The Library at Night

The Library at Night PDF Author: Alberto Manguel
Publisher: Vintage Canada
ISBN: 0307370275
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the tradition of A History of Reading, this book is an account of Manguel’s astonishment at the variety, beauty and persistence of our efforts to shape the world and our lives, most notably through something almost as old as reading itself: libraries. The Library at Night begins with the design and construction of Alberto Manguel’s own library at his house in western France – a process that raises puzzling questions about his past and his reading habits, as well as broader ones about the nature of categories, catalogues, architecture and identity. Thematically organized and beautifully illustrated, this book considers libraries as treasure troves and architectural spaces; it looks on them as autobiographies of their owners and as statements of national identity. It examines small personal libraries and libraries that started as philanthropic ventures, and analyzes the unending promise – and defects – of virtual ones. It compares different methods of categorization (and what they imply) and libraries that have built up by chance as opposed to by conscious direction. In part this is because this is about the library at night, not during the day: this book takes in what happens after the lights go out, when the world is sleeping, when books become the rightful owners of the library and the reader is the interloper. Then all daytime order is upended: one book calls to another across the shelves, and new alliances are created across time and space. And so, as well as the best design for a reading room and the makeup of Robinson Crusoe’s library, this book dwells on more "nocturnal" subjects: fictional libraries like those carried by Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster; shadow libraries of lost and censored books; imaginary libraries of books not yet written. The Library at Night is a fascinating voyage through the mind of one our most beloved men of letters. It is an invitation into his memory and vast knowledge of books and civilizations, and throughout – though mostly implicitly – it is also a passionate defence of literacy, of the unique pleasures of reading, of the importance of the book. As much as anything else, The Library at Night reminds us of what a library stands for: the possibility of illumination, of a better path for our society and for us as individuals. That hope too, at the close, is replaced by something that fits this personal and eclectic book even better: something more fragile, and evanescent than illumination, though just as important.

The Library at Night

The Library at Night PDF Author: Alberto Manguel
Publisher: Vintage Canada
ISBN: 0307370275
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 355

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the tradition of A History of Reading, this book is an account of Manguel’s astonishment at the variety, beauty and persistence of our efforts to shape the world and our lives, most notably through something almost as old as reading itself: libraries. The Library at Night begins with the design and construction of Alberto Manguel’s own library at his house in western France – a process that raises puzzling questions about his past and his reading habits, as well as broader ones about the nature of categories, catalogues, architecture and identity. Thematically organized and beautifully illustrated, this book considers libraries as treasure troves and architectural spaces; it looks on them as autobiographies of their owners and as statements of national identity. It examines small personal libraries and libraries that started as philanthropic ventures, and analyzes the unending promise – and defects – of virtual ones. It compares different methods of categorization (and what they imply) and libraries that have built up by chance as opposed to by conscious direction. In part this is because this is about the library at night, not during the day: this book takes in what happens after the lights go out, when the world is sleeping, when books become the rightful owners of the library and the reader is the interloper. Then all daytime order is upended: one book calls to another across the shelves, and new alliances are created across time and space. And so, as well as the best design for a reading room and the makeup of Robinson Crusoe’s library, this book dwells on more "nocturnal" subjects: fictional libraries like those carried by Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster; shadow libraries of lost and censored books; imaginary libraries of books not yet written. The Library at Night is a fascinating voyage through the mind of one our most beloved men of letters. It is an invitation into his memory and vast knowledge of books and civilizations, and throughout – though mostly implicitly – it is also a passionate defence of literacy, of the unique pleasures of reading, of the importance of the book. As much as anything else, The Library at Night reminds us of what a library stands for: the possibility of illumination, of a better path for our society and for us as individuals. That hope too, at the close, is replaced by something that fits this personal and eclectic book even better: something more fragile, and evanescent than illumination, though just as important.

The Black Woods

The Black Woods PDF Author: Amy Godine
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501771698
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 511

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Black Woods chronicles the history of Black pioneers in New York's northern wilderness. From the late 1840s into the 1860s, they migrated to the Adirondacks to build farms and to vote. On their new-worked land, they could meet the $250 property requirement New York's constitution imposed on Black voters in 1821, and claim the rights of citizenship. Three thousand Black New Yorkers were gifted with 120,000 acres of Adirondack land by Gerrit Smith, an upstate abolitionist and heir to an immense land fortune. Smith's suffrage-seeking plan was endorsed by Frederick Douglass and most leading Black abolitionists. The antislavery reformer John Brown was such an advocate that in 1849 he moved his family to Timbuctoo, a new Black Adirondack settlement in the woods. Smith's plan was prescient, anticipating Black suffrage reform, affirmative action, environmental distributive justice, and community-based racial equity more than a century before these were points of public policy. But when the response to Smith's offer fell radically short of his high hopes, Smith's zeal cooled. Timbuctoo, Freemen's Home, Blacksville and other settlements were forgotten. History would marginalize this Black community for 150 years. In The Black Woods, Amy Godine recovers a robust history of Black pioneers who carved from the wilderness a future for their families and their civic rights. Her immersive story returns the Black pioneers and their descendants to their rightful place at the center of this history. With stirring accounts of racial justice, and no shortage of heroes, The Black Woods amplifies the unique significance of the Adirondacks in the American imagination.

Scrolling Forward

Scrolling Forward PDF Author: David M. Levy
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
ISBN: 9781559705530
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 252

Get Book Here

Book Description
What's up, doc? Information scientist David M. Levy wants us to look at the documents that fill our lives, and his book Scrolling Forward is a thoughtful reflection on their near-omnipresence. Levy has the perfect r+¬sum+¬ for this job--after getting his Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1981, he took off for England to pursue the study of calligraphy and bookbinding. His love of books shows in his writing, which is rich with references and anecdotes from Walt Whitman to Woody Allen.Drawing on examples as disparate as grocery store receipts, greeting cards, identity papers, and (of course) e-mail, Levy finds the common threads binding them together and explores how and why we use them in daily life. He looks at digitization closely, considering how speed, ease of editing, and potentially perfect copying changes our traditional considerations of documentation. Though he insists that he's looking at the present, not speculating about the future, it's hard to see how to avoid looking ahead after reading Scrolling Forward. --Rob Lightner

The Cambridge Handbook of Race and Surveillance

The Cambridge Handbook of Race and Surveillance PDF Author: Michael Kwet
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110826591X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 718

Get Book Here

Book Description
Featuring chapters authored by leading scholars in the fields of criminology, critical race studies, history, and more, The Cambridge Handbook of Race and Surveillance cuts across history and geography to provide a detailed examination of how race and surveillance intersect throughout space and time. The volume reviews surveillance technology from the days of colonial conquest to the digital era, focusing on countries such as the United States, Canada, the UK, South Africa, the Philippines, India, Brazil, and Palestine. Weaving together narratives on how technology and surveillance have developed over time to reinforce racial discrimination, the book delves into the often-overlooked origins of racial surveillance, from skin branding, cranial measurements, and fingerprinting to contemporary manifestations in big data, commercial surveillance, and predictive policing. Lucid, accessible, and expertly researched, this handbook provides a crucial investigation of issues spanning history and at the forefront of contemporary life.

Not Your Ordinary Librarian

Not Your Ordinary Librarian PDF Author: Ashanti White
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1780632967
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 229

Get Book Here

Book Description
When you picture a librarian, what do you imagine? An old white woman with glasses and a prudish disposition? That is the image that many people conjure up when asked to picture a librarian; with 82 per cent of the professional force being female and the average age of a librarian at 45, coupled with popular stereotypical images, it is difficult to dispute the perceptions. But there is more to librarians than meets the eye. This book will explore the origin of the image and popular media images of the librarian, in addition to the effects of the stereotype, and the challenges to the perception of librarians today. - Provides contemporary examples from popular culture - Chapters are supported by quotes, images and personal reflections - Presents a study which offers authenticity

A Practical Guide to Dewey Decimal Classification

A Practical Guide to Dewey Decimal Classification PDF Author: Karen Snow
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538127210
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 157

Get Book Here

Book Description
A Practical Guide to Dewey Decimal Classification is a hands-on introduction to the world’s most frequently used classification system. The book gives a brief history of the scheme and discusses the theory behind the organization and construction of Dewey class numbers. However, I would like to go further and walk through the process of finding DDC numbers and how to build them using WebDewey, the online resource for accessing DDC. Since DDC is no longer published in print (as of June 2018), it is important that readers understand the basics of using WebDewey. End-of-chapter exercises let readers assess their learning. Chapter coverage is complete: 1. Introduction 2. Dewey Decimal Classification in a Nutshell 3. Basic Principles of Classification (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 4. Searching and Browsing in WebDewey (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 5. Using Notes and the Manual (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 6. Number Building in DDC (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 7. Using Tables within the Schedules (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 8. Advanced Class Number Building Using Table 1 (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 9. Advanced Class Number Building Using Table 2 (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 10. Advanced Class Number Building Using Tables 3-6 (Exercises at the end of the chapter) 11. Conclusion; DDC Resources Appendix: Answers to chapter exercises

Foundations of Library and Information Science

Foundations of Library and Information Science PDF Author: Richard E. Rubin
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 0838947573
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 644

Get Book Here

Book Description
Richard E. Rubin’s book has served as the authoritative introductory text for generations of library and information science practitioners, with each new edition taking in its stride the myriad societal, technological, political, and economic changes affecting our users and institutions and transforming our discipline. Rubin teams up with his daughter, Rachel G. Rubin, a rising star in the library field in her own right, for the fifth edition. Spanning all types of libraries, from public to academic, school, and special, it illuminates the major facets of LIS for students as well as current professionals. Continuing its tradition of excellence, this text addresses the history and mission of libraries from past to present, including the history of service to African Americans; critical contemporary social issues such as services to marginalized communities, tribal libraries, and immigrants; the rise of e-government and the crucial role of political advocacy; digital devices, social networking, digital publishing, e-books, virtual reality, and other technology; forces shaping the future of libraries, including Future Ready libraries, and sustainability as a core value of librarianship; the values and ethics of the profession, with new coverage of civic engagement, combatting fake news, the importance of social justice, and the role of critical librarianship; knowledge infrastructure and organization, including Resource Description and Access (RDA), linked data, and the Library Research Model; the significance of the digital divide and policy issues related to broadband access and net neutrality; intellectual freedom, legal issues, and copyright-related topics; contemporary issues in LIS education such as the ongoing tensions between information science and library science; and the changing character of collections and services including the role of digital libraries, preservation, and the digital humanities. In its newest edition, Foundations of Library and Information Science remains the field’s essential resource.

Foundations of Information Policy

Foundations of Information Policy PDF Author: Paul T. Jaeger
Publisher: American Library Association
ISBN: 0838918948
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book will help future and current information professionals better understand the impacts of information policy on their activities, improving their ability to serve as effective advocates of their institutions, patrons, and communities.

1908

1908 PDF Author: Raul Rafael Ingles
Publisher: UP Press
ISBN: 9715425801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 393

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ingles has come up with a unique concept for a centennial tribute for the University of the Philippines. Setting the founding of the university amidst news reports on current events in 1908, he causes us to ponder the early years of the American occupation of the country and to look beyond 1908 to the university's emergence as an intellectual center of vital relevance to the development of national consciousness of the Filipino people. --Bienvenido L. Lumbera, professor emeritus, University of the Philippines

The Tyranny of Writing

The Tyranny of Writing PDF Author: Constanze Weth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474292445
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 243

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the powerful role of writing in society. The invention of writing, independently at various places and times in history, always stood at the cradle of powerful civilizations. It is impossible to imagine modern life without writing. As individuals and social groups we hold high expectations of its potential for societal and personal development. Globally, huge resources have been and are being invested in promoting literacy worldwide. So what could possibly be tyrannical about writing? The title is inspired by Ferdinand de Saussure's argument against writing as an object of linguistic research and what he called la tyrannie de la lettre. His critique denounced writing as an imperfect, distorted image of speech that obscures our view of language and its structure. The chapters of the book, written by experts in language and literacy studies, go beyond this and explore tyrannical aspects of writing in society through history and around the world: from Medieval Novgorod, the European Renaissance and 19th-century France and Germany over colonial Sudan to postcolonial Sri Lanka and Senegal and present-day Hong Kong and Central China to the Netherlands and Spain. The metaphor of 'tyranny of writing' serves as a heuristic for exploring ideologies of language and literacy in culture and society and tensions and contradictions between the written and the spoken word.