Architecture and Heritage Institutions

Resnick PavilionArchitecture and design can have a huge impact on how a space is used.  This is true in family homes, libraries, art galleries, museums, and buildings of all shapes and sizes.  How space is configured, materials used, the amount of natural light, and numerous other factors impact how visitors perceive a heritage institution.  Architectural … Continue reading Architecture and Heritage Institutions

What Middletown Read

The What Middle Town Read Project is a searchable database based on the records of the Muncie (Indiana) Public Library from November 5, 1891 to December 3, 1902.  The database includes records of all the books that were checked out during this time period. The data used for this project was compiled based on ledgers … Continue reading What Middletown Read

Pest Control and Your Family Photos

Mice, silverfish, cockroaches, and a whole pile of other creepy crawlies can do serious damage to your collection of photographs, letters, scrapbooks, and family memorabilia.  This damage can take the form of nesting, eating, and burrowing in your paper based materials.Most libraries and archives maintain stringent Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems to protect their holdings … Continue reading Pest Control and Your Family Photos

The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec

A recent Ideas episode on CBC radio examined the history of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. Established in 1824, by the Earl of Dalhousie, the society is the oldest historic society in Canada. In addition to the age of the society, the society is historically significant based on its original status as an … Continue reading The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec

Contrary to popular belief librarians do know how to party

Today's #reverb10 prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.OLA Super Conference 2010 was the best work related gathering in 2010. This conference was the first library focused conference I attended. The level of enthusiasm, the roar of the vendor floor, the sessions I … Continue reading Contrary to popular belief librarians do know how to party

Connecting with Heritage and Beyond

Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?In 2010 I discovered and further explored a number of communities:-This year through twitter I became more connected with heritage professionals. This sense of connectedness was a huge help … Continue reading Connecting with Heritage and Beyond

OLA Conference: Extraordinary Canadians

As part of the Ontario Library Association's annual conference I attended the opening plenary on "Extraordinary Canadians." This panel featured John Ralston Saul, Adrienne Clarkson, Jane Urquhart, Nino Ricci, and Mark Kingwell. All five of these individuals have contributed to the Extraordinary Canadians biography series. This series examines the lives of people who have helped … Continue reading OLA Conference: Extraordinary Canadians