what makes a good fantasy library?

Books, lots and lots of books -- pretty books, gorgeous books, rare books loaded with arcane knowledge from all over the world and all through history (and forgotten histories and alternate histories), neatly lined up on shelves or overflowing in untidy piles, in a cavernous space or a twisty, cramped nook that holds more than seems possible. It should be mysterious and  hidden -- or hidden in plain sight. It need not be located in a magical world (although books are inherently magical), but if it is, it might be guarded by a friendly dragrynix.

This is just opinion, which is, of course, perfectly appropriate for fantasy 'cause, by definition, it's all made up anyway.

alternatives to videocats: the gilcrease museum

Want to see more of the Old West? The Gilcrease Museum of Tulsa has put a rich treasury online. Much, although not all, of it is art and history of the western United States -- Article: The Life and Times of [Cherokee] Principal Chief John Ross, Browse: Native American Artists, Browse: Taos School of Painters, Browse: Frederic Remington Paintings & Sculptures, Paintings by Hudson River School Artists [western scenes]. There's even a 1777 copy of the Declaration of Independence handwritten by Silas Deane.

alternatives to videocats: the beryl collection at the tulsa city-county library

Oklahoma is a relatively new state -- which is an advantage in that its history (after statehood, anyway) is well documented in photographs. The Tulsa City-County Library is home to the Beryl Collection of historical photographs of Oklahoma.

To start browsing, go to the Tulsa City-County Library website and type "beryl collection" into the Search box on the broad red stripe near the top of the page. Or type "beryl" + any Oklahoma history topic of your choosing. For example,"beryl will rogers" yields 54 pictures of the famous humorist.

alternatives to videocats: the lincoln collection at the allen county library

Most people are aware that both Kentucky and Illinois claim Abraham Lincoln, but he also lived for awhile in Indiana. The Allen County Public Library of Ft. Wayne has a collection of photographs, letters and other documents.

https://acpl-cms.wise.oclc.org/research/lincoln-collection

alternatives to videocats

Has confinement given you too much time on your hands? Looking for a rabbit hole to dive into? Go to the library -- via your computer. Many public libraries have interesting collections that anyone can access online. In the days to come, I'll be putting up links to some fun and informative ones I've found.

beloved books online: the box-car children

Many of us across the generations of the 20th and early 21st centuries have fond childhood memories of reading Gertrude Chandler Warner's Boxcar Children series. For me, it was the gateway to a lifetime love of mystery series. I had read mysteries before, way back when I was a little-bitty kid, and was delighted, as a sophisticated older child, to discover that they could come in groups.

The first edition of the origin story, The Box-Car Children, was published in 1924, although the series, as a series, started with the revised re-publication as The Boxcar Children (very modern -- no hyphen!) in 1942. The original colorful illustrations are by Dorothy Lake Gregory.

This book is available for downloading or reading online at Project Gutenberg in plain text, HTML, EPUB, and Kindle formats.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42796

the cat has come back ...

So...
After a short (in geological time, aeons in cyber time) hiatus to heed the demands of the "real" world, this blog is up and running again.