Journal concerning the bequest and division of James Winthrop's personal library, 1822-1826

As described in the above biographical note, Winthrop bequeathed most of his library – including his father John Winthrop's books – to the newly established Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. All the books in his library did not go to Allegheny, though, and Winthrop bequeathed over 500 books to two individuals, Thaddeus Mason Harris and Harriet H. Peck. This paper-bound journal contains three lists: one list of all the books which were part of this bequest, with notations indicating their financial value; another list of "Mrs. Peck's part in the division of the legacy" (i.e. the books she selected); and another list of "TM Harris's part of Judge Winthrop's Legacy" (the books he selected). The lists indicate that Peck and Harris chose books from the library on February 3, 1822, and that the few books which remained afterwards were sold by Deacon Hilliard and the profits returned to Peck and Harris.

Samuel Beckett's digital library

A digital reconstruction of Samuel Beckett's personal library, based on the volumes preserved at his apartment in Paris, in archives (Beckett International Foundation) and private collections (James and Elizabeth Knowlson Collection, Anne Atik, Noga Arikha, Terrence Killeen,...).

BibSonomy: a social bookmark and publication sharing system

Social bookmark tools are rapidly emerging on the Web. In such systems users are setting up lightweight conceptual structures called folksonomies. The reason for their immediate success is the fact that no specific skills are needed for participating. In this paper we specify a formal model for folksonomies and briefly describe our own system BibSonomy, which allows for sharing both bookmarks and publication references in a kind of personal library.

Circulando pelas marginálias: presença da literatura russa na biblioteca do Acervo João Antonio

Este texto aborda a presença da literatura russa na biblioteca pessoal do escritor João Antônio. As marginálias localizadas nas obras dos autores russos permitem verificar aspectos da leitura desta vertente artística realizada pelo escritor brasileiro entre as quais se destacam observações manuscritas de orientação formal, listas de palavras e sublinhas. Outro aspecto importante dos livros de escritores russos que compõem a biblioteca do Acervo João Antônio circunscreve-se à condição de depositária de edições raras que representam uma parte da memória editorial brasileira. Em acréscimo, apresentam-se considerações sobre algumas das marginálias presentes em contos de Tchekhov e Máximo Górki.

Leitor em oposição: João Antônio e Noturno da Lapa

Este texto analisa algumas das marginálias de João Antônio realizadas na obra Noturno da Lapa, de Luís Martins, pertencente à sua biblioteca pessoal. A investigação sobre essas marcas de leitura somada a enunciados de João Antônio, proferidos em entrevistas, permite depreender elementos particulares da formação estética deste escritor. Os posicionamentos contrários à narrativa de Luís Martins revelam uma concepção de literatura fundamentada na necessidade de uma escrita atenta à realidade com uma evidente postura de contestação social. As marginálias focalizadas, além de atuarem como registros do ponto de vista estético de João Antônio, fornecem elementos explícitos do diálogo deste leitor com a obra e o contexto literário da época, conforme propõem os estudos de Mikhail Bakhtin sobre dialogismo. Este estudo contribui para sedimentar a importância deste tipo de objeto extraliterário como fonte hábil para se refletir sobre o pensamento e a formação estética de um escritor.

List of books, [1818]

Ten-page handwritten list of books presumably from Gannett's personal library. Some books have prices listed in pencil.

Far quests, by Cale Young Rice.

LC copy 3 forms part of the personal library materials in the Joseph and Elizabeth Robins Pennell Collection.

Das Entwerfen und Berechnen der Verbrennugskraftmaschinen und Kraftgas-Anlagen. Mit 1282 Textfiguren, 35 Konstruktiostafeln und 200 Zahlentafeln.

2. unverändter Neudruck.

Schnellaufende Dieselmaschinen; Beschreibungen, Erfahrungen, Berechnung, Konstruktion und Betrieb,

Mode of access: Internet.

Die Grundzüge der graphischen Statik /

Four tables on folded leaves inserted.

Das Eisenhüttenwesen /

Mode of access: Internet.

Galerie Durand-Ruel : recueil d'estampes, gravées à l'eau forte /

Forms part of the personal library materials in the Joseph and Elizabeth Robins Pennell Collection.

Lectura y bibliotecas en la obra de José Saramago

[Español] Este ensayo presenta una revisión sobre los temas lectura y bibliotecas en la obra literaria del escritor José Saramago, premio Nobél de Literatura 1998. Reviste importancia en el sentido de que aunque son variados los temas de tipo social que trata la obra saramaguiana, hasta ahora no se habían analizado ni la lectura ni las bibliotecas. Nos daremos cuenta que Saramago fue un usuario asiduo de las bibliotecas desde el inicio de su formación como escritor hasta llegar a conformar una biblioteca personal importante que compartió con el público investigador. También promovió el hábito de la lectura a través de su participación en ferias del libro y siendo parte de organizaciones como las fundaciones “José Saramago” y “Alonso Quijano”. [Inglés] This essay presents a review on the issues of reading and libraries in the literary work of the writer José Saramago, Nobel laureate of literature in 1998. It highlights importance in the sense that although the social issues in the Saramaguian work are varied, as of today reading and libraries had not been analysed in his work. We will be aware that Saramago was a regular user of libraries since the beginning of his formation as a writer until he built an important personal library that he shared with the research public. In addition he promoted the reading habit through his participation in book fairs, and being part of fundations such as “José Saramago” and “Alonso Quijano.”

The relationship between academic library usage and perceived personal performance in Kuwait

Academic libraries around the world often have to justify high maintenance costs. High maintenance costs of university libraries are often justified by the belief that regular use of an academic library improves the grades of students. However, this is a difficult statement to support, therefore demonstrating the link between library use and student outcomes is critical to ensuring that library investment continues. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted and the findings were analysed to derive users’ perceptions. The findings revealed interesting results regarding how users make use of the library and how users feel the library improves their personal performance. Overall, the perception of all three groups of the academic libraries within Kuwait is positive, however many users are dissatisfied with some academic library services. Students answered positively regarding their grades and use of the academic library. Academics and administrators were generally positive and offered an experienced insight into the quality of the library. This study offers the first perception based results in Kuwait. The inclusion of administrators’ perceptions is also novel in terms of the Gulf States. A refined model was designed based on the overall findings within the study. This model can be applied to any academic library, regardless of size or collection type. Based on findings, the researcher recommends taking the following points into consideration in order to improve library services and facilities for all users. Improvements could be made in the structure of library training courses and academic libraries should be providing flexible spaces for individuals and group study as well as social activities.

Involving users to successfully meet the challenges of the digital library: a 30 year personal reflection

Trabalho apresentado na conferência Os Desafios das Bibliotecas Digitais realizado na Fundação Getulio Vargas em agosto 2014