The Austen/Clarkson Controversy

August 15, 2013

American pop star and first American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson bought a gold and topaz ring owned by Jane Austen at an auction last year. But British Austen-lovers want the ring, only one of three pieces of jewelry belonging to Jane Austen, to stay in the UK. And thanks to a recent anonymous $155,000 donation, […]


Barbara Mertz, Egyptologist and Novelist, Dies at 85

August 13, 2013

Prolific author Barbara Mertz, better known as mystery authors Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels, died last week at the age of 85. Born  in Astoria, Illinois in 1927, she received  a PhD in Egyptology from the University of Chicago at the age of 23. Ms. Mertz wrote two nonfiction books under her own name, including […]


Disaster relief at the library

August 13, 2013

On Monday’s NPR Morning Edition continuing series on the public library in the U.S. today, Joel Rose reported on the crucial role a local public library takes during and after a disaster. From the simple (allowing people to clean up in the restrooms, charging cell phones, canceling fines for overdues and lost books) to the […]


Local Art @ EPL

August 9, 2013

We are thrilled to announce a special summer treat for our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL.  Throughout August, we’re proudly featuring more than two dozen eye-catching images from the 2012 Faces of Evanston Photo Contest right here on the 2nd floor of EPL’s Main Library.  Based on the common theme “Simplicity,” the 28 […]


The Library as Film Star

August 9, 2013

NPR’s All Things Considered continues its series on public libraries in this story by Bob Mondello highlighting the library “on stage, on screen, and in song.” He refers to stereotypes such as Marian in The Music Man, George Bailey’s wife Mary in It’s A Wonderful Life, and Katharine Hepburn in Desk Set as well as […]


Gallery Shopping for Art – So 20th Century

August 7, 2013

Looking for that special painting for your living room wall? – try Amazon’s new fine art site Amazon Art. Including more than 150 galleries and dealers from New York, Miami, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Canada, the site allows customers to purchase original art ranging from a “$10 screen print by the up-and-comer Ryan Humphrey […]


Museums show their stuff!

August 6, 2013

Typically, museums cannot display more than a small fraction of their holdings, but soon that’s going to change. The LA County Museum of Art has decided to take out hundreds, maybe thousands, of items and will simply show more pieces in less space. Some details may not be presented, but at least the materials will […]


Watch out for your neighborhood Story Mob!

August 6, 2013

Now here’s a project that sounds like a lot of fun: mix together kids, a great story, some props and costumes, and put on a story mob. This will be happening in Toronto this summer, check out their website for details. Anyone should be able to replicate this idea in their own neighborhood. (“Jillian Jiggs” […]


Early Stieg Larsson Story To Be Published

August 6, 2013

A new anthology of crime fiction will include a short story written by a 17-year-old Stieg Larsson. The anthology titled A Darker Shade of Sweden to be published February 2014 will feature stories from 20 Swedish writers, including Henning Mankell, Asa Larsson, Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo , and Sara Stridsberg. Mr Larsson’s companion Eva Gabrielsson […]


This Blog Post Is Emma Approved

August 6, 2013

Fans of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will be excited to hear that creator Bernie Su is launching the next Austen-based web series, and it’s going to be based on Emma. For Austen fans who haven’t seen the wildly popular webseries, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern take on Pride and Prejudice told entirely through […]


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