#st louis libraries
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A Return to Reading
Since realizing that I have not one but two libraries barely a stones throw from the Paul Brown Lofts, I've been taking some time to fall in love with books again. Oh, don't get me wrong, I never stopped reading! Once a Kindle was placed in my hands, I never stopped! But the truth is, I started reading exclusively ebooks and lost the passion for reading. Prior to moving, I had relied on old stand-by's like 'Survivor' (Tabitha King) or the Beautiful Creatures series. Anything I already knew because I had enough guessing going on in my real life. Toward the end, I devoured the Fear Street saga by R.L. Stine (which started a whole new rabbit hole of mental clarity) and was "in between books" at the time of my move.
Week one Downtown I stumbled upon the Central Library Annex; or as I call it the "little library". This pocket-sized land of books is no bigger than my entire loft x 2 and situated in Post Office Square. Other offices for FOCUS St. Louis and people like the Secretary of State plus a small gallery paying tribute to bald men in power share space with the newest and greatest tomes of knowledge and entertainment. That first day I was with Kiki. We tiptoed in through the revolving door, quietly past security and into an enormous atrium. It was there I smelled the paper. I followed my nose. The selection is small, as I prefaced. We were able to get our accounts all set up in minutes and walked out an hour later with the best credit limit I can receive from anyone: 100 books at a time. Each!
This initial visit yielded a powerful boon. I stumbled upon the phenomenal Tina Turner's newest title; "Happiness Becomes You". The dam broke. I read this book everywhere. At work, in the bath, lounging in bed on Sunday, over coffee and a Jay in the morning. Everywhere. It isn't a particularly long book and my nose only remained stuck for 3 or 4 days, but I absorbed so much more than words on pages. Everyone knows the Tina Turner story. That isn't what her new book covers. This book is different from "I, Tina". In "Happiness", Tina teaches us to look inward for the peace and balance we all seek so desperately. These were not new words to me, mind you. I've heard them before. Buddhist teaching crosses over my own Witchery pretty much regularly. When it doesn't it crosses over with my Jewish Mysticism and bounces off Scientific Theory quite nicely. I'm well rounded like that. I was also unsurprised that Tina "The Goddess" Turner was teaching Buddhism. After all, Angela Bassett basically just chanted her way through the second half of the movie. Maybe this time I was ready to listen.
My return to reading had less to do with enjoying books and more to do with getting my shit together. Circumstances aside, my one true soulmate has always been books. I outlined my grand plan for Bookstagram and reviews on Goodreads while registering my SLPL accounts. Nowhere in my plan did I specify enjoying it. As I'm sure you can tell, I never made it past the outline and brainstorm and managed to wrap up whatever had been lingering from JeffCo but failed to execute the new plan. I did post a few sporadic 'Grams. Still not ready to actually begin drafting (let alone publishing) my own content, I took this new creative passion to the back burner and returned for inspiration in books.
With the floodgates now wide open, I decided to go further. I'd finished my stack from "Pan's Labyrinth" to "The Essential Anthony Bourdain" and it was time to refill. I returned Julie Andrews and Greta Garbo along with Kiki's finished books and during week three we found SLPD's Central Library (or the "big library". I'm not clever and witty all the time, you know). This time I was prepared and took my shopping cart. Gathering a few comfort reads (Cassandra Clare. New Book. Not my fault.) led to "The School of Good and Evil". Shameless brag: by the time you read this I may or may not have met Soman Chainani. Day and night my world expanded again. I continued to read my Kindle exclusives and download my Amazon First Reads because one doesn't turn away from free books. Yet my heart has been in the turning of real pages.
I'm not sure how many weeks in we are now but I know I still haven't been to every section. From classics to science, a media center and kids wing with climbing chairs, I was mostly blown away by my ease and comfort inside. I never felt that way when visiting the Arnold Library in Jeffco. I was happy to collect any holds and leave. Eventually we stopped going altogether Now I'm becoming a local "Belle"
"I've come to return the book I borrowed! Got anything new?"
"Not since yesterday, Belle!"
I'm sure at some point I will unpack the psychology behind my stasis and frenetic return to reading. But for today, I'm going to enjoy another book.
#bookish#books & libraries#booksbooksbooks#bookaholic#booksarelife#reading#long reads#read in 2022#library#librarylife#public libraries#st louis#slpl#st louis libraries
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Portrait of singer and actress Pearl Bailey. Label on back: "Pearl Bailey in Edward Gross's production of 'St. Louis woman' directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Opens at Martin Beck Theatre Saturday evening, March 30th."
E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library
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Serious question. how rich would i have to be to establish a huge, well-furnished, elaborate children’s museum / library / play area / public park and also GUARANTEE that it would never ever cost parents money to let their kids play there.
#it’ll probably never be possible#but i’m picturing something like the City Museum in St Louis#except there’s also dinosaur exhibits and fun science stuff#and also a huge library that’s not beholden to government book bans#and it’s surrounded by a public park#AND it’s free#it just makes me so sad how few fun things there are now for kids to do that don’t cost money#and aren’t being targeted by politicians like libraries are#text post
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the public library system in my city is so fucking incredible and i am remarkably spoiled. this is what your tax money should be funding by the way
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Tonight I got to tour the St. Louis Public Library Central Library! 🏛️
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Missouri lawmakers are actively tearing down our library system
KMBC News 9 May 30, 2023
PBS Apr 14, 2023
And now the public libraries' funding is being held hostage if they do not restrict use to books from all minors
St. Louis Post Dispatch Jul 28, 2023
I would like to take a moment to remind everyone of what they mean by "obscene" or "pornographic." They're not talking about 50 Shades of Grey. They're not talking about pulp novels or Chuck Tingle books. They're talking about books that, up until this point, have been taught in schools. Books that feature gay couples or show racial discrimination or political dissidence. Books that say "hating people for their identity is wrong." Books that make you think and challenge your beliefs. The politicians know this. The librarians very much know this. A large portion of the citizens know this.
They would rather the people whose lives they control to go without internet, medical assistance, community events, printers, paper scanners, kids activities, kitchen supplies, movies, video games, free information; than let a 16 yr old read To Kill A Mockingbird or Persepolis or One Man Guy just because they want to.
I know Missouri isn't alone in this. It seems with each passing day America's complete fall to fascism becomes more imminent. Restricting education is one of the most vital steps.
#missouri#news#aclu#library#books#libraries#st. louis#kansas city#america#fascism#signal boost#babbles
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Der Himmel über Berlin/ Wings of Desire (1987) - Wim Wenders
Nenne mir Muse den armen unsterblichen Sänger, der, von seinen sterblichen Zuhörern verlassen die Stimme verlor. Wie er vom Engel der Erzählung zum unbeachteten oder verlachten Leiermann draußen an der Schwelle zum Niemandsland wurde.
#der himmel über berlin#wings of desire#wim wenders#bruno ganz#otto sander#staatsbibliothek zu berlin#stabi#library#berlin#reading#studying#film#film still#quote#watched in st louis#criterion channel#watched in april 2024
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Who wants to read with me?
#books#booksbooksbooks#books and literature#romance books#bookshelf#books and reading#books & libraries#dark romance#horror#st. louis
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To Jane Cooney Baker, died 1-22-62 Charles Bukowski from Open All Night.
#poetry#loss#love lost#bukowski poetry#charles bukowski#bukowskipoems#open all night#sad poem#sad poetry#art#poems#saturday#st louis#stl#books#book recommendations#bookblr#library book#bookish#book worm
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View of Ruby Hill and Harold Nicholas performing in the musical "St. Louis woman." Label on back: "Harold Nicholas and Ruby Hill pledge their love 'Come rain or come shine' in a scene from 'St. Louis woman,' new musical hit presented by Edward Gross at Martin Beck Theatre." Stamped on back: "Graphic House, 149 East 40th St., New York, N.Y. Murray Hill 6-8826."
E. Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, Detroit Public Library
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📷 Lewis Hine 📷
Lewis Hine - Newsies, 1910 - Newsies: Newsies at Skeeter's Branch, Jefferson near Franklin. They were all smoking. St. Louis, Missouri.
Lewis Hine, Photographer of the American Working Class
Few American photographers have captured the misery, dignity, and occasional bursts of solidarity within US working-class life as compellingly as Lewis Hine did in the early twentieth century.
Lewis Hine - Breaker boys, 1910 - Child workers who broke down coal at a mine in South Pittston, Pennsylvania.
Lewis Hine - Little Spinner 1909, Globe Cotton Mill. Overseer said she was regularly employed. Augusta, Georgia. Library of Congress
Lewis Hine - Ten Year Old Spinner, North Carolina Cotton Mill, 1908
Lewis Hine - Little Lottie 1911. She was a regular oyster shucker in Alabama Canning Co. (Bayou La Batre, Alabama)
Lewis Hine -Little Rosie 1913. She was a regular oyster shucker. She was just 7 years old and in her second year at Varn & Platt Canning Co. Bluffton, South Carolina
As an investigative photographer, Hine chronicled the normalized labor abuses in US factories leading up to the Great Depression. Not only did he help introduce some of the country’s first child labor laws, he also revolutionized photography’s artistic use value.
Lewis Hine - Child laborers in glasswork. Indiana, 1908
Lewis Hine -Baseball team composed mostly of child laborers from a glassmaking factory. Indiana, 1908
Lewis Hine - Factory Boy, Glassworks, Alexandria, Virginia, 1909
Lewis Hine - One Of The Loading Boys In J. S. Farrand Packing Co. Baltimore, Maryland, 1909
Lewis Hine - Newsboys, Bridgeport Conn., 1909
Hine once argued that a good picture is “a reproduction of impressions made upon the photographer which he desires to repeat to others.” For him, an organized workforce was the epitome of empathy and mutual benefit, which he hoped to convey to the greater American public.
Lewis Hine - Empire State Building worker in 1931
Lewis Hine - Power house mechanic working on steam pump, 1920.
Lewis Wickes Hine
(1874-1940)
“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.” -Lewis Hine
#photography#vintage photography#lewis hine#historical photos#child labor#labor laws#investigative photographer
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Join us for the second annual artist panel featuring local artists of Latin American heritage. This event gives a platform to these artists to share their work, their experiences, and their opinions on their field. There will be a panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A.
Registration required: https://slpl.bibliocommons.com/events/62c837aea6ab6b27cc1eaff9
#public libraries#latinx#artists on tumblr#hispanic heritage month#hispanic#latino heritage month#virtual#online event#cultural#culture#st louis#stl#free entertainment
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👻 🎃 Happy Halloween, scholars and ghouls! 📚 Today is not just about dressing up and trick-or-treating; it's also a day rich in history and cultural significance.
Discover the origins of Halloween, explore eerie Victorian haunted house stories, or learn about the transition from Samhain to Halloween with JSTOR, the digital library for scholars and researchers.
Inspired by your costume? Find its historical roots in JSTOR's extensive archives. And if you're intrigued by urban legends, delve into the tale of the trick-or-treat sadists.
Today, let's celebrate the season with both candy and knowledge. Visit JSTOR–where every day is a treat! 🍬
📷 : Frederick Stanley. October 27, 1928. 4 color print. Modern Graphic History Library, Washington University in St. Louis.
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content warning prison and police violence - 7/18/23
Longtime disability rights activist and longtime prisoner in St Louis MO, Dawn Dziuba has been put under "partial guardianship" of a state administrator who's working to keep her incarcerated in a forensic ward. Because of her work to help other detainees in St Louis get due process, contacting lawyers about possible class action suits, and other 'jailhouse lawyering,' the state is cutting off her library access, threatening her with dangerous psychotropic drugs, and isolating her from her family.
Some of her writing is here and a human rights alert was issued about her case by the Shield project. @bananapeppers @noncompliance @bioethicists These are her current needs / demands :
DAWN MUST BE ABLE TO:
- Make her own medical decisions, including the decision to reject a powerful psychotropic drug.
- Change or terminate her guardianship
- Leave the ward in order to visit the library.
- Enjoy unrestricted access to a computer and use of email account.
- Be allowed to live independently
WHO PROFITS OFF DAWN'S GUARDIANSHIP?
SEAN RAPP, (phone 314-622-4989) is a ST. LOUIS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR who profits off the detention of Dawn and other disabled people.
We also need supporters to call:
- Abigail Schweiger : 314-982-8294 [email protected] - Rachel Linneman, Program Director : 314-877-5971
[email protected]
- Dr. Amy Taylor Medical Director (psychiatrist) : 314-877-0522
[email protected]
TO DEMAND DAWN'S NEEDS , LISTED ABOVE, ARE RESPECTED!
It's probably a good idea to save these images since they might be deleted by the site. Reposts elsewhere would be hugely helpful. They want to be able to isolate her without people finding out what's happening. Information is also posted at https://mindfreedom.org/front-page/shield-alert-for-dawn-dziuba-in-st-louis-missouri/
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https://youtu.be/xnfTVRwzo5Y
St. Louis Literary Award 2023 - Neil Gaiman
“On Thursday, April 13, 2023, the Saint Louis University Libraries honored award-winning writer Neil Gaiman at the Sheldon Concert Hall.
Gaiman is a prolific author of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. He has been honored with both the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. While he is best known as a novelist, Gaiman is adept at writing in a variety of forms. His work includes “Coraline,” “Neverwhere,” “The Ocean At The End Of The Lane,” “American Gods,” “The Graveyard Book,” “Stardust,” and “The Sandman."
h/t DanGuyF.
I don 't feel very prolific. But that is so nice of them.
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