Today’s post is from science reference librarian Margaret Clifton. She is also the author of Saving Energy: The Fall Back Position, Stars in his Eyes and Sun Spots this Summer. I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night – Sarah Willams (1837-1868)* In February of 2010 I wrote a post for Inside …
Hetty Green seems to have been given a rather frightful sobriquet for a woman who came from a Quaker family and was by several accounts quite religious. Her reputation may have been the result of being a successful businesswoman in an age of businessmen or it may have been a result of being a little …
This week I have been relocating to a new office. This is my first move since I joined the Library over ten years ago and boy have I accumulated a vast collection of files and paper. Many of these files have been buried away and it takes a move like this for some interesting stuff …
And no, sports fans, I do not mean the Southeastern Conference of college athletics fame. In this case I am talking about the Securities & Exchange Commission. In the Science & Business Reading Room, we have a microfiche set of SEC company filings that is one of our more regularly used items. I have featured …
Americans have been celebrating George Washington’s birthday since he became president. We have continued this tradition for over two hundred years with the help of Congress who, in 1879, officially designated Washington’s Birthday (February 22) as a Federal Holiday. You might be asking yourself some questions right now: Do we still celebrate Washington’s birthday on February …
As librarians, we identify, evaluate, select, collect, describe, preserve and provide access to materials to facilitate use. As librarians of the 21st century, we have integrated digital collections such as ebooks, databases, datasets, and other digital objects into our traditional analog collections. What about websites? Do libraries collect websites? Back in January, I presented on …
I never gave much thought to the history of mobile homes or manufactured housing. For the most part, I thought these developed in the mid to late 20th century. That was until I ran across the 1861 newspaper advertisement that sparked my curiosity and is featured in this post. As you can see, this is …
This photograph of the bollards that run down 2nd Street SE next to the Adams Building was taken in late 2010. What caught my eye was how the bollards with just a bit of snow on top reminded me of the paintings of ladies wearing powdered wigs and ruffs, collars, or fichu. At first I …
… [Eleanor Lambert] realized that the American fashion industry, along with the individual designers deserved to be treated as equals on the world stage. From that moment on, this idea would become her driving passion. (John Tiffany, Eleanor Lambert: Still Here,Pointed Leaf Press, c2011: p.19) On Thursday February 2, 2012 we are hosting a lecture with …
I pretty much see the same thing every time I look out of my office window. Except one day last week! That’s when I glanced out and saw these two men working on the roof of the Jefferson Building. This photo makes the photos in two previous Pic of the Week posts – one of …