Obsolete Library Catalog Cards (Library of Congress)

The emergence of the online public-access catalog has largely rendered the traditional library card catalog obsolete. At the Library of Congress, which has a searchable online catalog, this point is made especially clear: old paper catalog cards are unceremoniously stacked among blank pieces of scrap paper. Above is a sampling of old cards I picked up this afternoon (click to enlarge). Counter-clockwise from top left: records for 2 films in English, then other items in German, Spanish, Danish, Russian, and 2 in Hungarian.

For an engaging history of the library card catalog, see here. To see some creative ways of using "retired" library catalog cards, see here.

Library of Congress Logo (Banner)

Just noticed today that the Library of Congress logo looks like a waving American flag, as well as an open book. Very cool.

(For more on different adaptations of the American flag, see this recent posting.)

Embrace Your Inner Geek! (Library Ad Campaign)

Geeky swag from the 2010 National Book Festival. These materials are part of a promotional campaign to increase the profile of public libraries. The ads use "geek" as a verb, reminding us of the important role that libraries can play in shaping our individual desires, hobbies, goals, and obsessions. For more, see the excellent "Geek The Library" website.

(For more from the 2010 National Book Festival, see here and here. For more on the related "I [HEART] WHATEVER" construction, see my postings here and here.)

P.S. It seems to me that the lower-case font in the library campaign invokes (intentionally or not) another cultural phenomenon: the TV show "Glee." It's common for a fan of the show to identify as a "gLeek," a portmanteau combining the words "glee" and "geek." In the promotional poster (above), the "L" finger sign -- which, as all high school students know, signifies "loser" -- becomes a badge of pride. (Incidentally, that hand formation is also the ASL sign for the letter "L.") Publicity material related to the show actively encourages fans to "gleeK out," embracing their obsession with the show.

National Book Festival Bookmarks

Last weekend I checked out the National Book Festival (annual event on the Mall organized by the Library of Congress) and brought back some great bookmarks. On the right, a bookmark publicizing the World Digital Library, an international archive of cultural treasures maintained by UNESCO and the Library of Congress; its mission is to disseminate knowledge and increase cross-cultural understanding. The bookmark uses 5 languages: English, Arabic, Russian, French, (Mandarin) Chinese, and Spanish - these are, fittingly enough, the 5 official languages of the UN. To access this amazing digital library, go here.

My favorite bookmark is on the bottom left; the slogan states "Reading is for everyone," and superimposed on this is the equivalent text in raised Braille dots. These materials promote the National Library Service's resources for the blind.

As the Old Sing, So the Young Twitter

I was mildly disappointed when I walked into the Library of Congress to discover that this exhibition is NOT about social media. Instead, "As the Old Sing, So the Young Twitter" explores the long-standing relationship between human music-making (via flute instruments) and birdsong. If you happen to be walking by the LOC Madison Building, it's worth a look. Exhibition ends October 30, 2010.

Dog Poop Gallery (Passive Aggressive Signs)

Throughout Capitol Hill, one can find many signs gently reminding dog owners to clean up after their pets. Here's a treasury some of the best ones I've seen, ranked from least to most favorite:

7. This is a classic example of passive-aggressive signage. A cute dog-shaped sign in a calm shade of green subtly guilt-trips the owner who allows his or her dog "let loose" on this lawn.

6. This little "house" goes a step further to induce guilt. We see a pleasant sign, plus a little container that actually contains little dog poop bags. Note that one is NOT supposed to deposit filled bags in here. (Find out more about these pet waste containers and other products on this lovely website!)

5. This attention-grabbing signpost (note the CAPITALIZED RED LETTERS) admonishes unruly dogs -- or rather, their negligent owners.

4. This sign at Lincoln Park serves two purposes: to encourage poop-scooping AND discourage public drinking. For the record, I have never actually witnessed anyone drinking a martini while sitting outdoors in this park.

3. Another attempt at being "friendly" and cute, this time with a cartoon dog holding a pooper scooper. Note the passive-aggressive strategy of reminding the reader of the potential fines (plus penalty, in parentheses - nice touch!) that one could face for not scooping.

2. I like this sign very much.

1. My favorite dog poop sign stands right in front of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Appropriately enough, there's quite a "literary" flair to this sign: not only do we get some unusually authoritative word choice here ("police your dog," rather than a more colloquial "scoop the poop"), but the sequence of verbs also provides an elegant litany of actions: leash, curb, and clean.

Chaucer in DC (Modern English Translation)

Yesterday I popped into the DC Public Library, SE Branch and noticed an intriguing decorative motif: April-themed lines from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales adorned the bookshelves (original Middle English along one set of bookcases, and a modern English translation on the other). Above, a snippet from the original text. Let's take a closer look at the translation, shall we?

"What that Aprille with his shoures soote/The droght of March hath perced to the roote" = When in April the SWEET SHOWERS FALL/And pierce the drought of March to the root, & all [I don't know why random words are in italics or capital letters. Overall it's pretty good; interesting that "the sweet showers" are now the grammatical subject, not April itself (himself)].

"And bathed every veyne in swich licour/Of which vertu engendred is the flour" = The veins are BATHED IN LIQUOR of such power/As brings about the engendering of the flower [seems pretty good - nice translation of "vertu" as "power" in order to make the lines rhyme].

"Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth/Inspired hath in every holt and heeth" = When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath/Exhales AN AIR IN EVERY GROVE and heath [the words "breath" and "heath" don't rhyme in modern English, but otherwise this works].

"The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne/Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne" = UPON THE TENDER SHOOTS, and the young sun/His HALF-COURSE IN THE SIGN of the Ram HAS RUN [the "in the sign of the Ram" clarifies things for modern readers but the capital letters have gone crazy!].

"And smale foweles maken melodye,/That slepen al the nyght with open ye" = And the small fowl are making melody/That SLEEP AWAY THE NIGHT with open eye [here "melody" and "eye" no longer rhyme - not quite sure why "fowls" or "birds" wasn't used].

"(So priketh hem Nature in hir courages)/Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages" = (So nature pricks them AND THEIR HEART ENGAGES)/Then PEOPLE LONG TO GO ON pilgrimages [creative translation here; "engages" works relatively well to set up the word "pilgrimages"].

"And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,/To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondy londes" = And PALMERS LONG TO SEEK the stranger strands/Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands [the phrase "stranger strands" and insertion of "saints" here is slightly odd, but I like the reincorporation of longing in this couplet].

"And specially from every shires ende/Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende" = And specially, from every shire's end/Of England, down to Canterbury THEY WEND [I think it would have made more sense to translate "specially" as "especially" or "particularly"].

Overall, quite good - some awkward moments, but the modernization does attempt to preserve the original rhyme pattern.

P.S. Note that the final couplet to the opening lines has been omitted: "The hooly bilsful martir for to seke,/That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke" [To seek the holy blissful martyr, who has helped them (pilgrims/palmers) whenever they were sick]. Not quite sure why these last two lines have been left out. Did the library simply run out of shelves? This is a public library, and I wonder (this being DC) if the lines were left out in order to preserve a more secular, nonsectarian theme and avoid the appearance of endorsing any particular religion.

Library of Congress: Inventors of Writing (Odin)

Here's one last figure from the bronze doors to the Adams Building (Library of Congress). Here we see Odin (Óðinn in Old Norse), the Germanic god; I assume he's on this wall because he's believed to have invented runes or something...but don't know much about Norse mythology.

To read about some of the other figures on these doors, see here and here.

Library of Congress: Inventors of Writing (Cadmus)

Here's another figure from the bronze doors on the Adams Building (Library of Congress). Here we see Cadmus (Κάδμος), the man who - according to the historian Herodotus - introduced the alphabet (Phoenician script) to the ancient Greeks. Interesting that the sculptor here (Lee Lawrie, 1939) made no attempt to replicate Greek letters (i.e., the name "CADMUS" is written in Roman capitals).

For more images from the bronze doors, see the previous post.

For more Greek stuff from the Library of Congress, see this posting.

Library of Congress: Inventors of Writing (Cang Jie)

The bronze doors on the west side of the Adams Building of the Library Congress depict mythological and historical figures who are (for some reason or another) closely associated with writing. Above, a figure representing 倉頡 (Cāng Jié), the legendary four-eyed inventor of Chinese characters.

There are two different systems for writing Mandarin Chinese characters, including traditional and simplified; in simplified script the name is written 仓颉. Note that there are (at least) two systems of Romanization for Chinese. The spelling "Ts'ang Chieh" (used in this inscription) is the antiquated Wide-Giles system which has since fallen out of use; it's generally considered standard procedure to use Pinyin Romanization.

P.S. The bronze doors were sculpted by Lee Lawrie in 1939.

For more figures from these bronze doors, see the following post.

Virtual Medieval Media (Interactive Gutenberg Bible)

Library of Congress, November 2009. I must say the interactive display accompanying the LOC's Gutenberg Bible is really cool. The Gutenberg Bible is of course one of the first texts in Western Europe to be produced using movable print technology. This touch-screen display allows you to navigate the text "virtually" (here, "hot spots" on the screen allow you to see chapter headings, rubrics, Latin abbreviations, etc.).

Another image from a different page in this bible. I find it interesting that so many of the terms we use to describe how we navigate digital media are simply imported from previous technologies: e.g., (web)page, scroll, tab, bookmark. There's something uncanny - familiar and yet strange - about navigating the "virtual" text in such a dynamic way while the original physical text remains inert in a stuffy display case just a few feet away.

Chinese Characters, Early Modern Readers

I stopped by the Folger Shakespeare Library's "Imagining China" exhibit today one more time today (wanted to make sure to see it again before it closes). This display case shows how Early Modern readers (mis)understood Chinese writing. You can't make out all the text in this photo but you at least get a sense of how Early Modern printers in the West (attempted to) reproduce(d) the characters.

For more on this particular issue, see this section of the Folger website (not sure how long it will remain active); see also this previous posting.

January in Almanac and Book of Hours

January 1, 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

I start the year with images from the Library of Congress copy of "Poor Richard's Almanack" (printed by Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, 1733). A "best seller" for decades in the American colonies, Franklin's annual "Almanack" included not only a calendar but astronomical and weather forecasts, witty maxims and puzzles, and practical advice.

The page for January (above) shows the astrological sign Aquarius and a domestic scene.

Each month's illustration is preceded by a calendar listing important days (religious festivals) and astronomical events.

Above, a detail of an anatomical man along with Zodiac signs.

Both the structure and layout of the "Almanack" owe much to the medieval book of hours (see this informative website for more). Compare the humble "Almanack" to the exquisite calendar and anatomical man in this 15th-century book, the "Tres Riches Heures" of Jean, Duc de Berry:

While the print "Almanack" is in English and the manuscript "Heures" in French/Latin, these books clearly participate in a shared visual tradition.

For more on the "Almanack" in the context of Franklin's work, see this Library of Congress website.

You can also view high-resolution images of each page of the LOC copy of the "Alamack" as well as a medieval book of hours.

For more information on the "Tres Riches Heures," see here and here.

LOC Printer's Mark Display

Library of Congress, November 2009. A snazzy interactive computer display allows the visitor to view another early printer's mark. Note the stylized "R" for the name Rosenbach.

For more on this particular mark, see this page on the LOC website.

LOC Printer's Mark, Caxton

Library of Congress, November 2009. A rarely-noticed ceiling motif in the ceiling of the Jefferson Building is its sequence of early printers' marks. These symbols were in some respects precursors to modern corporate trademarks or logos, but they could also evoke heraldic devices. Here's the late 15th-century mark of William Caxton, the first English printer (note the stylized W and C).

For more on the symbolism of printers' marks, see this section of the LOC website or the subsequent posts.

Heraldry Endures

I visited the Folger Shakespeare Library yesterday and noticed this emblem on the security police uniforms. The Library's security forces have has adopted Shakespeare's family arms as its emblem. In the 1590s, the Shakespeare family was granted permission to use these arms; note that the shield bears a spear (alluding to the name "Shakespeare") and the original arms bore a motto as well: "Non Sanz Droict" [French = not without right]. For more on these arms, see this PBS documentary website.

The use of the Bard's arms invites a number of questions: Is the police badge the modern descendant of the knight's shield? Since Shakespeare has no direct living descendants, are the Folger police force among his metaphorical heirs?

Translating Poetry into Stone

"Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee! Thou art translated" (Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 3, Scene 1). Folger Shakespeare Library, Capitol Hill.

Eastern Bloc Posters and Photographs

More images from GW's Global Resources Center. Here, a Romanian poster bears the words "Goodbye Comrade." An informational pamphlet from this exhibit's 1999 manifestation has more on this particular poster.

Above, a German dissident poster, fall 1989. The chant "WIR sind das Volk" (WE are the people) eventually morphed into "Wir sind EIN Volk" (We are ONE people), expressing desire for the reunification of East and West.

Here, a Czech poster celebrates "Velvet Revolution" of November 1989; the subtitle apparently reads "it's already here."

The caption next to this poster in the exhibition reads "no caption necessary." Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

P.S. For related postings, see here and here.

Berlin Wall, Pieces of History

Global Resources Center, Gelman Library, George Washington University. An exit sign for the American sector of Berlin bears an inscription in four languages: English, Russian, French, and (in much smaller sized writing) German. English-language graffiti adds another layer of textual complexity.

P.S. The Global Resources Center at GW has organized a series of events to commemorate the Eastern Bloc revolutions of 1989. Other related DC resources: "Making the History of 1989," a website maintained by George Mason University in conjunction with the NEH, CHNM, and German Historical Institute; see also the German Embassy's "Freedom Without Walls" website and my previous post; see this posting too.

P.P.S. Here's a clean version of the sign above, from the display at the Newseum:

Shakespeare in Chinese

I highly recommend the current exhibition at the Folger Shakespeare Library entitled "Imagining China: The View from Europe, 1550-1700" (it explores relationships between Early Modern Europe and China - including a fascinating collection of maps, letters, documents, and other artifacts).

Today I noticed some new "family guides" for the exhibition. The "Learn Chinese!" flyer (left, above) invites readers to pronounce Chinese characters, including the standard phonetic transcription of the name "Shakespeare" (莎士比亞 shā shì bǐ yà).

I'm glad to see the Chinese text has been carefully prepared, but I must admit some indication of the proper tones in the phonetic transcriptions would have been welcome (especially if this flyer is inviting readers to "sound out" the words).

Curiously, the red box with caption "One China, Many Names" (right, above) resonates with contemporary geopolitics. Both mainland China and the Republic of China (aka Taiwan) officially claim that there is only "one China" (中国 Zhōng guó, in Mandarin; 中國 Tiong-kok in Taiwanese) - but arriving at a shared definition of "one China" is a difficult matter.

P.S. It just occurred to me that the final syllable of the transliteration for the name "Shakespeare" (亞 yà) also happens to appear in 亞 洲 yà zhōu ("Asia").

P.P.S. For a related post, see this later entry.