For fans of graphic design, planes, or travel, here is a marvelous collection of airline luggage labels. Some of the airlines were new to me, like Air California, Deruluft, Spantax, and Wardair.

From 1900 to 1974, Italian immigrant Marino Persechini traveled the streets of Boston with his barrel piano. That same 126 year old instrument will be played live and in person November 2nd at the West End Museum!  Image: Credit Unknown, Marino Persechini on the streets of Boston, circa 1955.

Reminder: Our #FreedomToRead Special Edition Library Card is available at your nearest QPL location! www.queenslibrary.org/spotlight/fr... Learn more about Sammi Wu, the winner of our Library Card Design Contest, and the inspiration for her design. youtu.be/li0jk8o6_4w

Northeastern University Library has developed a server and plugin that work with any LLM or chatbot to improve search results and answer the question “What if we could combine the LLM’s better understanding of a student’s aims with the rigorous index and robust collection of a research library?”

Massport has officially launched a new program named “BOS PAWS”, which introduces dogs at Logan Airport to help reduce stress for those coming in and out of Boston. wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/mass...

“More than 100 missives [to his hometown sweetheart Harriet Clark] from Mason—who served as a soldier in the Sixth Vermont Infantry, then as an officer in the 19th U.S. Colored Troops—were remarkable, both for their vivid descriptions of war’s harsh realities and as a window into …

On the evening of Saturday, October 9, 1920,  Lili Shapiro registered to vote at the North End's Prince Street School in Boston. Lili was an artist who designed and crafted original ceramics. She was also an active participant in the North End’s Saturday Evening Girls. Image: Historic New England

People perceive thickness of letters very individually, and that’s why we are conducting Font Weight Survey to understand the regional preferences of font weight. Could we ask you for 10 min of your time? The findings will be published publicly once we have some results. tptq.com/weight

Unless you are already a lover of swamps, this beautifully written essay by Ashley Stimpson is sure to alter your view of them. It taught me a lot, not just about swamps but about American history. Highly recommended

'The Ann Arbor District Library announced that it plans to acquire the Ann Arbor Observer, one of Ann Arbor’s most beloved publications, serving the community since 1976. The acquisition is subject to the parties finalizing the terms of a purchase agreement.' buff.ly/EFSbWGi

What the world needs now is … Reading Rainbow with Mychal Threets.

In the spring as the #Bookbinders near the end of their first year, they create a set of sample books: 10 books, two boxes, one slipcase, and one four-flap. Many of them chose a theme for their series too. Check out some the lovely results from last May! Learn more: nbss.edu/full-time-pr...

"It’s the 50th anniversary of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' and nostalgia has me in a bit of a 'Time Warp.' A jump to the left, and it’s 1988, and an awkward, more-anxious 16-year-old version of me accompanies a friend to a late-night 'Rocky' showing at the Balboa Theatre in Newport Beach, CA."

Gift link: Exhibition at National Museum of Women in the Arts in D.C. features female artists from the Low Countries

The #WKCR John Coltrane Birthday Broadcast is here again, playing through midnight. www.cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/

Steve's shop supplies musical instruments, and repairs them, for students in Los Angeles public schools. All of it is free to the kids. The shop is now getting a boost from legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert: https://bit.ly/4n01JDF

Arthur Sze will be the next U.S. Poet Laureate “In the courtyard, we spot the rising shell of a moon, and, at the equinox, bathe in its gleam. Using all the tides of starlight, we find vicissitude is our charm.”

⏱️ Here's a time-lapse taste of our after-hours #livestream: when the microfiche scan teams log off, the feed rolls on with #InternetArchive gems—silent films, home movies, NASA images & more. This clip is sped up 45x so you can sample the vibe. 📡 Watch ➡️ www.youtube.com/live/aPg2V5R...

Global Book Traditions Showcase at Princeton University Library www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...

An important next step: the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee has voted to continue federal funding for libraries in next year’s budget.

In Fitchburg, MA, three former municipal buildings have been converted into affordable housing for artists commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/over...

Remembering #SeamusHeaney

“To stare into the spiral top of a whelk or cone shell is to see the swirl of the Milky Way.” If you love the intersection of art and science, cultural history and conservation, this lovely read is for you: www.themarginalian.org/2022/07/21/s...

Ends today! Save 20% on everything at librarygiftshop.org.

The death of book reviews is not greatly exaggerated, but it’s greatly protracted. This time, the bell tolls for book reviews from the Associated Press. Readers of papers across the country won’t see reviews syndicated from the AP after Aug. 31. (More below) s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?tra...

On this day in 1740, coppersmith Shem Drowne was paid for his work constructing Old North Church’s weathervane. Drowne is America’s first documented weathervane maker! Here is a rare close-up photo of the weathervane when it was being reinstalled after maintenance work on the steeple.

Great article on today’s experience of being culturally Irish, whether for those who are second-generation living elsewhere or even for those who live in Northern Ireland, and the importance of avoiding a battle of identities. Despite the photo, the piece is about much more than Ed Sheeran.

"None of these books are obscene." Welcome news out of Florida. So grateful for @flfreedomread.bsky.social's impactful work fighting for the right to read freely.

“Available soon in bulk at a low cost, plus an opportunity to donate to support free distribution.”

Today in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was publicly read for the first time from the balcony of Boston’s Old State House. Abigail Adams recalled the celebration: "bells rang, the privateers fired...the cannon were discharged...and every face appeared joyful."

Highly recommend following @declarationstories.bsky.social for fascinating facts like this

🗃️ “President George Washington knew how to curate a blockbuster exhibit—and with just one artifact.” From the @smithsonianmag.bsky.social archives, I wrote about how the key to the #Bastille ended up at Mount Vernon 🇫🇷 🇺🇸 www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-...

#boston #history fans: give a follow to @westendmuseum.bsky.social (this also applies to #StarTrek fans—Nimoy’s beloved home neighborhood was the West End). This article on the history of the West End library is a nice place to start thewestendmuseum.org/history/era/...

First draft/rough of a new mini book. Lots of work still to do with text pagination and illustrations. Lots more dormice to draw plus a change of title to come too

An 1899 barrel piano, once a familiar fixture of Boston’s bustling streets, is making a grand return. https://trib.al/V4Ib7RA

Essay: “America the Beautiful” by Katharine Lee Bates is as much critique as celebration, writes documentary filmmaker John de Graaf. While Bates’ first verse celebrates America’s beauty, the other three ask us to fully honor the values that we claim to hold.

Andrew Roth survived the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald. Jack Moran helped liberate the camp while serving in the U.S. Army. Decades after liberation, the two met and shared their stories.

Stephen Sondheim
 Manuscripts and Papers Acquired by Library of Congress www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine-books-n...

Now online: the entire Kennedy Family Collection - approximately 6,000 photographs, over 10,000 scanned pages, and 52 scrapbooks and other albums - that documents the lives and times of the Fitzgerald and Kennedy families from 1878 through 1980.

Kadir Nelson’s “Major Taylor, a Champion Who Led the Way” www.newyorker.com/culture/cove...

One of the most important surviving medieval manuscripts written in Irish goes on public display after a two-year long project to conserve it

This is fairly accurate and extremely informative update...... buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

For Memorial Day weekend, we're bringing you ALL nine Beethoven Symphonies, recorded live with the @bostonsymphony.bsky.social! Hear these spectacular, sold-out performances Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night at 8pm. Full schedule and ways to listen here: bit.ly/4jbJGro

Erin Fletcher BB ’12 of Herringbone Bindery interviews each Bookbinding graduating class about their set book. This year's book was "The Poetical Vagaries of a Knight of the Folding-Stick" and the completed books are gorgeous. Read the full interviews: t.co/bw9IAMUiCC

This book club has been reading the same book for 12 years. They’re not even close to done. The Finnegans Wake Reading Group of Austin, TX reads one page every other week. By Sean Saldana www.texasstandard.org/stories/finn... James Joyce @ PG www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho... #books #literature

“As you have learned, our constitution is vague and abstract; it depends more on norms than hard rules. Our democracy relies more on the good faith and integrity of our leaders than you might have realized before you came to this class.”

NEW: ALA salutes Dr Carla Hayden for her exceptional service to the nation as the Librarian of Congress. We are deeply disappointed in Dr Hayden's abrupt & unjust dismissal last night, an insult to the scope & breadth of her work. Read ALA Pres. Cindy Hohl's statement: www.ala.org/news/2025/05...

Last Thursday, 4th graders from Witchcraft Heights Elementary visited Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm to learn about the Stekionis family, immigrant tenant farmers. Many students saw their own stories reflected in the past. • Learn more! → www.historicnewengland.org/the-family-t...

Paul Revere's ride has become a mythic American story. But what really happened on April 18, 1775? Who was the man behind the myth? Callie Crossley of WGBH visited Old North Church and The Paul Revere House to learn the true story of Revere's midnight ride. www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...

Deborah Sampson disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Revolution—but how much of her story is fact, and how much is myth? Uncover the truth in today’s blog post! • Read more → www.historicnewengland.org/deborah-samp... #HistoricNewEngland #NE250 #America250 #AmericanRevolution