National Archives at Boston Civil Defense Photographs Collection
Written by Patricia Feeley, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Boston Public Library The National Archives at Boston (NARA-Boston) recently added a fascinating collection of Civil Defense photographs. The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) had the two-fold job of preparing Americans for natural disasters and military attacks. Its heyday was in the Cold War years of the 1950’s. It…
New Collections Added to Digital Commonwealth in May
All those May showers brought us this month’s eight collections of perennials (new items in existing collections), new plants (new collections) and crops ready to reap (harvested). Whether you will be enjoying the fruits of your own or someone else’s gardening labors this season, save some time for these varied and fascinating collections. American Antiquarian Society American…
A Closer Look: La Baleine d’Ostende
Written by Patricia Feeley, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Boston Public Library Some images beg for a closer look. At first glance, this is a sad scene of a beached whale being inspected by curious onlookers. However, the caption reads, “La Baleine d’Ostende/Visitee par l’Elephant, la Giraffe les Osages et les Chinois.” Elephant? Giraffe? What exactly is going…
Massachusetts College of Art and Design collections
Written by Patricia Feeley, Collaborative Services Librarian, Boston Public Library Massachusetts Normal Art School opened in 1873 with the goal of educating art teachers to teach drawing at lower levels of education. The hope was that this effort would result in more architects for the growing country. Massachusetts Normal Art School became Massachusetts School of Art…
New Collections Added to Digital Commonwealth in April
This month focused mostly on getting Northeastern University Library’s collections harvested. There are now 17 new collections from them, including a really wide variety of content! Don’t miss that, or any of the beautiful new items from the BPL’s collections. Boston Public Library Early, Rare, and Exceptional Items from Special Collections, Rare Books – 6…
Trustees of the Reservations
This post was written by Patricia Feeley, BPL Collaborative Services Librarian. For a 126-year-old organization, the Trustees of Reservations is not that well-known for its cultural heritage collections. People are often familiar with the properties they own – the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Naumkeag in Stockbridge, World’s End in Hingham or Dinosaur Footprints in Holyoke…