, but how far has real-life cloaking tech come?

Vegas Vicky, Las Vegas, Nevada

Virtual Travel

A Vibrant Tour of America’s Neon Signs

In his upcoming book ‘Neon Road Trip,’ photographer John Barnes captures a luminous part of advertising history

A scanned page from The Lytille Childrenes Lytil Boke, a 15th-century courtesy book of table manners and etiquette for kids

Don’t Pick Your Nose, 15th-Century Manners Book Warns

The taboo on booger hunting stretches back centuries, reveals a book recently digitized by the British Library

Winston Churchill visits bomb-damaged Birmingham, England, during the Blitz.

How Winston Churchill Endured the Blitz—and Taught the People of England to Do the Same

In a new book, best-selling author Erik Larson examines the determination of the ‘British Bulldog’ during England’s darkest hour

An author of blockbuster books and a pioneering photographer, she braved the wilderness to collect these moths and butterflies.

As Popular in Her Day as J.K. Rowling, Gene Stratton-Porter Wrote to the Masses About America’s Fading Natural Beauty

Despite her fame, you wouldn’t know about this beloved writer unless you visit the vanishing Midwestern landscape she helped save

Around half of the university's 100 "manuscript cookbooks" are now available online.

Education During Coronavirus

Dozens of Historic Mexican Cookbooks Are Now Available Online

The University of Texas San Antonio’s vast collection makes traditional Mexican and Mexican-American cooking accessible

Charles Dickens, seen at his desk in 1858

Charles Dickens Museum Acquires Trove of Author’s Unpublished Letters

The London museum recently purchased more than 300 literary artifacts assembled by a private collector in the U.S.

Dickens’ preferred place of burial—his Plan A—was “in the small graveyard under Rochester Castle wall, or in the little churches of Cobham or Shorne,” which were all near his country home.

Even in Death, Charles Dickens Left Behind a Riveting Tale of Deceit

New research unravels the scheme to bury the Victorian writer in Westminster Abbey—against his wishes

Hartmann Schedel, The Nuremberg Chronicle (Anton Koberger, for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kamermaister), 1493

Education During Coronavirus

One Hundred Museums Transformed Their Collections Into Free Coloring Pages

This year’s #ColorOurCollections campaign features everything from medical drawings to zany 1920s advertisements for butter

The Landsdowne portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart

A New Book About George Washington Breaks All the Rules on How to Write About George Washington

Alexis Coe’s cheeky biography of the first president pulls no punches

The beloved "Queen of Suspense" died Friday at age 92.

Mary Higgins Clark, Mystery Novelist Dubbed ‘Queen of Suspense,’ Dies at 92

Today, more than 100 million copies of her books are in print in the United States alone

Gallup found that the youngest age bracket—covering 18- to 29-year-olds—visited the library the most, possibly because this group included college students.

Americans Went to the Library More Often Than the Movies in 2019

A new Gallup poll suggests that even in the digital age, libraries remain an important fixture in communities across the country

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