According to their official website, Google has "teamed up with astronomers at some of the largest observatories in the world to bring you" Google Sky , a new tool offering "an exciting way to browse and explore the universe." Users can enter terms or coordinates to search for particular stars and galaxies, but there is… continue reading Google Reaches the Stars
By written by Communications Office March 17, 2008 1
Don't get it? "For fans of numerical information or the history of mathematical discoveries," writes poetry blogger Edward Byrne , "March 14 represents a day of celebration. Since the date may be written as 3-14, the digits correspond with 3.14, the opening series of digits associated with 'pi.' (The pi moment during the day is… continue reading Happy Pi Day
By written by Communications Office March 14, 2008 2
“Before the comics were beset by the prolonged crackdown that is described [in David Hajdu’s The Ten-Cent Plague ], they were created in a spirit best summarized by Mickey Spillane, one of Mr. Hajdu’s many colorful interviewees... . ‘If it’s any good, somebody will pay for it,’ Mr. Spillane said, ‘and a… continue reading A Kid's Dime
By written by Communications Office March 12, 2008
If you’re a tech-savvy grammar enthusiast, you’re probably already familiar with Mignon Fogarty (aka “Grammar Girl”) and her weekly podcast, Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing . If you’ve never visited the Grammar Girl website, last week’s episode offers an excellent introduction with a top 10 countdown… continue reading Grammar Girl's Top 10 Language Myths
By written by Communications Office March 10, 2008
It was recently revealed that Love and Consequences , an acclaimed memoir of gang life in Los Angeles, ostensibly written by Margaret B. Jones--a woman of mixed Caucasian and Native American ancestry who was raised in the care of an African-American foster mother, and whose foster brothers joined a street gang at ages 11 and 13, and who… continue reading The Latest Publishing Scandals
By written by Communications Office March 7, 2008
How did Daniel Handler end up on the cover of someone else's novel ? According to the New York Times books blog, "When it came time for Grove Press to design a cover for the United States edition of Sasa Stanisic’s first novel, How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone ...it grabbed the photograph from the cover of the book’s… continue reading Daniel Handler as Cover Art
By written by Communications Office March 5, 2008
March 4 is National Grammar Day , according to the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG). Why March 4? According to the SPOGG website, "It's not only a date, it's an imperative. So march forth on March 4th!" Indeed. continue reading Happy National Grammar Day
By written by Communications Office March 4, 2008
A reporter for more than 20 years, including more than a decade at the Baltimore Sun , Laura Lippman infuses her Tess Monaghan Mysteries with the authenticity of experience. Ms. Lippman will be appearing at the Central Library's Montgomery Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday , March 11 , the same day her new novel, Another Thing to Fall , will… continue reading Take Five with . . . Laura Lippman
By written by Communications Office February 27, 2008
Whether you like it or not, Wikipedia matters. According to Web information company Alexa, Wikipedia is currently the eighth most popular website in the United States --six spots ahead of mega-retail destination Amazon and 21 spots ahead of the New York Times -- and the ninth most popular website in the world . And that's not a bad thing, says… continue reading Digital Literacy, Democracy, and the State of Wikipedia
By written by Communications Office February 25, 2008 1
This week's edition of the Philadelphia City Paper includes a piece on the Free Library's Automobile Reference Collection . Managed by librarian Kim Bravo, who is featured prominently in the article, the ARC is one of the largest gatherings of automotive literature in the world , offering extensive information and providing a… continue reading Meet Kim Bravo
By written by Communications Office February 21, 2008
Excited about the three-month exhibition of more than 40 works by Frida Kahlo opening tomorrow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Just in time to prepare for your visit, the Free Library’s Author Events team has made available the podcast of renowned art historian Hayden Herrera’s talk --titled “Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera:… continue reading Frida in Philadelphia
By written by Communications Office February 19, 2008
Today's edition of the New York Times features a piece on Susan Jacoby’s new book , The Age of American Unreason , which the author’s website describes as a “tough-minded work of contemporary history [that] paints a disturbing portrait of a mutant strain of public ignorance, anti-rationalism, and anti-intellectualism that has… continue reading Don't Be Anti-Rational
By written by Communications Office February 14, 2008
While deciphering handwritten manuscripts, letters, and journals may challenge fewer and fewer editors as we move forward into the age of new media , there’s still plenty of head-scratching going on in the present day with regard to the notebooks et al. left behind by the greats of bygone eras. In an article published in Slate last… continue reading Incomprehensible Handwriting of the Greats
By written by Communications Office February 12, 2008
Test your typographic recognition skills with Sara Newton's Fontastic Quiz . continue reading Name That Font
By written by Communications Office February 8, 2008 1
According to an essay by Rachel Donadio in the most recent edition of the New York Time s Sunday Book Review, "Technology may be speeding up the news cycle, but in publishing, things actually seem to be slowing down. Although publishers can turn an electronic file into a printed book in a matter of weeks--as they often do for hot political… continue reading The Speed of Publishing
By written by Communications Office February 6, 2008
A new two-week film education program in partnership with One Book, One Philadelphia whose mission is to promote film literacy and critical thinking by encouraging all Philadelphians to watch, study, and discuss a single film-- One Film will kick off with a free “opening night” reception and screening of this year's featured… continue reading Get Ready for One Film
By written by Communications Office February 5, 2008
If you’re a lover of words and you haven’t already added the Oxford English Dictionary ’s Word of the Day RSS feed to your aggregator, do so now. It’s tailor-made (today’s word of the day) for you. Also, keep in mind that your Free Library card number and PIN are all that you need to access all of the offerings of… continue reading Tailor-Made for Logophiles
By written by Communications Office January 31, 2008
In a comprehensive piece published in the current issue of the New York Review of Books , Sarah Boxer asks, “[What is] the effect of blogs on language? Are they a new literary genre? Do they have their own conceits, forms, and rules? Do they have an essence?” The short answer: Yes. continue reading The Defining Essence of Bloggy Writing
By written by Communications Office January 30, 2008 2
According to the New York Times , "Hundreds of men and a smaller number of women eke out a living scavenging books in Manhattan ." continue reading Used Books on the Streets of Manhattan, An Economy of Small Scale
By written by Communications Office January 28, 2008 1
"What if scholarly books were peer reviewed by anonymous blog comments rather than by traditional, selected peer reviewers?" So begins a piece by Jeffrey Young recently published in the Chronicle of Higher Education , considering the "experiment" currently taking place on the blog Grand Text Auto . In collaboration with MIT Press and the… continue reading Peer Review in the Blogosphere
By written by Communications Office January 25, 2008
