The Design Library
Fabrics and designs galore!
Library Safari: A Tour of Zoo Libraries
It’s a zoo library safari!
Star Party
Houston we have a … Star Party!
A Deep Dive into Aquarium and Marine Research Libraries
An in-depth exploration of the specialized libraries that support researchers’ understanding of our oceans and marine ecosystems.
Do You Believe in Magic…Libraries?
Abracadabra! Behold the wonder of magic libraries, which store all secrets of magicians past and present. Who knew they existed?!
Botanical Libraries: Seeds of Knowledge
Photo provided by Huntington Library Author: Sereen Suleiman While botany is the science of plants, a botanical library, or horticultural library, is a type of special library that focuses on the collection of literature and materials about plants. These libraries are typically located in botanical gardens, research institutions, horticultural societies, Read more
The Wonderful World of Museum Libraries
Come along on this tour of the wonderful world of museum libraries as we highlight eclectic collections around the globe.
The Library’s Game Stop: Video Game History in Libraries
Check out this blog post that highlights video game collections in libraries and a nonprofit research library’s work to preserve video game history.
There’s a Special Library for That?!: Beer and Brewing Libraries
Where does one go to find information on Scottish beer from the 1920s? I found myself asking that same question as I started my holiday baking this year. I came across an unusual recipe that I wanted to try: Fochabers Gingerbread, a traditional Scottish gingerbread containing beer. Unfortunately, the original 1929 Read more
A Special Librarian Abroad: Denmark and Sweden
A Special Librarian Abroad: Denmark and Sweden This past August, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Denmark to study medieval Scandinavian manuscripts, and take in Danish history and culture for about two weeks through a summer school program offered at the Arnamagnæan Institute and University of Copenhagen. This Read more
There’s A Special Library for That?!: Comic Book Libraries
INTRODUCTION: Before I dive right into the main focus of this post, I’d like to share a few of my own personal thoughts on the subject. I grew up reading comics, and I have to say I never anticipated that super hero movies and comic book characters would become as Read more
There’s A Special Library for That?!: History of Advertising Libraries
My original intent for this first blog of 2019 was for it to be on textile/fashion libraries with the hope of finding one related to one of the major legendary European fashion houses. While doing a basic Google search for a Gucci library, I stumbled upon a vintage digitized Gucci Read more
Our Tour of the Disney Animation Research Library
On June 8, 2018, members of the SLASC had the pleasure of attending a tour of the Disney Animation Research Library (ARL). This tour was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes view of where over 65 million pieces of original Disney animation artwork from the past Read more
Disney’s Animation Research Library Tour
Are you interested in animation and love Disney movies? Curious to learn more about working in a special library such as Disney’s Animation Research Library? If you answered yes, you are invited to join the SLASC for a free, in-person tour of the Disney ARL in Burbank, CA! On Friday, Read more
There’s a Special Library for That?!: Conjuring Libraries
While Hogwarts might be a figment of our fantastical imaginations, education in the conjuring arts has a very long and very real history, so I guess it is not a surprise that there are libraries for that! As I delved deeper into the conjuring arts, I was amazed not only Read more
There’s a Special Library for That?!: Human Rights
We hear quite a bit these days about human rights and how we all need to work together to keep these rights intact. What are human rights? One definition is “everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person” (Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Since the adoption of the UDHR in 1948, lawyers, victims, and advocates have been working to ensure the values enshrined in the document are upheld equally around the world. That’s when libraries can be the most helpful places to go to find materials to support this work.
Non-Governmental Military Libraries: A Look A San Diego’s Midway Library
By Jonathan Christensen On March 15, 2017, the San Diego Chapter of the Special Libraries Association (SLA-SD) hosted an event for members to go on a private tour of the USS Midway Research Library (“the library”) at the USS Midway Museum (“the museum”). Similar to my most recent blog post, I had Read more
There’s a library for that?!: Military Libraries
Military Librarianship: It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure! When I first started this post, I intended to do an interview with a military librarian to represent this unique special librarian field. But I only had to dive into the research and reach out to a few contacts to Read more
There’s a Special Library for That?!: Criminology
Murder and Mayhem in the Library!
Well, perhaps not actual murder and mayhem, but in researching different types of library collections, I never expected to run across any devoted to criminology! However, there is an entire organization (the World Criminal Justice Library Network) whose membership includes dozens of these libraries in 26 countries.
I also discovered a paper written by Stuart Stone, the head librarian at the foremost criminology library in the UK, named after Leon Radzinowicz. The Radzinowicz Library is part of the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge.
The Radzinowicz Library of Criminology.
Interestingly, this library actively collaborates with the Koestler Trust, a charity that works with prisoners and holds an exhibition of their artwork each year. The library always purchases and displays a few pieces. Funding for these acquisitions comes from overdue fines. As Mr. Stone so elegantly put it, “the delinquency of our own readers helps to contribute to the rehabilitation of others.” (Stone, 2016, p. 4).
After reading Mr. Stone’s paper, I wrote to him and, to my delight, he was kind enough to answer a few questions in a detailed email. Enjoy!
Continue reading for the full interview.