May 6th, 2009
This is National Postcard Week. Diana Dretske, collections coordinator for the Lake County Discovery Museum in Wauconda, Illinois, provides some background information on National Postcard Week on her blog "Illuminating Lake County, Illinois History". I have previously posted about collecting library postcards on this blog. A big part of National Postcard Week is promoting the exchange of postcards. Librarians and library supporters have exchanged library postcards in the past and continue to do so today. The Library History Buff website has links to lists of past and current library postcard collectors and to the websites of library postcard collections. I have a modest collection of between 1,500 and 2,000 library postcards. Probably my most unusual library postcard is the one used by ALA in Siberia in WWI.
The French postcard above was mailed to Ithaca, New York through the Army Post Office near the end of World War II and has a personal message on the reverse. It was mailed "Free" and has been censored by an officer as was required during war time. One wonders what the two monks find so funny in the library book. Feel free to provide your own caption.
May 3rd, 2009
last week,
eating san francisco took a rare saturday field trip and found ourselves in chinatown.
students were assigned to make media about their experiences.
here's what they made:
Marco Abellera,
China Town - Eating San FranciscoChris Begley and Ali Winston,
Saturday Morning in ChinatownSam Blackburn,
ESF Does Dim Sum! (plus
flickr set)
Teresa Garcia,
ESF Chinatown ProjectJessie Hill,
Phoenix Talons and a Little Bit of Heart Michael Kao,
ChinatownStephanie Luu,
Eating San Francisco-Dim SumKelli McCloskey,
Chintatown ProjectNick Minnott,
Tin How Temple/ Chinatown/ Chicken FeetAustin O'Kane,
Dim Sum ExperienceKatie Olson,
Adventures through ChinatownLaura Plantholt,
Dim Sum for Dim DummiesJoel Weston,
Just a TouristAshley Williamson,
Good Fortune in Chinatown
May 2nd, 2009
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Edwin Catagna (1909-1983), a notable 20th century American library leader. I've used the Dictionary of Library Biography (DALB) to help identify key birth anniversaries of some of our more important librarians of the past. The DALB is a good source to use for this purpose since the people listed in that publication have been screened by well qualified library historians. The entries are also written by well qualified individuals. Edwin Castagna is listed in the first Supplement to the DALB and his entry is written by Ronald Blazek and Theresa Griffen Maggio. All Presidents of the American Library Association are included in the DALB, and Castagna was President of ALA in 1964-65. Castagna's accomplishments would have landed him in the DALB even if he had not been president. He served as director of several public libraries including the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore where he served from 1960 to 1975. He was a major voice and champion for intellectual freedom during his library career. Blazek and Maggio use the following quote from Castagna in their DALB entry: "The value of our libraries as democratic institutions will depend on how bold we are as librarians in shouldering the responsibility our fellow citizens place upon us. The degree of courage we display in the face of cowardly tendencies outside and within us will be the measure of our worth as librarians." Castagna knew a little about courage. He had voluntarily joined the Army during World War II and served as a company commander in the 771st Tank Battalion in several key World War II campaigns. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for heroism. According to Blazek and Maggio, "The most remarkable feature of Edwin Castagna's professional existence is the degree to which he was liked, as well as respected, by those who know him at any level. It is virtually impossible to find an individual who would cast aspersions on his administrative style or effectiveness or even damn him with faint praise. Instead he is warmly remembered by those who knew him and has been described as radiating goodwill and sweetness of spirit." Unlike previous notable librarians I have mentioned in the blog, Castagna's and my library careers overlapped although I didn't know him personally. Also, like Castagna, my library career was also interrupted by service in the Army (although my service wasn't voluntary). I'm proud to be part of a profession which was shared by such worthy individuals as Edwin Castagna.
