Breathe new life into damaged or out-of-date books by altering them into a work of art.
Altered Book Workshops August 4 & 6, 2011
Posted by Brea Black on July 25, 2011
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s Stained Glass Windows?
Posted by Heather Kearns on July 25, 2011
For week 30 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we’re taking a closer look at the Library’s various stained glass windows. Six are from the original 1883 Library located on the Statehouse grounds, two were commissioned from artist Mark Anschutz for the Library’s grand re-opening for the Topeka Room and a triptych from the Woodward family home, originally in Lawrence until Chester Woodward relocated his family to Topeka around 1920 (now the Woodward Inns on Fillmore).
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s City Directories?
Posted by Heather Kearns on July 18, 2011
For week 29 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we’re taking a closer look at our City Directories. The Topeka Room has an extensive collection of Topeka city directories dating from 1870 to the present. These directories can be helpful in establishing the year a house was built, as well as the names and occupations of previous residents.
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s Trade Card Collection?
Posted by Heather Kearns on July 11, 2011
It’s week 28 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series and we’re taking a closer look at our Trade Card collection. Trade cards were an early form of advertising and marketing and have existed since the early 17th century. Made from paper, these handouts contained information about a business’s location and the goods it offered. They can also reveal the era’s cultural values. “During the height of popularity for the chromolithographic trade card, from 1880-1900, popular culture was an inspiration for many of the designs.”
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Merrell Gage?
Posted by Heather Kearns on July 4, 2011
Happy Independence Day, America! For week 27 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we’re taking a closer look at Topeka native and renowned artist, Merrell Gage (1892-1981), “an alumni of the most sophisticated art schools, who turned for subject matter to the basics of American history, the stories of the western struggle, and the lives of heroes of the American soul. Gage portrayed and interpreted the freedom and dignity of the American experience through the medium of his art.”
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Robert Sudlow and Horace Eubank?
Posted by Heather Kearns on June 27, 2011
We’re well into Kansas summer with its inescapable geographic beauty, so for week 26 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we’re honoring the memories of renowned Kansas landscape artist, Robert Sudlow (1920-2010) and one of his most devoted patrons and generous TSCPL benefactor, Horace Eubank (1918-2005).
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s Ceramic Arts Collection?
Posted by Heather Kearns on June 20, 2011
Walking out of the house today feels like stepping into an oven. Kansas summers are hot, but kilns are hotter, some reaching 2000 degrees fahrenheit. In keeping with the heat and oven theme, week 25 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series is all about our Ceramic Arts Collection.
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Birger Sandzén?
Posted by Heather Kearns on June 13, 2011
It’s summer and perfect weather for an afternoon drive through the Kansas countryside. Why not pack a lunch, grab your sketchbook or camera and document the landscape like our featured artist for week 24 of our Kansas sesquicentennial series, Birger Sandzén (1871-1954).
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s Map Collection?
Posted by Heather Kearns on June 6, 2011
School’s out and summer vacation is in full-swing. Whether you’re headed overseas or into the next county, you’re bound to use some form of navigation to get your bearings. In the spirit of not getting lost, for week 23 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we’re featuring our Map Collection.
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s Yearbook Collection?
Posted by Heather Kearns on May 30, 2011
This is week 22 of our Kansas sesquicentennial series, and as area high schools are preparing for graduation, we thought it would be appropriate to highlight our Yearbook collection. Yearbooks are a fantastic tool for anyone researching family history, or as time capsules for style, social trends, and local business history as seen through advertising. Parents and grandparents beware! That beehive hair-do and Jheri-curl might come back to haunt you.
52 for 150: What’s So Special About Your Library’s Vertical Files?
Posted by Heather Kearns on May 23, 2011
What a cool idea: in May, Great Britain celebrates Local and Community History Month in hopes of increasing and promoting awareness of local history. So for week 21 of our Kansas sesquicentennial series, we’re piggybacking on their tradition and featuring our own storehouse of community history, the Library’s Vertical Files.
