Appropriations Committee Voted To Approve Funding for Libraries

The full House Appropriations Committee voted to approve FY2018 funding for libraries. By a 28-22 margin, the committee approved the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) funding bill, which proposes roughly $231 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—including $183.6 million for Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) programs, and $27 million for the Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program—essentially at 2017 funding levels.

In addition to saving the IMLS, the LHHS bill includes level funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. However, it funds the Department of Education (DOE) at $66 billion—a cut of $2.4 billion from 2017, which includes the elimination of some important library-related programs, including the DOE’s Striving Readers program. ALA officials said they would work to restore it.

Meanwhile, on July 18, the House Appropriations Committee approved by a 30-21 margin the FY2018 Interior and Environment Appropriations, which includes $145 million each for the NEH and the NEA, roughly equal to FY 2017 funding levels.

The key votes come after President Trump’s call  in May to eliminate IMLS and virtually all federal funding for libraries, as well as a host of other vital programs and agencies, including the NEH and the NEA. And, it comes after Congress, earlier in May, passed a belated 2017 budget that actually upped the IMLS, NEH, and NEA budgets.

More Reading

New Book Out -Secret Brooklyn: An Unusual Guide

Michelle Young and co-founder Augustin Pasquet wrote  and provided photographs for their book  Secret Brooklyn: An Unusual Guide

Some of the unusual places featured in their book consist of the Roosevelt House at Brooklyn College, The Puppet Library features over 100 puppets, some as large as 20 feet tall, that sit on the bleachers of a gymnasium.

Abandoned Shooting Range in the Park Slope Armory

The militia of the 14th Regiment once used an extensive, multi-level shooting gallery below the Park Slope Armory.

Abandoned shooting range

Puppet Library located below Park Slope Armory

Park slop Armory once home to the 14th Regiment of the U.S. militia

 

   Wild Parrots of Brooklyn

The best way to see the parrots is through a monthly free tour run by Steven Baldwin, who estimates there are 150 Quaker Parrots in Brooklyn today.  The parrots are more famous for roosting in Green-Wood Cemetery, the location where you can see the parrots most up-close is on a leafy residential street in Flatbush.

The fake Town House in Brooklyn Heights  building number 58 is not what it seems; it is a fake brownstone, behind which lies a hidden subway ventilator. It also functions as a emergency exit.The fake brownstone on Joralemon Street is also rumored to serve as a secret passageway to the 4/5 trains running in the tunnel below. A writer for the Brooklyn Heights Blog swears that he saw a glimpse of the 4/5 station when he peered inside the metal door marked “Exit 1

Substation #21, active since 1908. The substation was built to power the IRT subway extention from Atlantic Avenue to both Flatbush Avenue and New Lots Avenue.  It’s a real gem because it simultaneously houses both vintage equipment and modern functioning equipment.

New York City’s Museum Of Ice Cream

The chocolate chamber. Photograph: Bebeto Matthews/AP

Photograph: Bebeto Matthew/AP

For the month of August, a studio space across from the Whitney Museum has been transformed into the Museum of Ice Cream where visitors can swim in a pool of rainbow sprinkles. The six-room experience is a sensory delight that looks like a hipster paradise – all the wall art is selfie-friendly, and the sprinkle pool has a mirror hanging above it.

 

 

The 3D Printed House

The 3D Print Canal House is a three-year publically accessible ‘Research & Design by Doing’ project in which an international team of partners from various sectors works together on 3D printing a full-size canal house in Amsterdam.
The building site is designed as a growing exhibition and open to the public. The feedback from audiences generates input for research and market explorations:

The 3D Print Canal House consists of 13 different rooms that each consist of various elements. Each room showcases a research update in shape, structure and material. The house is printed with the KamerMaker – a gigantic FDM printer that can print elements of 2 x 2 x 3,5 meters, developed by DUS. The building site is located in Amsterdam North.

 

Thirty Finalist For The National Medal for Museum & Library Service

Each year, the Institute of Museum and Library Services presents select museums and libraries with the nation’s highest honor,
the National Medal for Museum and Library Service.

The Thirty Finalist For 2016

Libraries

• Brooklyn Public Library (Brooklyn, New York)
• Dallas Public Library (Dallas, Texas)
• Haines Borough Public Library (Haines, Alaska)
• Illinois Fire Service Institute Library (Champaign, Illinois)
• James E. Brooks Library at Central Washington University (Ellensburg, Washington)
• Juneau Public Libraries (Juneau, Alaska)
• Kitsap Regional Library (Bremerton, Washington)
• Longmont Public Library (Longmont, Colorado)
• Madison Public Library (Madison, Wisconsin)
• North Carolina State University Libraries (Raleigh, North Carolina)
• Otis Library (Norwich, Connecticut)
• Richland Library (Columbia, South Carolina)
• San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) (San Mateo, California)
• Santa Ana Public Library (Santa Ana, California)
• Terrebonne Parish Library System (Houma, Louisiana

Museums

• Chicago History Museum (Chicago, Illinois)
• Children’s Museum Tucson (Tucson, Arizona)
• Columbia Museum of Art (Columbia, South Carolina)
• Dallas Holocaust Museum (Dallas, Texas)
• The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (Amherst, Massachusetts)
• Fitchburg Art Museum (Fitchburg, Massachusetts)
• Honolulu Museum of Art (Honolulu, Hawaii)
• Imagination Station, Toledo’s Science Center (Toledo, Ohio)
• Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, Wisconsin)
• Lynn Meadows Discovery Center for Children (Gulfport, Mississippi)
• Mid-America Science Museum (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
• Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (Santa Cruz, California)
• Nantucket Historical Association (Nantucket, Massachusetts)
• Tomaquag Museum (Exeter, Rhode Island)
• Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, New York

Winner to be announced soon

30 Finalists For The 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service

The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced 30 finalists for the 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community. For 22 years, the award has celebrated institutions that demonstrate extraordinary and innovative approaches to public service and are making a difference for individuals, families, and communities

The Finalist 2016

• Brooklyn Public Library (link is external) (Brooklyn, New York)
• Chicago History Museum (link is external) (Chicago, Illinois)
• Children’s Museum Tucson (link is external) (Tucson, Arizona)
• Columbia Museum of Art (link is external) (Columbia, South Carolina)
• Dallas Holocaust Museum (link is external) (Dallas, Texas)
• Dallas Public Library (link is external) (Dallas, Texas)
• The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (link is external) (Amherst, Massachusetts)
• Fitchburg Art Museum (link is external) (Fitchburg, Massachusetts)
• Haines Borough Public Library (link is external) (Haines, Alaska)
• Honolulu Museum of Art (link is external) (Honolulu, Hawaii)
• Illinois Fire Service Institute Library (link is external) (Champaign, Illinois)
• Imagination Station, Toledo’s Science Center (link is external) (Toledo, Ohio)
• James E. Brooks Library at Central Washington University (link is external) (Ellensburg, Washington)
• Juneau Public Libraries (link is external) (Juneau, Alaska)
• Kitsap Regional Library (link is external) (Bremerton, Washington)
• Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (link is external) (Wausau, Wisconsin)
• Longmont Public Library (link is external) (Longmont, Colorado)
• Lynn Meadows Discovery Center for Children (link is external) (Gulfport, Mississippi)
• Madison Public Library (link is external) (Madison, Wisconsin)
• Mid-America Science Museum (link is external) (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
• Nantucket Historical Association (link is external) (Nantucket, Massachusetts)
• North Carolina State University Libraries (link is external) (Raleigh, North Carolina)
• Otis Library (link is external) (Norwich, Connecticut)
• Richland Library (link is external) (Columbia, South Carolina)
• San Mateo County Libraries (SMCL) (link is external) (San Mateo, California)
• Santa Ana Public Library (link is external) (Santa Ana, California)
• Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (link is external) (Santa Cruz, California)
• Terrebonne Parish Library System (link is external) (Houma, Louisiana)
• Tomaquag Museum (link is external) (Exeter, Rhode Island)
• Whitney Museum of American Art (link is external) (New York, New York)

The National Medal winners will be named later this spring, and representatives from winning institutions will travel to Washington, D.C., to be honored in a White House ceremony

Sleepovers @ The Museum….For Adults

 

More here

Can You Decipher The Written Code On This Sword?

The double-edged steel sword, which belongs to the British Museum, is on loan as part of an exhibit celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. Discovered in a river in 1825, the sword dates back to the same time that the Magna Carta was first written and was likely owned by a wealthy knight or a noble

British Library still looking for the public to decipher the inscription on this sword. A double-edged sword, 13th century, possibly of German manufacture but discovered in England in the 19th century (British Museum 1858,1116.5): image courtesy of the British Museum – The indecipherable inscription,is found along one of its edges and inlaid in gold wire. It has been speculated that this is a religious invocation, since the language is unknown. -This sword was found in the River Witham, Lincolnshire, in July 1825, and was presented to the Royal Archaeological Institute by the registrar to the Bishop of Lincoln. –

It has been speculated that the language is Latin. Here is the inscription to decipher( looks rather plan for a Knights Templar sword)

+NDXOXCHWDRGHDXORVI+

The Strong:The National Museum of Play

The Strong® is a extremely interactive, collections-based museum devoted to the history and exploration of play. It is one of the largest history museums in the United States and one of the leading museums serving families.Housing the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play and home to the following:

International Center for the History of Electronic Games

National Toy Hall of Fame,

 World Video Game Hall of Fame,

Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play,

Woodbury School

American Journal of Play.

More Info