#rare-books — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #rare-books, aggregated by home.social.
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Das Digitalisat der #ethbibliothek zeigt die kolorierte Abbildung eines #Weidenprachtkäfer aus "The Natural History of British #Insects" (London 1794–1795)
https://www.e-rara.ch/zut/content/zoom/4201864
#insekten #AnthaxiaSalicis #BuprestisSalicis #Käfer #bug #altedrucke #rarebooks
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"I come home that night empty-handed. No Yellow Bird. Not in the national libraries or in the cracked bookstores on Donceles or in the vaults of Morton Subastas."
Geoffrey Gray for Alta Journal: https://www.altaonline.com/books/a70453082/joaquin-murieta-yellow-bird-zamorano-80/
#Longreads #California #Books #RareBooks #Collecting #History #Libraries #Mexico #Reading
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The catalog from James Cummins of the books from my late husband David Hartwell's collection has just come out. Check it out! Buy 3 of everything! My kids need shoes! #booksky #sciencefiction #books #rarebooks www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/searchResult...
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92 year old Professor Wallace Kirsop has spent a life time studying old, rare books. He is passionate about the importance of retaining the physical object as a recent discovery in a 1497 copy of Dante's Divine Comedy at the University of Sydney Library demonstrates.
#Melbourne #Sydney #Histodons #libraries #books #RareBooks
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/22/melbourne-rare-books-expert-wallace-kirsop -
Lots of people destructively scan their #books to digitize their library or to get a discounted (or otherwise non-existent) digital version from the many used copies that sell for pennies.
Many #libraries let lenders use their stack cutters and scanners.
There are non-destructive scanning methods for #rareBooks, of course.
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The new teaser images on the e-rara homepage are here! Now with Stadtbibliothek #Schaffhausen, #Münzkabinett und Antikensammlung #Winterthur and Musikakademie #Basel
#library #rarebooks #altedrucke #erara #ethbibliothek #numismatik #musiknoten #bodensee #schwaben @zbzuerich @zhbluzern
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Today I got to hold an incunabulum of Malleus Maleficarum, a first printing of the King James Bible, and the handwritten notes of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
It was a big day.
I also had to correct the spellings of multiple words in this post, as I am completely frasking* exhausted.
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Please share widely! Friday, December 12th is the deadline for submitting presentation proposals for the 2026 RBMS (Rare Books and Manuscripts Section) Conference, "Advocacy," taking place in Milwaukee, WI, and online.
CFP: https://web.cvent.com/event/0F01042B-21DC-4900-BEEA-AAE7A23CB643/summary
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Is there a viable #OCR solution for #ancientGreek text in 16th century prints? Ideas? Experiences?
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Die digitalisierten #Inkunabeln der ETH-Bibliothek haben jetzt #volltext
#ethbibliothek #bibliothek #erara #altedrucke #rarebooks #incunabula #ocr #transkribus #tesseract
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Interessante Führung meiner Kolleg:innen zum Thema "#Gesundheitstechnologie in historischen Drucken" an der #ethbibliothek in #Zürich
https://library.ethz.ch/en/details.wenn-die-technik-wunder-wirkt.72937.html
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The Pushkin job: unmasking the thieves behind an international rare books heist
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/07/the-pushkin-job-unmasking-the-thieves-behind-an-international-rare-books-heist
#books #heist #theft #pushkin #russia #libraries #bibliotheques #rarebooks -
"Who's behind Europe's largest rare book heist?" @ BBC World Service "The Documentary" #Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0m1xpy0
#books #rarebooks -
Sacred tomes, curses, and research librarians in “Libra of Nil Admirari”
The library is introduced in the show’s second episodeHappy United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities! When I started watching Libra of Nil Admirari (also known as Nil Admirari no Tenbin), I had a sense that libraries would be a part of the story. Reading that the story was about a group of people who try and track down cursed books reminded me of R.O.D. the TV, and even Library War a bit. This series is a dark fantasy and a reverse harem. While I’m not, necessarily, a fan of the latter genre, the former was much more intriguing. So, let me get started! As a warning, there will be description of attempted suicide in this article.
The first episode hits like a freight train. Protagonist Tsugumi Kuze (voiced by Juri Kimura) watches her brother, Hitaki Kuze (voiced by Ayumu Murase) try to kill himself by self-immolation. Horrified, she blamed herself, but later learns that a cursed book, written in Japanese handwriting, named a maremono is responsible. She joins the Imperial Library Information Assets Management Bureau (also known as Fukurou), willing to use her ability to “see” the tomes, which she gained following a traumatic experience (her brother’s attempted suicide). In the next episode, she becomes more familiar with the bureau, which has a compound similar, in some ways, to the situation of the Library Defense Force in Library War. She does wear a strange uniform with a cut-out for her breasts, an unnecessary form of fan service which could have easily been avoided in this series, as could the fact that her work uniform has a relatively short skirt.
Within this compound is a room with cursed tomes, guided around by Hayato Ozaki (voiced by Yuuki Kaji), a member of Fukurou who tried to recruit her in the first episode. She meets Yutaka Nabari (voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa), who can also see auras of books, like her, and is researching cursed tomes. Later, Shiori Tokimiya (voiced by Rio Natsuki) shows Tsugami around the Fukurou building, walking through a secret passage to the research division, headed by Motofumi Mashiko (voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu), who is wearing a mask and has a toucan on his shoulder. A small library room is shown at first, but this is only the beginning. Motofumi is said to be well-versed in many fields, like ornithology and folklore. From there, she goes into a huge room described as the only national library in the country, and there are at least ten library assistants, carrying books. [1] It is noted that Fukurou was originally a department for managing “precious books” and they are still diligently performing this goal. He welcomes Tsugami with open arms and she is grateful for that.
The claim that this is the “only” national library in Japan is accurate! The National Diet Library of Japan was not established until 1948, even though Japan had its first public library in 1872, following introduction of Western culture to the island, and the Japan Library Association (JLA) was founded in 1892 to “promote library services and librarianship in Japan,” with a first All Japan Library Conference held in 1906. [2] There’s more context, that should be established. This series is set in an alternative universe in which the Taisho era of Japan is still ongoing, in 1936. This is a period of Japanese history, from 1912 to 1926, in which there was a liberal movement with growth of power among democratic parties and away from elder politicians. It is also the period Japan developed its first aircraft carrier, and emerged from World War I as a “major industrial nation”. [3]
Although the later part of the episode, where Tsugami goes on patrol with Osaki, Kōgami, and Hisui Hoshikawa, going to bookstores and other shops, looking for cursed books, is not directly about libraries, it is related nonetheless. I haven’t played the otome visual novel video game, Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Kitan (written by Yuma Katagiri), that this series is based on, or the manga, written by Shō Yuzuki, but I’d imagine it probably has similar themes. The director of this anime, Masahiro Takata, is well-known for many other productions, including as an episode director of My Roommate is a Cat! Despite mixed reviews from Anime News Network writers, apart from Rebecca Silverman (who was more positive), [4] I decided to keep watching, and expected there would be more library scenes.
Tsugami opposes book burning in the third episode, saying what we can/should all agree with.Clearly, Motofumi Mashiko and the other unnamed assistant librarians, are all research librarians, as they are researching these tomes, and storing them in a huge space. While undoubtedly librarians instruct, research, connect people to technology, manage social media, build websites, and digitize archives. Research librarians specifically analyze information requests to “determine which materials will best meet that researcher’s needs”. In some sense, the library in this series is a research library, as it has an in-depth collection, even though it doesn’t have a large volume of peer-reviewed work, and other works. More accurately, it is a special library, in that it is serving a particular population and is dedicated to a certain collection. [5]
By the third episode, Tsugami sees a book burning. In the process, she meets Sagisawa Rui, a doctor-in-training. While she calls herself “Kuze” here, I am calling her Tsugami in this article to distinguish from her brother. Later, they have a debriefing with Shiori Tokimiya, where it is revealed that a group called “Kagutsuchi” is stealing people’s books and burning them, in a number of recent incidents. Other members explain that the public burn cursed tomes because they are afraid of them and see them as dangerous. Tsugami later meets with Sagisawa. A man holding a cursed tome later dies on the train tracks, horrifying them all, and it is guessed that someone is purposely creating cursed tomes. Later, she tells Sagisawa that burning potentially dangerous books is wrong, which is a sentiment we can all agree with. At the end of the episode, she raids a building, with the help of her fellow agents, where the Kagutsuchi are holed up, and trying to burn books.
Tsugami meets the pompous son of the Prime Minister, Ukai, who also attempted society. However, she sympathizes, as he tried to kill himself, but she struggles with this, because he is so arrogant… She later learns that a legislator jumped from a building, and died, with a tome in one hand. She is informed she can’t do anything, even though people are dying, and is told this is why they are investigating every day and getting information from the press. She later tells Ukai that the job gives her freedom and that she enjoys it, says that communal living is fun, and hopes to get along better with him. He agrees to take her to a ball so they can learn about possible individuals involved in the book burning. She reports back what she saw. Later, Ukai realizes he was wrong about her and endeavors to become better friends with her. At the end of the episode, a woman is shown dead, with a tome, a romantic novel, nearby.
While I could go further, I decided to stop watching this series at this point, as it wasn’t to my fancy, and because I’ve already noted the existing library themes here.
© 2023-2025 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.
Notes
[1] Motofumi is the only character who speaks, as the others are only as background characters.
[2] “Brief Information on Libraries in Japan,” Japan Library Association, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; “History,” National Diet Library, Japan, accessed Jul. 18, 2023;
[3] Hoffman, Michael. “The Taisho Era: When modernity ruled Japan’s masses,” Japan Times, Jul. 29, 2012; Hoffman, Michael. “‘Taisho Democracy’ pays the ultimate price,” Japan Times, Jul. 29, 2012; “IJN Imperial Japanese Navy / ( Nihon Kaigun ),” globalsecurity.org, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; Japan: a country study (Washington, D.C., Library of Congress Federal Research Division, ed. Ronald E. Dolan and Ronald L. Warden: 1990), xviii, 46, 49-53. The Library of Congress country study says there were two other periods of history: Showa from 1926 to 1989 and Hensai from 1989 to present. The latter era actually ended in 2019, and replaced by the Reiwa era, which is currently ongoing.
[4] Jensen, Paul; Theron Martin; Nick Creamer; Rebecca Silverman, “The Spring 2018 Anime Preview Guide: Libra of Nil Admirari,” Anime News Network, Apr. 8, 2018; Silverman, Rebecca. “Libra of Nil Admirari Episodes 1-12 streaming Review,” Anime News Network, Jun. 28, 2018.
[5] “Become a Librarian,” American Library Association, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; Matthews, Rose. “Research Librarian Job Description,” Chron.com, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; “What is a Research Library?,” Linda Hall Library, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; “What is Research Library,” IGI Global, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; “research library,” dictionary.com, accessed Jul. 18, 2023; “Special Libraries,” American Library Association, accessed Jul. 18, 2023.
#abandonedSeries #AnimeNewsNetwork #bookBurning #fanService #history #Japan #JapaneseLibrarians #LibraOfNilAdmirari #LibraryWar #MyRoommateIsACat #RODTheTV #rareBooks #referenceLibrarians #research
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A 75-year-old man in Haralahalli, Mysuru, has amassed nearly 2 million books, making his personal library a hub for researchers and students. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/features/books/meet-the-75-year-old-who-built-a-library-of-2-million-books-in-a-karnataka-village-watch-suqxd083?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Mysuru #AnkeGowda #RareBooks #IndianLibraries #Literature
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Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal in Pune, India
A heritage stone building that preserves over a million historical documents and rare artifacts.#libraries #manuscripts #rarebooks #section-Atlas
Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal -
💢 I saw a thing online which somehow infuriated me and I wrote a short post about it: https://norsk-exlibris.no/.
📚 💰 It's not an important topic unless you are extremely interested in Norwegian Exlibris and pricing of antiquarian books on second-hand private sellers' online market places.
As usual, posts on the website norsk-exlibris.no are coded in plain #HTML and are licensed under a CC-BY SA 4.0 license.
#Exlibris #Bookplate #RareBooks #Norway #BookplateSociety #Finn #NorskTut #allheimen
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I found this delightful book "Fishes of the Wissahickon Creek", by R. Bruce Gebhardt, at the Free Library in Chestnut Hill. It is theoretically possible to order it from the Academy of Natural Sciences (tho my order has not arrived yet): https://secure.touchnet.com/C20688_ustores/web/store_cat.jsp?STOREID=73&CATID=514&SINGLESTORE=true
The intro says he also self-published "Butterfly Blocks: The Butterflies of West Mount Airy (2002-2004)". I tried asking the Academy about it and they know nothing. Any ideas for finding a copy?
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I've just posted an update to the Kickstarter for reprinting the Coast Manual of Lettering and Designs. It closes this week, so please back and/or boost to help us to the finish line...
#SignPainting #Signwriting #Lettering #GraphicDesign #Layout #RareBooks #Kickstarter
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This 3-volume English novel was thought to survive only in a German translation and a single known copy of v.1. Nine years ago I acquired the translation and I just now got the full three volume set. Houghton is now the undisputed world center for Man of Honour studies. (Hopefully someone cares, it is by all accounts terrible, but i can't resist a lost book.) #NewAcquisition #RareBooks #Libraries
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You can read a digitised version of the National Library of Scotland’s Kilmarnock Edition online
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https://digital.nls.uk/poems-chiefly-in-the-scottish-dialect/archive/74571150?mode=fullsize
#Scottish #literature #poetry #RobertBurns #Scots #Scotslanguage #18thcentury #BookHistory #RareBooks
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From 2020 – Prof Kirsteen McCue, Prof Nigel Leask, & Dr Craig Lamont discuss the importance of the Kilmarnock edition of POEMS, CHIEFLY IN THE SCOTTISH DIALECT for Burns, & the significance of the copy of the volume donated by Craig Sharp to Glasgow University’s Centre for Robert Burns Studies
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1LzFCI1bNs
#Scottish #literature #poetry #RobertBurns #Scots #Scotslanguage #18thcentury #BookHistory #RareBooks
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Robert Burns’s POEMS, CHIEFLY IN THE SCOTTISH DIALECT was published #OTD, 31 July 1786.
Copies are 3 times rarer than the Shakespeare First Folio: Patrick Scott & Allan Young are tracking the histories of surviving Kilmarnock Editions
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https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2017/11/kilmarnock-burns-book-history/
#Scottish #literature #poetry #RobertBurns #Scots #Scotslanguage #18thcentury #BookHistory #RareBooks
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Okay, NGL, it was deeply satisfying to hear a tour group (exchange students from S. Korea) gasp IN UNISON when we showed them the First Folio. We don't usually get reactions that audible/visible.
This job is pretty cool sometimes. #rarebooks
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Let's #meetup in #Paris and #Milan soon - All you need is #love and #books
#bookfairs #rarebooks #entertainment #fun #meeting #relationshipgoals #single #newfriends #partnership #photography
#assistant #secretary #booklover #blacklove