Carnaygie Humor

Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936), a Chicago newspaper writer and editor, created a fictional homespun philosopher with a strong Irish brogue...

C. C. Certain & School Library Standards

This year is the 125th anniversary of the birth (exact date unknown) of Casper Carl Certain (1885-1940), the father of school library standa...

The Good Ship ALA

In recognition of its service in World War I , the American Library Association was invited by the United States Shipbuilding Board (USSB) ...

Reuben's Library

Reuben's Library is the Library of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Reuben is Reuben A. Guild (1822-1899), Librarian of B...

One of 10 to Read in 2010

I have been remiss in not acknowledging a significant honor which was received by the Library History Buff Blog this month. It has been sele...

Dewey's New York Library Club

The New York Library Club is another of those enterprises that owes its existence to Melvil Dewey. It was founded in New York City in Jun...

American Library in Paris

The American Library in Paris is the largest English language lending library on the European continent. It is part of the legacy of the Li...

Carnegie B & B Update

And then there was one. In a previous blog post I reported on former Carnegie library buildings that have been repurposed as bed and breakf...

Boston Public Library's McKim Building

Those attending the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in Boston this week will have the opportunity to visit the McKim Building...

ALA's Boston Homecoming

When the American Library Association meets in Boston later this week for its Midwinter Meeting it will be a homecoming for the Associatio...

Carnegie Libraries on Postage Stamps

I've been a bibliophilatelist , collector of postage stamps featuring libraries and librarians, since 1995. During that period I have on...

Andrew Carnegie 175 in 2010

This year is the 175th anniversary of the birth of Andrew Carnegie. He was born on November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. This anniver...

Mary Frances Isom and Portland's Public Library

I recently became aware of an article about Mary Frances Isom written by Penny Hummel which is on the website of the Multnomah County Libra...

Armed Services Editions in WWII

John Jamieson in his book Books For The Army: The Army Library Service In The Second World War (Columbia University Press, 1950) says this...

Mudie's Select Library

Mudie's Select Library was a for-profit lending library established by Charles Edward Mudie (1818-1890) in London, England in 1842. In...

Traveling Libraries

Under the leadership of Melvil Dewey, the State of New York initiated a state funded traveling library system in 1892. Traveling libraries ...

The Librarian and the Prince of Navigators

This cover (envelope) was sent to Miss Alma Jonson at the Library of Hawaii on January 28, 1935 by Harold Gatty (1903-1957), the aviation ...

Library History 2010 Preview

Each new year provides opportunities to enjoy and celebrate library history. Here is a preview of some of those opportunities in 2010. Natio...