"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… continue reading Peer Review in the Blogosphere

By written by Communications Office    January 25, 2008   

Last week the Library of Congress launched a pilot project with Flickr--the popular photo-sharing website--to publish more than 3,000 photos from its collections, including 1,600+ color… continue reading Library of Congress Photos on Flickr

By written by Communications Office    January 23, 2008   

The website American Rhetoric has compiled a list of what it deems the top 100 American speeches , all of which can be freely accessed in multiple formats, including MP3. At the number one spot is… continue reading Great American Speeches Online

By written by Communications Office    January 18, 2008   

This past Saturday, the National Book Critics Circle announced the finalists for the 2007 NBCC Awards in all six categories--fiction, nonfiction, poetry, biography, autobiography, and… continue reading In Other Awards News, National Book Critics Circle Announces 2007 Finalists

By written by Communications Office    January 16, 2008   

Today, at its Midwinter Meeting right here in Philadelphia, the American Library Association announced its picks for the best in youth media for the past year--including recipients of the Newbery,… continue reading And the Award Goes To..., ALA Announces 2008 Youth Media Awards

By written by Communications Office    January 14, 2008    1

Free Library of Philadelphia Interim President and Director Joseph McPeak is co-author of an op-ed item in today’s Philadelphia Daily News . Entitled “ What's playing at the library?… continue reading Dance Dance Revolutionary Times at the Library

By written by Communications Office    January 11, 2008   

The 2008 One Book, One Philadelphia kick-off was a standing-room-only affair--conclusively answering this question ...--with hundreds of people interested in learning more about Dave Eggers’… continue reading One Book Kick-Off with Dave Eggers Draws a Full House

By written by Communications Office    January 9, 2008   

Congratulations to Jon Scieszka--author of clever children's favorites including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs --who was yesterday… continue reading Stinky Cheese Author Appointed National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

By written by Communications Office    January 4, 2008   

Yesterday writer Belinda Webb posted an item on the Guardian 's books blog announcing her New Year's resolution to keep to an " audiobook diet " in 2008. She writes, "So here we are, in 2008.… continue reading New Year's Resolution, An Audiobook Diet in 2008?

By written by Communications Office    January 2, 2008    2

One Book, One Philadelphia will soon kick off its sixth consecutive year with a visit on January 8 from bestselling writer Dave Eggers , author of this year’s featured One Book reading… continue reading Get Ready for One Book

By written by Communications Office    December 21, 2007   

A copy of the Magna Carta that dates from 1297--the only copy of the Magna Carta in the United States--was auctioned by Sotheby’s yesterday, fetching $21.3 million from David Rubenstein, a… continue reading Sold!

By written by Communications Office    December 19, 2007   

Whether you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift idea for a lapsed bibliophile , or just curious how your favorite books of the past 12 months have been ranked by the… continue reading Best of the Best Of, Books of 2007

By written by Communications Office    December 17, 2007   

The University of Pennsylvania’s 60-Second Lecture Series offers an excellent repository of thought-provoking distractions. Check out the Fall 2007 series here . With topics ranging from… continue reading Smarter in 60 Seconds

By written by Communications Office    December 12, 2007   

Yes, such a thing does exist. Since September, folks at the Nobel Foundation have been adding videos of Nobel Prize announcements, interviews with Nobel Laureates, and official Nobel Lectures.… continue reading The Nobel Prize Channel on YouTube

By written by Communications Office    December 5, 2007   

Described by Gillian Engberg for Booklist as a “winning Dutch import for parents looking for an original tale with a gay slant,” Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland’s King & King… continue reading Children’s Books Presenting Same-Sex Relationships Continue to Scandalize

By written by Communications Office    December 3, 2007    1

In January 1943 Philadelphia’s readers couldn’t get enough of Marcia Davenport’s second novel, The Valley of Decision , and Cecil Brown’s Suez to Singapore , the respective… continue reading Regional Bestsellers of the 1940s

By written by Communications Office    November 30, 2007   

A comprehensive study released by the National Endowment for the Arts on November 19 finds that Americans are reading less, and also less well. Key findings include that on average Americans… continue reading Americans Are Still Reading Less, And Less Well

By written by Communications Office    November 26, 2007   

A time to celebrate togetherness like it's 1621 ? continue reading Happy Thanksgiving

By written by Communications Office    November 21, 2007   

Read any good book autopsies lately? continue reading Where Fine Art and the Book Vivisect

By written by Communications Office    November 19, 2007   

Etymythologies are etymologies that are not factually true but remain popular nonetheless. "[They're] like family anecdotes," writes Ben MacIntyre for the Times. "They may not literally be true;… continue reading Etymythologies

By written by Communications Office    November 16, 2007