Category: library

Recent Changes to the HKU Library Reflect Red Line Mentality?

I was admitted to the University of Hong Kong in 1989. After getting my BA I proceeded to post-graduate study, and gained my PhD in 1999. In my ten-year full-time stay in HKU, besides the Main Building which had been the teaching base of the Faculty of Arts before it moved to the Centennial Campus,…


Marxism and Our Libraries: Where Do We Go From Here?

With an announcement that may very well have real repercussions for parents and children across the United States, the country’s oldest and largest library association—with over 57,000 members—has made it official: The American Library Association’s new president is an avowed Marxist. In a tweet that broke the news, Emily Drabinski, the ALA’s new president-elect, declared:…


Access-to-Info System at Library and Archives Canada in ‘Bleak State’: Watchdog

A new report says Library and Archives Canada is frequently failing to answer formal requests for historical records in a timely way. The special report by information commissioner Caroline Maynard, tabled in Parliament today, says almost 80 percent of the requests handled by the national archives did not meet time-frames set out in the Access…


NYC Libraries Offer American Children Free Access to Books Parents Found Inappropriate

New York City’s libraries are offering young readers across the nation free online access to books that are deemed inappropriate by parents and have been pulled from school bookshelves. For a limited time, four books are made available nationwide by New York Public Library (NYPL) on SimplyE, a mobile application for borrowing and reading e-books…


New York Education Department Promotes Sexually Explicit Book for National Reading Event

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) promoted on social media a graphic novel that contains illustrations of teenage boys performing oral sex, only to remove the post and claim to be unaware of the book’s explicit sexual contents. In a series of posts on Tuesday, the NYSED celebrated this year’s “Read Across America,” a…


Strahov Monastery and Library: An Ornate Relic Tucked Away in Prague

The Strahov Monastery was built in Prague, Czech Republic in around 1143 by Bishop of Olomouc Jindrich Zdík after his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1138. The monastic community thrived with the arrival of the Premonstratensians from Germany. Their arrival brought forth many architectural developments to the monastery, beginning with the addition of a…


Photographer Showcases World’s Largest Abbey Library, ‘One of the Most Magical Places’

A photographer who found himself suited and booted with nowhere to go after attending a wedding took a magical detour to the world’s largest abbey library, in Austria. He walked away with a priceless series of photos and film, claiming, “It’s literally like stepping into a fairytale.” Originally from Tel Aviv, photographer and restaurateur Nuriel…


Library Book Borrowed in 1911 Finally Returned After 110 Years—And Here’s What the Late Fees Would Total:

A long-overdue library book finally found its way back on the shelves an incredible 110 years late after someone had borrowed it in 1911. The said book, “New Chronicles of Rebecca” by Kate Douglas Wigan, published in 1907, tells the story of Rebecca Rowena Randall who was raised in rural Maine, and is the sequel…


With Pop-Up Storytime, Sacramento Public Library Takes Another Step to Reopening

The Sacramento Public Library (SPL) has expanded its curbside offerings by hosting outdoor storytime-to-go pop-up events beginning in May this year. The events are held on Thursdays and Fridays at rotating locations and are designed for parents and their young children ages 0 to 5. Families come to the front of the library and pick…


North Vancouver Residents to Hold Drive-Thru Vigil After Stabbings at Library

VANCOUVER—Residents of North Vancouver are planning a candlelight vigil tonight to honour a young woman who was fatally stabbed at a local library along with six others who were injured there. The drive−thru event a week after the stabbings is being held at a park in the tightly knit community of Lynn Valley and was…