Here’s to Libraries, Number Eleven!

I realize it has been a while since I posted a library in this series, so here goes. This week we visit another monastery — the Melk Monastery, a Benedictine monastery situated on the Danube River in Austria.  The actual abbey was founded in 1089.  In the 12th century, a monastic school was founded and with it, a library that became renown for its extensive medieval manuscript collection.   The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau as well as the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg (Austria’s first ruling dynasty).

“We may sit in our library and yet be in all quarters of the earth.”  (John Lubbock)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Posted by Tom R.

Here’s to Libraries, Number Ten!

Located in the heart of Spain, the Royal Library of the Monastery of El Escorial is a stunning architectural wonder (as well as a World Heritage site designation).  Built in the Herrerian style, construction began in 1563 and was completed in 1584.  The library is housed on the second floor (in the west wing) and contains nearly 45,000 documents from the 15th and 16th centuries.  The monastery is huge and contains 15 cloisters, 13 oratories, 86 staircases, 88 fountains, more than 1,600 paintings, 9 towers, and 73 sculptures.

“When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you.”  (Keith Richards)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Posted by Tom Rink

All Hail, Ranganathan!

I know this isn’t “throwback Thursday,” but allow me to indulge in a reminiscent walk down memory lane from the long past days of library school . . . I can still remember when I first heard the name of Dr. S.R. Ranganathan in Dr. Haynes course on cataloging . . . here is an infographic (courtesy of  USC Online) to help us remember (and appreciate) Ranganathan’s five laws of librarianship.  They still apply today, but as you’ll see at the bottom of the infographic, Michael Gorman (then President of the American Library Association) revised them a bit back in 1998.   Enjoy!

Source: USC Online

Here’s to Libraries, Number Nine!

This week we will highlight the Biblioteca Joanina, the Baroque library at the University of Coimbra (Portugal).  This library was built in the 18th century while King João V ruled.  The library houses approximately 250,000 books from the 13th through the 19th centuries.  This historic library is considered a National Monument — the most visited monument on the campus.  The basement of the library had even served as a prison at one point in time.

“Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life. Libraries change lives for the better.”  (Sidney Sheldon)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Here’s to Libraries, Number Eight!

This week’s library tribute takes us to Baltimore, Maryland, to the George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University.

The building was completed in 1878 and currently houses a 300,000 volume collection of 19th century resources (including a marquis collection of Don Quixote editions).  The interior was done in a Neo-Grec style and has a black and white marble floor, a 61 foot tall atrium (with a latticed skylight), and is surrounded by five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies with gold-scalloped columns.

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”  (Albert Einstein)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Here’s to Libraries, Number Seven!

This week’s tribute takes us to the Canadian Library of Parliament (in Ottawa).

Their vision: “To be Parliament’s preferred and trusted source of information and knowledge.”

Their mission: “The Library of Parliament contributes to Canadian parliamentary democracy by creating, managing and delivering authoritative, reliable and relevant information and knowledge for Parliament.

Their strategic outcome: “An informed and accessible Parliament.”

“A public library is the most enduring of memorials, the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event or a name or an affection; for it, and it only, is respected by wars and revolutions, and survives them.”  (Mark Twain).

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

 

Here’s to Libraries, Number Six!

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University (Connecticut) is, according to their website, “one of the world’s largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts and is Yale’s principal repository for literary archives, early manuscripts, and rare books.”  Built in 1963, the library has roughly 500,000 volumes and several million manuscripts.

“What is more important in a library than anything else — than everything else — is the fact that it exists.”  (Archibald MacLeish, Pulitzer Prize winning American poet and former Librarian of Congress)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Posted by Tom R.

Here’s to Libraries, Number Five!

Here is a picture of the graduate reading room of the Suzzalo Library @ the University of Washington (in Seattle).  This library was named for Henry Suzzallo, (the president of the University of Washington)  President Suzzalo stepped down in 1926, the same year as the completion of the first phase of the library’s construction.  The architectural style is collegiate gothic and was inspired by Suzzallo’s stated belief that universities should be cathedrals of learning.

“I spent three days a week for ten years educating myself in the public library, and it’s better than college.  People should educate themselves — you can get a complete education for no money.  At the end of ten years, I had read every book in the library, and I’d written a thousand stories.”  (Ray Bradbury)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Posted by Tom R.

Here’s To Libraries, Number Four!

Having been raised in a family where both parents were librarians, my appreciation for, and my understanding of, the value of libraries was never in question.  These values were instilled in me early in life.  This week’s inspirational library is the Admont Abbey Library (Austria)  The Admont Abbey is a Benedictine monastery that houses the second largest monastic library in the world (the largest is in Mafra, Portugal).  In addition to its long-established scientific collection, the Abbey is known for its Baroque architecture, art, and manuscripts.

“Here was one place where I could find out who I was and what I was going to become.  And that was the public library.”  (Jerzy Kosinski)

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Here’s To Libraries, Number Three!

Real Gabinete Português de Leitura – Rio de Janeiro (aka the Royal Portuguese Reading Room).  This library has the largest and most valuable collection of Portuguese authors outside Portugal. Constructed between 1880 and 1887, this library contains more than 350,000 volumes, is fully computerized, and offers rare books from the XVI, XVII and XVIII Centuries. The library receives a copy of each work published in the country.

Library’s website: http://www.realgabinete.com.br/portalWeb/

“The health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.”  Carl Sagan

Source: photo courtesy of danieldalton.me  (BuzzFeed).

Posted by Tom R.