There is so much amazing about this. It's an archeological museum in 530 BCE or so. Also, the exhibits are labeled in three languages. Also they apparently had replicas on display for some things, much like modern museums do.
Humanity has not really changed that much, and some of the ways in which we haven't changed are really good.
Y'all, I am BEGGING you to click through and read that short Wikipedia article. It's the earliest museum we've ever discovered. It was part of the state of Ur.
Some of the artifacts in this museum date as far back as the 20th century BCE, which would have been as long ago to Ennigaldi-Nanna as the fall of the western roman empire is for us
Looking for a Rare Book:
I'm still looking for a copy of "How to talk trash in Cherokee" by Don Groom and John Oocumma (1989), which was put out my my nation's press. The only copies I can find are in academic libraries I don't have access too or super expensive. I want to digitize and preserve it.
Most of it is slang, dirty uncle jokes, and flirting. It's the stuff that makes language learning fun. It's also notably got queer content and pick up lines.
"these researchers published a paper on something that literally any of us could have told you 🙄" ok well my supervisors wont let me write something in my thesis unless I can back it up with a citation so maybe it's a good thing that they're amplifying your voice to the scientific community in a way that prevents people from writing off your experiences as annecdotal evidence
We knew, WE KNEW, this would happen if we didn't get people engaged and voting. I SPECIFICALLY worked on civic engagement initiatives through history museums the last five years because we knew.
A historical book and bible have been removed, there are concerns about the sit-in movement lunch counter being next.
WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution has begun quietly removing some artifacts from the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), according to two museum employees and at least one high-profile donor.
Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, a longtime civil rights activist and pastor, tells WUSA9 he was notified via this month that several artifacts he donated — including a Bible he carried during civil rights demonstrations — were being returned to him.
The email he shared with WUSA9 from the NMAAHC says:
"Dear Reverend Brown,
I wanted to alert you that the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) will be returning your Bible and book we borrowed for our exhibition, Segregation. Both books have been on display at the NMAAHC since we opened our doors to the public in September 2016. We are grateful for the loan of these important objects and the ability to share them with the public. In order to preserve them and not display them for too long, we are now returning them to you."
Brown said he doesn't believe it's about the conditions of the books and says a museum should know how to preserve them.
“The flimsy excuse was because they were under too much light,” Brown said in an interview.
Brown said he never requested the return of his items, which includes a bible and a historic copy of "The History of the Negro Race in America," one of the first books to document racism in the United States.
“I had called them and told them how unfortunate and ideological it is,” he added.
Brown has been a civil rights activist for more than 70 years, marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The Bible and book, he said, have been on display at the museum since it opened in 2016.
When WUSA9 visited the museum Saturday, the artifacts were no longer in their previous exhibit space.
“It was right here to the left of the narrative,” Brown said, pointing to the empty display.
He also expressed concern that the iconic lunch counter from the sit in movement started by four students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. The lunch counter is one of the key features of the museum — Amos says there are discussions on removing that. WUSA9 has not independently verified that claim. During our visit, the lunch counter remained on display.
Visitors we spoke with say the news is both emotional and troubling.
“I feel like that’s crazy,” said Samiyyah Greene, who traveled from North Carolina. “That’s like taking a big part of our culture away.”
“It’s very frustrating,” said Wynter Barton-Brown of Boston. “I’m glad I had my glasses on because I didn’t want my children to see the emotion that was driven up.”
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the removal of “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from federally funded institutions, specifically naming the African American museum.
“That was the most unfortunate directive,” Brown said. “It’s about someone being against diversity, inclusion and equity for African Americans and all people who’ve been marginalized in this country.”
WUSA9 has reached out to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of African American History and Culture for comment but has not received a response.
Brown says the lack of communication from the museum leaves him worried for its future.
“We aren’t going to let anyone tell us what we can’t read and celebrate as our artifacts,” he said.
@smithsonian can you explain this improper "lighting" situation / inability or refusal of your institution to preserve treasures of american history / put them in storage temporarily instead of purging items under the guise of safeguarding them ?
It’s one thing for Amazon to flip on the “tariff pricing” idea after a cranky phone call, but @smithsonian falling over themselves to self-censor is an embarrassment.
Unfortunately, Amazon is a private company, but the Smithsonian is owned by the federal government & the Board of Regents includes the VP, Senators, and the Chief Justice. This isn't an institution just "caving," this is deliberate destruction by the people in charge of the thing.
I do want to point out that this link contains the names of the Senators and Representatives who are on the Board of Regents, just in case one of them is yours. :]
Worldcat is my bestie and my one true love!! Not only does it tell you what library a book is at, but it also price compares different used book sites against each other for easy view! It's how I got Tarot For the Master for $10!!
Oh, and since I have your attention: z-library (books and textbooks) and sci-hub (gatekept scientific journal articles.) I just ripped a textbook for class off z-library and snatched a required reading from sci-hub. Life is good and education should be accessible at every stage and station of life.
Bsky post by libro.fm: Tomorrow, a certain online mega-retailer launches a book sale, just days before Indie Bookstore Day on 4/26. This is no coincidence; Bookstore Day is one of the largest revenue drivers for indies.
Indies need our support to thrive & build community spaces for all...mega-retailers do not.
--
Fuck Amazon. Go to bookshop.org or better yet, take a little time on Saturday to visit your local indie bookstore.
As a former librarian I'm actually required to remind you that many libraries that subscribe to Libby are opted into a program that lets you subscribe and access magazines for free with no wait
And that this is actually a really fun, low cost way to not only access news and larger cultural magazines, but also to get free patterns for many different crafts that you can screenshot if need be and that lower the financial barriers to entry for trying new things
From my experience working in both academic and public libraries, many libraries are use it or lose it funding-- I have to say this because a lot of patrons feel guilty for how much they use the library and how often they're using it funny enough, but the worst thing you can do for libraries is not try out new features and not use what's already given to you as much as possible.
The numbers that come as a result of your patronage are how most libraries justify their continued existence in times of financial hardship, which sucks but, go check out some magazines on Libby!
The Trump administration has issued an executive order aimed at dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services - the ONLY federal agency for America's libraries.
Using just 0.003% of the federal budget, the IMLS funds services at libraries across the country; services like Braille and talking books for the visually impaired, high-speed internet access, and early literacy programs.
Libraries are known for doing more with less, but even we can't work with nothing.
How You Can Help:
🔥 Call your congressperson!
Use the app of your choice or look 'em up here: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Pro tip: If your phone anxiety is high, call at night and leave a voicemail. You can even write yourself a script in advance and read it off. Heck, read them this post if you want to.
Phones a total no-go? The American Library Association has a form for you: https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=23577
🔥Tell your friends!
Tell strangers, for that matter. People in line at the check out, your elderly neighbor, the mail carrier - no one is safe from your library advocacy. Libraries are for everyone and we need all the help we can get.
...Wait, why do we need this IMLS thing again?
The ALA says it best in their official statement and lists some ways libraries across the country use IMLS funding:
An executive order issued by the Trump administration on Friday night, March 14, calls for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Li
But if you want a really specific answer, here at LCPL we use IMLS funding to provide our amazing interlibrary loan service. If we can't purchase an item you request (out of print books, for example) this service lets us borrow it from another library and check it out to you.
IMLS also funds the statewide Indiana Digital Library and Evergreen Indiana, which gives patrons of smaller Indiana libraries access to collections just as large and varied as the big libraries' collections.
As usual, cutting this funding will hurt rural communities the most - but every library user will feel it one way or another. Let's let Congress know that's unacceptable.
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yousharknotpass
