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Libraries

The Boston Public Library Is Digitizing 200,000 Vintage Recordings

With the help of the Internet Archive, the recordings from the Sound Archives Collection will one day be available for free streaming and download

Hitler Youth members burn books. Photograph dated 1938.

A Brief History of Book Burning, From the Printing Press to Internet Archives

As long as there have been books, people have burned them—but over the years, the motivation has changed

George R. R. Martin at the 2013 San Diego Comic Con International.

Texas University Invites Fans to Scour George R.R. Martin’s Archives for Plot Clues

The author’s vast collection is stored in Texas A&M’s Cushing Library

Chicago Library Seeks Help Transcribing Magical Manuscripts

Three texts dealing with charms, spirits, and all other manners of magical practice are now accessible online

What Happened to America’s Public Intellectuals?

Our nation has always depended on these heavyweights to guide us, but are they still with us, and if so, who are they?

Chas. Kendrick made this caricature of Oscar Wilde and sunflower.

Cool Finds

LGBTQ History Comes Out of the Shadows in New U.K. Exhibition

Gay UK tells the stories of people once subject to oppressive anti-gay laws

A Pack Horse Librarian returning over the mountain side for a new supply of books

Horse-Riding Librarians Were the Great Depression’s Bookmobiles

During the Great Depression, a New Deal program brought books to Kentuckians living in remote areas

Thomas Lincoln made this cherry day bed around 1810.

Cool Finds

This Father’s Day, Check Out Furniture Made by Abraham Lincoln’s Much-Maligned Dad

Thomas Lincoln was a master craftsman—and a man history has misrepresented

This library will no longer charge late fees for books.

Trending Today

Late Fees No Longer Exist at Salt Lake City Libraries

If you kept a book longer than you should have, you’re in luck

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden still loves card catalogs.

The Librarian of Congress Weighs In on Why Card Catalogs Matter

The tech is gone, but it’s not forgotten. Carla Hayden explains why

Ona Louise has a tale to tell.

Cool Finds

Drag Queens Are Public Libraries’ Newest Storytellers

Early reading just got a lot more glamorous

The Klencke Atlas

Cool Finds

Massive Royal Atlas Gets Digitized

The magnificent Klencke Atlas is now available online courtesy of the British Library

Trending Today

Obamas Unveil Plans for Presidential Library and Museum

Located in Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side, the former first couple hopes the campus will help revitalize the area

Heritage scientist Cecilia Bembibre captures the smell of a 18th-century bible at Knole House.

New Research

The Quest to Better Describe the Scent of Old Books

Describing a unique smell just got easier thanks to a pair of olfactory detectives

President Herbert Hoover (center right) plays a rousing game of Hooverball on the South Lawn of the White House.

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Color Movies Show Herbert Hoover’s Softer Side

From Hooverball to White House frolics, you’ve never seen the staid president quite like this

The late justice's papers will be housed at Harvard Law.

Trending Today

Antonin Scalia’s Papers Find a Home at Harvard Law

The Supreme Court justice left behind a substantial legal and archival legacy

What did J.P. Morgan's library smell like in 1906?

Cool Finds

Nosy Researchers Are Sniffing a Vintage Library

It’s all an effort to recreate an olfactory landscape of yore

Lou Reed graffiti in France is a reminder of the rock star's international infuence.

Trending Today

Lou Reed’s Papers Have Found a Home

The vicious Velvet Underground frontman will live on at the New York Public Library

A woodcut from 1482 is yours for the coloring in a book by the Bodleian Library.

Cool Finds

#ColorOurCollections Is Back, Turning Your Favorite Cultural Institutions Into Coloring Books

In its second year, it’s more vibrant than ever

Anger is no match for Patience—no matter how large her sword.

Cool Finds

Here’s What Happens in a “Comic Book” Drawn by Medieval Monks

Psychomachia pits vice against virtue in a battle for human souls

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