Totally Historic

Show Up For Our Libraries! By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration's Executive Order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer. ALA American Library Association. #ForOurLibraries

🚨NEW🚨: Donald Trump is attempting to strip away federal support for libraries. We will NOT let that happen.

Last night the President signed an order to gut the Institute of Museum & Library Services. But together, we know we can show up & defeat it.

Full EO: www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

ALA response to White House assault on IMLS To dismiss the mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.  As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic and special libraries deserve more, not less support. Libraries translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people every year. Show Up for Our Libraries, ALA American Library Association, #ForOurLibraries

President Trump's executive order to eliminate the Institute of Museum & Library Services would have disastrous effects for communities nationwide. We call on all Americans who value reading & learning to reach out to their elected leaders.

Read ALA's full response: www.ala.org/news/2025/03...

Meet librarian extraordinaire, Belle da Costa Greene. As the personal librarian of J. Pierpont Morgan and first director of the Morgan Library, Belle amassed a collection of rare books, manuscripts, and artworks that rivaled the best collections in Europe.

#internationalwomensday

In 1978, a nitrate film fire destroyed 12.6 million feet of historical newsreel footage and outtakes by Universal Pictures. The blaze swept through the National Archives and Records Service storage complex in Maryland. Images: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. #filmhistory

In 1897, a fire devastated the Bazar de la Charité in Paris. The cause of the fire was the cinematograph, used to project film. In total, 126 lives were lost to the flames. Le Petit Journal's May 5, 1897 issue covered the event. Image: gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France
#filmhistory

Staff member Philip Martin, Jr. in the nitrate motion picture film storage vault, Division of Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings, National Archives. October 12, 1937.

Photo No. 64-NA-161, Records of National Archives and Records Administration.

#nitratefilm #nationalarchives #film

The Morgan Library in New York began as the personal library of American financier Pierpont Morgan. The library was built between 1902 and 1906, but Morgan started collecting around 1890. In 1924, it became a research library open to the public. 📚 📖 Image by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash.
#library

City Library at Mailänder Platz, Stuttgart, Germany. Opened in 2001, the library is known for its cube-like architecture. It has nine floors and a collection of 500,000 books and media. 📚📖 Image by Tobias Fischer on Unsplash.

#library #libraries #books

Baroque Library Hall, National Library of the Czech Republic. The library is located in the former Jesuit College in the Clementinum, Prague. 📚📖

Image by Jonathan Francisca on Unsplash

#library #libraries #books

George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Formerly the library of the Peabody Institute, it opened in 1878. The collection contains over 300,000 books, most dating to the 19th century. 📚📖

Image by Falkenpost on Pixabay

#library #libraries

The Long Room of the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin. Built between 1712 and 1732, the Long Room houses 200,000 of the Library's oldest books. The Old Library, which also holds the Book of Kells, will be redeveloped at the end of 2025. Image by Kieran Sheehan on Unsplash.

#library #libraries

The Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City is known for its unique futuristic design. Opened in 2006, it houses a collection of 600,000+ books displayed in hanging steel shelving. 📖 📚

Image by Julio Lopez on Pexels

#library #libraries #vasconceloslibrary #mexicocity #mexico

Happy New Year from Totally Historic!

Vintage postcard, early 20th century, from The Newberry Library collection. Public Domain.

#newyear #happynewyear #newyear2025

Admont Abbey Library in Austria is the world's largest monastic library. Completed in 1776, it's ornate AF because its art and architecture are late Baroque. The library has 70,000 books, but the abbey's total collection is about 200,000. So. Many. Books!
Image: Valdemaras D. on Unsplash
#libraries

King Khasekhemwy was the last king of ancient Egypt's second Dynasty. He's credited for reunifying Egypt after it experienced a period of civil unrest.

Statue of King Khasekhemwy, c. 2720-2686 BCE, Dynasty 2, Early Dynastic Period. Image: Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
#ancientegypt

Stela bearing the name of the ancient Egyptian king Djet, which consists of three parts: the serekh (facade of the royal palace) a snake (hieroglyph for DJ or sign for cobra), and a falcon (the god Horus, protector of kings).

Stela of "King Serpent," c. 3100-2900 BCE, Louvre
#ancientegypt #history

Singin' in the Public Domain event tile, featuring the Lockette, expressing open content.

When the clock strikes midnight on January 1, creative works from 1929 & sound recordings from 1924 will enter the public domain in the US, like:

⚓️ Popeye
🕵️ The Maltese Falcon
📖 The Sound and the Fury
🇮🇹 A Farewell to Arms
🏠️ A Room of One's Own
🙌 Hallelujah
🎺 Bolero
and many more!

🧵👇

The Early Dynastic Period is when the first kings ruled a newly unified ancient Egypt. This period has human sacrifices, civil unrest, and drama about kings' identities. Check out my new blog post for more.
totallyhistoric.com/wtf-is-early...
#ancienthistory #ancientegypt #earlydynasticperiod

Photo of the Internet Archive at dusk, showing illuminated white columns.

Libraries have faced unprecedented attacks this year. Despite these challenges, the Internet Archive is more committed than ever to fighting for access to public information for all those who seek it.

Help us in the fight: archive.org/donate/?orig...

Christmas Greetings, vintage postcard, 1908, Raphael Tuck & Sons, The Newberry Library, Public Domain

#christmas #vintagepostcards #christmaspostcards

Christmas Greetings, vintage postcard, 1909, Raphael Tuck & Sons, The Newberry Library, Public Domain

#christmas #christmaspostcards #vintagepostcards

Isn't Christmas Just Jolly?, vintage postcard, by Agnes Richardson, Raphael Tuck & Sons, The Newberry Library, Public Domain
#christmas #vintagepostcard #christmaspostcard

Christmas vintage postcards from the early 20th century. From The Newberry Library collection, public domain.

#christmas #vintagepostcards #christmaspostcards

Words of wisdom from FIL: Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair):

"Creemos en los libros"
Planeta Booth

"Leer es pura vida"
Costa Rica Booth

#books #libros #leer #reading #bookfair #feriadellibro

Did you know there really was a Scorpion King in Ancient Egypt? This macehead depicts him wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, with a scorpion next to his head.
Scorpion Macehead, c. 3100-3000 BCE. Image by Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

#archaeology #ancientegypt #history #arthistory

Fantastic Beasts and where to find them! This ancient Egyptian palette depicts fantastical animals like "serpopards," a mix between a leopard and a snake.

Two Dog Palette, c. 3300-3100 BCE. Image: Zunkir, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

#ancientEgypt #archaeology #ancienthistory #arthistory

This knife is from Egypt's Predynastic Period. The lion tamer isn't Egyptian but an Uruk priest-king of Mesopotamia, meaning the two civilizations were in contact during this period.

Gebel el-Arak Knife, c. 3450-3300 BCE. Image: ALFGRN, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
#AncientEgypt #history

I love that! It's so cool to see designs still being used, millennia later!

Egypt before the pharaohs.

Learn more at www.totallyhistoric.com/wtf-is-the-egyptian-predynastic-period/

#archaeology #ancientegypt #ancienthistory #history