Library Blog

Special Collections on the Road

Submitted by jgoffin on Thu, 2012-02-02 09:39
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In addition to the fascinating items we have on exhibition here at our 150 Empire St. location, you can now see PPL Special Collections material at three other locations across the city:

 

Ugly, misbegotten, hump-backed, and so forth

Submitted by jgoffin on Tue, 2012-01-31 09:30
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Some fonts just don't get much love. Papyrus and Comic Sans are well-known for being much loathed. And one font from that more distant past that would have appreciated their situation was Cheltenham.

 

Civil Warrior of the Week #6: George Henry Thomas

Submitted by jgoffin on Wed, 2012-01-25 10:43
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Happy 150th, Edith Wharton

Submitted by jgoffin on Tue, 2012-01-24 10:49
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Edith Wharton, the author of Ethan Frome, The Age of Innocence and quite a few other classic works of fiction, would turn 150 today. Wharton was born in New York on the 24th of January, 1862. If you happen to find yourself in the Lenox, MA area tomorrow, you can celebrate at The Mount, the home Wharton designed for herself.

Wharton's presence is felt here at the Providence Public Library because of her connection to not one, but two of our collections:

 

 

The Literary Life of the Whaleman

Submitted by jgoffin on Thu, 2012-01-12 10:19
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If you're wondering what kept whalers occupied when they weren't busy whaling, Robin Davis of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has part of the answer: reading the works of American women authors. In a recent blog post Robin describes hunting through logbooks from our Nicholson Whaling Collection for lists of the books read on board.

 

Your Luck's in Your Own Hand

Submitted by jgoffin on Thu, 2012-01-12 10:18
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For all those looking to cut down on your fortune-telling expenses, this ephemeral item from the Percival Magic Collection should help:

 

End-Of-The-Year Notes

Submitted by jgoffin on Fri, 2011-12-30 13:50
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With the new year nearly upon us, this seems like the time to do a roundup of 2011 at the PPL Special Collections. So here are a few quick notes on some of what's happened this year (since March, at least):