history museums pragmatic historian

Libraries Versus Museums

A recent CityLab article caught my attention: Should Libraries Be the Keepers of Their Cities’ Public Data? A quote from the article: “As far as how private and public data should be handled, there isn’t really a strong model out there,” says Curtis Rogers, communications director for the Urban Library Council (ULC), an association of leading libraries across North America. “So to have the library as the local institution that is the most trusted, and…

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history pragmatic historian

History Is Infrastructure

The museum where I work sits on a high bank of the Mississippi River overlooking the confluence of a creek with a bridge. The riverbank is severely eroding and we are looking for natural solutions to that erosion so as not to endanger the museum building. In discussing this erosion with someone who deals with protecting the river, it was suggested that we talk about how this erosion will affect the bridge. Why? Because governmental…

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ideas observations writing

Notebooks So Beautiful They Are Stultifying

Hubby and I were at Barnes & Noble the other day. Hubby hangs out in the coffee shop while I peruse the books. During our latest trip, I saw this end cap of beautiful journals. Blank (or blank-ish, as the case may be) journals are always compelling to me, just like adult coloring books. I can’t not pause and wonder at writing in them. But, also like adult coloring books, I always realize that journals…

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